Review – Two Crosses

The glittering Huguenot cross she innocently wears leads her deep into the shadows.

Gabriella Madison goes to France in 1961 to complete her education. She is a missionary’s daughter, and out of place among all the rich socialites also attending there. But she also catches the attention of a professor—David Hoffman.

Suddenly she is drawn into the secretive world behind the Algerian war for independence from France. And the further she delves into the war efforts, the more her faith is challenged.

People surround her with a whirlwind of transforming forces—with a wise man involved in smuggling, a little girl carrying secret information, and a man with unknown loyalties who catches her heart. But then she discovers a long-hidden secret about her past, a secret that has the power to destroy everything.

Two Crosses is the first book in Ms. Musser’s Secrets of the Cross trilogy. It caught my interest from the very first pages, which surprised me as the blurb didn’t sound all that exciting. There were a lot of people introduced in the first few pages, that I found rather confusing trying to keep them all separate, but I eventually realized how the story came together. There is also a lot of description at first, causing me to skim through sections.

All in all, Two Crosses is a book I enjoyed, with a heroine that readers just want to cheer for and a charming little girl who just captures your heart. Plus a host of other characters who are well developed and real. I highly recommend Two Crosses and look forward to reading the second book in the series Two Testaments which also released in June 2012. $14.99. 464 pages.