Two Crosses

by Elizabeth Musser
Hennepin County Library paperback 445 pages
genre: Christian historical fiction and romance

Gabriella is an American from Senegal (missionary parents) who is going to school in Castelnau, France in 1963(?). David Hoffman is an American teacher at the school - gorgeous, charming, mysterious, and only 23 years old. Sister Griolet is the elderly nun who runs the orphanage and the small school for American college students. Each of these people has an extensive back story. And there are dozens and dozens of other characters. The Algerian war for independence drives this story and Ali is the murderous man bent on revenge. The first 350 pages - I had to force myself to read. The last 100ish were phenomenal! Enough for me to pick up book two in the trilogy? Probably not.

And I'll bring my French/English dictionary to book club with me tonight because she used a LOT of french expressions. It didn't bother me because I know enough French to muddle by, but if someone really wants to know what something meant, I'd like a reference tool.