THE LAST EXCHANGE by Charles Martin, Reviewed by Rebecca Maney

"How far would you go for someone you love? . . . How far?"

"The last exchange . . .It's when you cross paths with someone who's broken, just a mess of pieces, unable to fix anything about anything, and yet for some inexplicable reason, you stoop down, reach out and say . . . 'Me for you'."

"A life laid down is better than a life picked up."

Imagine reading a story that transforms all of these convictions into reality . . . loving so, so far . . . transferring the pain of another onto yourself, exchanging life for life rather than sweeping up the innumerable shattered pieces of an expiration. It's here. Between the pages. Of this book.

Utilizing extraordinary plotting expertise to full advantage, the author slowly and meticulously weaves his story, merging "before" and "after" scene changes in such a way that the true story organically emerges at just the right times in all the right places. Readers will question who Kelly MacThomas Pockets really is (and rightfully so), what Maybe Jo Sue has to gain by having him to secure the boundaries of her lavish lifestyle, and ultimately what their relationship will cost each of them in the end. However . . .

"I've been in some places where there is no hope, and yet somehow it swims through the cracks. Rises to the surface. . . No matter what you do - ignore it, shove it in a closet, drown it with drink and pill, or stab it with science, experts, and talking heads - you can't kill hope. Not in all of human history has hope ever been laid to rest."

A story that goes deeper and deeper with the turning of every page; fascinating, heart-breaking, hope-building. Salvation always beckons an exchange.

 

SEE KIM'S REVIEW

 

BackCover Blurb:

“Here’s the catch—even if I make it out of here alive, I need a reason to breathe again.”

When MacThomas Pockets finished his last tour as part of the Scottish Special Forces, he was hired to consult for a film director to finesse some scenes that weren’t working. In a twist he never saw coming, he ended up moving to L.A. to work as the bodyguard for movie star Maybe Joe Sue.

It didn’t take long for Pockets to realize there were two Joe Sues: The Joe Sue the public saw with her perfect life and her Hollywood husband. And the private Joe Sue: the one with the traumatic youth that no amount of pills could cover up, who desperately wanted a child of her own.

Even after their paths diverged, he continued to track Joe Sue’s life. Only a few would notice when the bottom fell out. But he did. And that’s when he stepped in.

One man seeks to answer the question: How far would you go—really— to save someone you love? And in the masterful hands of New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin, finding the answer will take readers on an intense and heart-wrenching journey to the very end.

Suspenseful, emotion-filled contemporary fiction
Stand-alone novel
Includes discussion questions for book clubs
Also by Charles Martin: The Water Keeper, The Mountains Between Us, and Chasing Fireflies

Thomas Nelson Publishing, October, 2023

Available in digital ebook, hardcover, and audiobook.

Buy THE LAST EXCHANGE at Amazon, Christianbook .com, or Baker Book House