The Swiss Courier: A Historical-fiction Gem from Tricia Goyer (with Mike Yorkey)

Thanks to LitFuse Publishing for providing this book for review!

The Swiss Courier is a well-researched and excellently written piece of historical fiction (with a little bit of romance) set in August of 1944. Hitler's Third Reich is in full gear, having overrun some nations and threatening others, including Switzerland. Young Swiss-American Gabi Mueller works for the American Office of Strategic Services, but she soon finds herself at the center of an important mission to rescue German physicist Joseph Engel, after his Jewish heritage is discoverd by the Nazi's. And so, a pastor's daughter becomes a "courier", delivering a pivotal "package" safely into the hands of the Allies. She finds herself wrestling with her own heart along the way, as she considers the excitingly employed men she works with and the humble farmer she left behind. In her adventures, Gabi Mueller consistently finds that looks can be decieving, and that is one of the main themes of this novel, which provides our heroine with a few devastating blows and several happy surprises.

By itself, the story line of The Swiss Courier is thrilling and captivating. It has great drama, suspense, and feeling. The romance is down-to-earth, realistically rendered, and not at all cheap or tawdry (no torrid love scenes, thank God!). But aside from the plot, this book gives the reader food for thought. Gabi Mueller's father is a pastor, her family is staunchly Christian, as are many of the others resisting the Nazi's in this story. Yet in many cases, successfully opposing evil requires violence on some level, and sometimes killing. People who sought to rescue those being killed by Hitler's minions were often faced with two options, both requiring them to sin (lying vs. allowing someone to be arrested and probably killed, killing a Nazi soldier in order to save a person from death vs. not committing "murder" and thus allowing an innocent to be killed). These seem like simple questions to those of us with the benefit of hindsight (6 million killed, there's no ethical dilemma, do whatever it takes to save them!), but it is important to remember that very few people at that time had any idea of the magnitude of Hitler's deadly operations, and sorting fact from rumor was difficult, especially when the facts were so horrendous that it's difficult to believe even now that humans could be capable of such evil. This moral quandry has been an issue for Christianity since very early on, and is still an issue today: Can Christians involve themselves in politics to seek change for a nation? Can Christians ever participate in violence for a greater good? When it comes to sin, are there "greater" and "lesser" evils, and if there are, how does God view the act of committing a "lesser" evil to prevent a greater one? The Swiss Courier does not seek to answer these questions on a deep theological level, but it does provide insight into the choices of some Christians facing one of the greatest evils in human history.

Readers will enjoy the pace of this novel, a few heart-stopping moments, and the faith and courage demonstrated by a simple young woman who's life has fallen under the dark shadow of Hitler's Third Reich.