The Peace Thieves

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This compelling and ambitious novel is about the search for peace during a civil war and through its long, complicated aftermath. Thirty years after his tour as a peacekeeper in Croatia in 1993, Francis is getting by — though only just — but when Viva arrives in Hamilton searching for the father she never knew, Francis' world tilts, upsetting the burden of his wartime memories. This powerful and compassionate novel alternates between the voices of Francis and Viva, delving into the secrets we hold, the hurts we try to hide, and the simple human connections that bind us. In war-torn Croatia, Francis meets Lorina, a local woman whose father had just been killed in the conflict; he does his best to protect her in the face of overwhelming resistance and absurdity as he struggles to work alongside the impossibly difficult Master Corporal Mackey. Toward the end of his tour, Francis bears witness firsthand to the devastating aftermath of ethnic