Most authors include at least some autobiographical element in their work. In The Redeemer’s Vow, third in the Redemption Wall series, Marcus Miller makes clear from the start that his wild tale of adventure, government missions and off-the-books drug-smuggling action is based loosely on his own experiences. 

The story begins in South Florida, from which Luke Canfield, our protagonist, is dispatched on missions by a shadowy outfit known only as “The Organization”. Run by Lucius McGee, this group’s main objective is to find and recover kidnapped persons especially in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mr. Canfield is recruited, because he exhibits nearly unmatched skill in the field and when “negotiating” surrender of hostages. The negotiations usually end in death for the abductors and all associated with them.

But Canfield’s skills go beyond those sanctioned by known and secretive government entities. He also uses his boats, the Wayward and Wayward II, along with a knowledge of how to operate planes that he acquires later, to make lucrative drug runs between Columbia and the southern U.S. These two objectives, to find and save abducted people and deliver contraband, continue to mix and match in various well-described locations from Haiti to Cuba and the often dangerous waterways in between. 

The stories are similar, and usually end in incredible violence with rigged explosives, “dust” blown through straw that is capable of rendering one unresponsive, or very accurate gunfire. After Canfield’s previous life experiences, detailed in the first 2 books but summarized in the initial 20 pages of The Redeemer’s Vow, he has very little belief in the ability of a criminal to be righted, and chooses therefore to cancel him as soon as the possibility presents itself. Each vignette is interesting, but they largely feel the same with only the names and places changing. It almost hast the feel, as one might suspect, of someone sitting at a table and relaying his crazy experiences to buddies over drinks.

I would recommend this story to anyone seeking a read that does not require much thinking, but which can take the mind on some amazing journeys. As mentioned, the violence is almost over the top, though at least usually justifiable, so one must also be ok with that element. If these terms are acceptable, then the reader will find 500 relatively readable pages that take them to a little-known world that, while having taken place mostly in the mid-70s, still feels alive and relevant.