Roy and Lou Ann Keiser were missionaries in the Basque region of Spain for several decades. The church we attended in SC supported them, and I got to know Lou Ann through correspondence in connection with a couple of ministries I was involved in. Then we read and commented on each other’s blogs. Somehow, we never met in person. Once when they visited our church, I was home sick.

Recently retired from the field, Lou Ann has written her debut novel set in the Basque region that she loves: Jose’s Zulo.

Jose works as a machinist by day. At night, he provides a zulo, or hiding place, for boxes from a group known only as the Organization, which fights for independence of the Basque region from Spain. Jose doesn’t know what’s in the boxes–it’s better not to.

Meanwhile, he lives for fun–time with his friends, pursuing Mirren, who becomes his girlfriend.

After months of receiving boxes, Jose gets a call that it’s time to deliver them to a clandestine location. Weeks later, a bomb goes off in telephone company, and one woman is killed. Jose is racked with guilt, knowing that the bomb came from materials he delivered.

Then his father dies. Jose’s guilt and sorrow lead him to search for truth.

When his contact with the organization calls again with another assignment, Jose knows he can’t participate. But he also knows the Organization won’t let him simply quit. Even though his part has been small, he still knows too much. In his desperation, he becomes a fugitive.

Jose’s story is the main one, but intersecting with his life are a few others. Lupe had fled from a stalker in Honduras and ended up in Spain. She works as a housekeeper for an older man, Cipriano, who is not entirely disabled but needs assistance. Lupe is a Christian and wants to share her faith with Cipriano, but knows he can only take a little at time. Yet he’s not getting any younger or healthier.

Olatz is Jose’s sister was studying at a university in Germany when their father died. She comes home to help. Jose’s situation affects her when the Organization pressures her to tell them where Jose is, which she doesn’t know.

I love the double meaning of zulo that Lou Ann works into the story, but I’ll leave it to you to discover what that is.

I think the book cover is gorgeous, wrapping around from front to back with the Basque countryside. Lou Ann says the artist who created the cover did a great job depicting a young Basque man, even down to the hoop earrings they wear.

Lou Ann assures us in her notes that she has never actually met a sleeper terrorist. She shares what is true and what is fictional from the story as well as some background information of the region and definition of Basque and Spanish terms.

Though there were a few places that I wish had been a little more developed, overall, I enjoyed the story. I’m looking forward to the sequel.