Touch a Wild Heart
by Vella Munn
On This Page
Description
This is one border only love can cross.Chela Reola is dedicated to helping her people any way she can. These days, that means teaching English to Hispanic migrant workers. But it wasn't so long ago it meant working as a coyote, smuggling illegals across the border.
When she's approached by an undercover cop asking her help to take down a cruel coyote who's cheating illegals, she has no choice but to agree—even though she'd be working with a man with the power to arrest and deport her show more people.
Joe Magadan is driven by hatred of the coyote who's exploiting the desperate and powerless immigrants, but he's having problems building a case against the slippery Ray Kohl. But with Chela's help, he'll have someone on the inside. He never expected her quiet courage would get inside the barriers surrounding his closed-off heart.
Working in close quarters breaks down their emotional walls and forges a bond. But when Joe learns Chela's deepest secret, the fallout could blow not only their carefully planned sting operation all to hell, but their fragile love.
This book has been previously published.
. show less
Tags
Member Reviews
Touch A Wild Heart by Vella Munn is about a mixed race daughter of a migrant worker and an orchard owner, and a white man who is determined to have her help in bringing down an unscrupulous coyote, a coyote being a person who smuggles illegal aliens.
At first, it almost seems that the character of Chela is overdone. She seems only to associate with migrant workers and has a marked distrust of anyone else. She is a teacher working with English as a second language students, and during the summer when the story takes place, she makes the rounds of migrant villages and orchards teaching the migrant children and adults alike. In the evenings she helps to coach the only soccer team in the local league in which the boys speak Spanish. She show more lives alone in a small home which she owns and there are very few people whom she allows to know where she lives.
When Madagan comes into her life, she is immediately suspicious of him. He practically commandeers her assistance, even though he boldly states that there are things he can’t tell her about himself or his goal, including whom he is working for. Chela agrees to help him because she knows what a dangerous man Kohl is and knows he has to be stopped.
Madagan’s plan is to have Chela contact Kohl and pay him to arrange to bring her supposed lover to her from Mexico City. Madagan has a friend in Mexico who is willing to take on the dangerous job of becoming Kohl’s human cargo, and Madagan is putting up the money with which Chela will pay the smuggler.
The author begins to allude to the fact that Kohl knows Chela’s secret and could expose her to everyone. A fact which seems to terrify her.
What kept me from giving this story 4 stars was just that I didn’t think Chela’s and Madagan’s secrets were worthy of all the drama. When they were finally revealed, her character was more understandable, yet I mostly just thought she was a goose and should get over herself.
But the book is quite readable, I think I stayed up rather late to finish it. show less
At first, it almost seems that the character of Chela is overdone. She seems only to associate with migrant workers and has a marked distrust of anyone else. She is a teacher working with English as a second language students, and during the summer when the story takes place, she makes the rounds of migrant villages and orchards teaching the migrant children and adults alike. In the evenings she helps to coach the only soccer team in the local league in which the boys speak Spanish. She show more lives alone in a small home which she owns and there are very few people whom she allows to know where she lives.
When Madagan comes into her life, she is immediately suspicious of him. He practically commandeers her assistance, even though he boldly states that there are things he can’t tell her about himself or his goal, including whom he is working for. Chela agrees to help him because she knows what a dangerous man Kohl is and knows he has to be stopped.
Madagan’s plan is to have Chela contact Kohl and pay him to arrange to bring her supposed lover to her from Mexico City. Madagan has a friend in Mexico who is willing to take on the dangerous job of becoming Kohl’s human cargo, and Madagan is putting up the money with which Chela will pay the smuggler.
The author begins to allude to the fact that Kohl knows Chela’s secret and could expose her to everyone. A fact which seems to terrify her.
What kept me from giving this story 4 stars was just that I didn’t think Chela’s and Madagan’s secrets were worthy of all the drama. When they were finally revealed, her character was more understandable, yet I mostly just thought she was a goose and should get over herself.
But the book is quite readable, I think I stayed up rather late to finish it. show less
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
52 Works 316 Members
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Touch a Wild Heart
- Original publication date
- 1984
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 13
- Popularity
- 1,777,692
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.00)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 2
- ASINs
- 1
