When fighting erupts between government forces and renegade Ghost Soldiers deep within the Republic of Dhambizao, thousands are forced to leave their homes. Dr. Paige Ryan is sent to lead a team to set up a refugee transit site. Nick Gilbert joins the team to help fly supplies in and out of the area. With the refugee camp already experiencing overcrowding, raids, and uprisings, a group of American mountain climbers is attacked by the Ghost Soldiers. Paige's medical team rescues survivors and takes them into the camp. When it's discovered that one of the trekkers is carrying an infectious disease, the harrowing conditions of the camp are forgotten. In desperate need of vaccines and the Ghost Soldiers blocking the only road out until their demands for amnesty are met, it won't be long before the disease is out of control . . . and there is nowhere to run.

From the explosive first pages, Lisa Harris weaves a tale of heart-stopping suspense and adventure with her second book in the Mission Hope Series. When fighting erupts between government forces and renegade Ghost Soldiers deep within the Republic of Dhambizao, thousands are forced to leave their homes. Dr. Paige Ryan, who works with Volunteers of Hope International, is sent to lead a team to set up a refugee transit site---where the immediate needs for shelter, water, sanitation, and food are critical. Nick Gilbert, a bush pilot for Compassion Air, joins the team to help fly supplies in and out of the area. With the refugee camp already experiencing overcrowding, raids, and uprisings, a group of American mountain climbers is attacked by the Ghost Soldiers. Paige's medical team responds immediately, rescuing survivors and taking them into the camp. When it's discovered that one of the trekkers is carrying an infectious disease, the harrowing conditions of the camp are forgotten. In desperate need of vaccines and the Ghost Soldiers blocking the only road out until their demands for amnesty are met, it won't be long before the disease is out of control ... and there is nowhere to run.

Award-winning author Lisa Harris has been writing both fiction and nonfiction since 2000 and has twenty novels and novellas in print. She currently lives with her family in Mozambique, where they work as missionaries. Visit her website at www.lisaharriswrites.com and her blog at www.myblogintheheartofafrica.blogspot.com.

In Blood Covenant, Lisa Harris spins a tale of overwhelming loss, a fight for freedom, and newfound love. The situations the characters are in continually spiral from bad to worse. The only real relief the characters feel comes in the final few chapters.

The story, set in an African refugee camp, is told from multiple viewpoints. Nick is a pilot with a scarred past whose passion for saving lives trumps his fear of losing more comrades. Paige is a doctor who wants nothing more than to return home where everything is safe and comfortable. However, multiple disasters and her compassion for refugees prevent her from attaining that desire anytime soon. Paul is attempting to rescue American volunteers while simultaneously trying to save his marriage, which is quickly falling apart.

Another character whose perspective Harris shows is Ashley, an actress who has lost someone dear to her in one of the rebels' raids. Although at first she is calloused toward the others in the refugee camp, eventually her heart warms to them. Another point of view is Brandon's, a man who went to Africa for a honeymoon with his wife only nearly to lose her in the rebels' raid. Samson is a man who nearly lost his son in an explosion while searching for his wife and daughters. He soon becomes one of the camp's official protectors. One of the most interesting perspectives is Jonas', the rebel leader.

Whereas at first the shift from one viewpoint to another makes it difficult to keep the characters straight, the uniquely different perspectives of everyone involved in the horrifying circumstances of the novel are quite fascinating.

The novel is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. It is difficult not to feel sorrow for what the villagers and American volunteers suffer, anger for what the rebels are doing to innocent people, elation when things begin working out for the characters, and fear when the rebels attack the camp and start killing American captives, one by one, every twelve hours until their demands are met.

Many of the characters question how God could allow such suffering to befall them. One verse that seems to apply to this novel is Psalm 10:14. "But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless."

Blood Covenant would be a great addition to any church library. Also, any man or woman with an interest in doing volunteer work in another country may find this novel insightful. – Christa Mullen, www.ChristianBookPreviews.com

Harris (Colorado Crimes), who lives in Mozambique, writes what she knows in the second book of the Mission Hope series. Dr. Paige Ryan is working with the relief agency Volunteers of Hope in the fictional African Republic of Dhambizao. Insurgent Ghost Soldiers make life difficult, and deadly, for the government, and also make refugees of those fleeing the conflict. The rebels also disrupt a mountain climbing expedition, and Ryan's medical team, including pilot Nick Gilbert, face another emergency. When one of the climbers brings into the refugee camp an infectious disease, the stage is set for a humanitarian crisis, and American embassy diplomat Paul Hayes must respond. Harris sets up a complex and credible plot, with lots of points of tension. The characters' flaws add to the drama, although some may find Taz, the idealistic lawyer turned aid worker, a mighty too saintly. But resolution involves tragedy; it isn't simplistic. Harris's writing is engaging, and she is worth watching. -- Publishers Weekly

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