Book Review: Deliver Me From Evil by Kathi Macias

The story of human trafficking has never been so up close and personal as it is in Deliver Me from Evil, the first book of the Freedom Series by Kathi Macias.

Years ago, Maria was sold by her parents in Mexico and smuggled across the border into San Diego where her name is changed to Mara. She is forced into sexual slavery and has long stopped dreaming of an escape from her miserable life.

Jonathan is eyeing graduation with anxiety. His dream of a professional baseball career gone, he is unenthusiastically planning to attend Bible-college. He wishes he had the close relationship with God that his parents and sister, Leah, have.

When Jonathan's and Mara's paths cross, their lives are changed forever. Unable to forget the girl whose face haunts him, he is pulled back to the place where their eyes met.

Across the world in Thailand, another young woman in captivity is mysteriously connected to the young people of San Diego.

I don't think I have ever been moved by a story so much as I was by Deliver Me From Evil. Macias delivers another thought-provoking, heartrending story that connects people of various circumstances. The subject of human trafficking is one we might not hear much of in this country. Perhaps we think it happens everywhere but in a country built on freedom. But as Macias's research shows, young people are sold into slavery right under our noses.

In this moving account of sexual slavery in two different countries, the reader is immediately drawn in by Macias's masterful storytelling. Deliver Me From Evil is a powerful read. It is not a book that you pick up for a quick read one afternoon. Its content is disturbing. It makes you want to hold your child a bit closer and pray for her a bit harder. And yet, through all that darkness, Macias manages to display the hope that comes from heeding God's call.

This is the first book in a planned series from New Hope Publishers--a house that has titled Macias's work, "Fiction with a Mission." While Macias's books have never been fluff, in her Extreme Devotion Series and this new Freedom Series, you can see her ministry evolving into a meaningful way to call Christians to be the servants God intended. Her books expose the evil that exists in our fallen world, and shine the light on our loving Father, who loves us so greatly that He gave us His only Son.

I challenge anyone who has read Deliver Me From Evil not to be changed by it.


Title:  Deliver Me From Evil
Author: Kathi Macias
Publisher: New Hope Publishers
ISBN-10: 1596693061
ISBN-13: 978-1596693067
SRP:  $14.99

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinions. The author is a client of mine through Pump Up Your Book and paid me to promote the book through a virtual book tour. That fee did not include a review. I received no monetary compensation of any kind to share my thoughts.