Almost 10 years after his last appearance, fictional Harlan County Sheriff Al Whitaker returns in W. Bruce Ayers’ second — and he says — last novel titled “A Christmas Dilemma” (published by LifeRich Publishing).

Unlike the first book, “Foreign Blood,”  this sequel shifts the focus from the resolute sheriff to mysterious Army Ranger Randall Cravens. A story built upon stark contrasts, “A Christmas Dilemma” sees an unlikely protagonist, Cravens, whose remarkable journey began under tragic circumstances as an illegal immigrant when he was just 3 years old. Having survived a harrowing monsoon that claimed the lives of his family in the Sonoran Desert, Cravens emerges as a combat-ready figure pulled from a CIA assignment in Afghanistan to thwart a catastrophic terrorist attack targeting a local mall. But he would not be alone in his fight against terror. He would be working along with the Harlan County Sheriff and his fine team as well as agents from the FBI, Homeland Security and even an older operative from Britain’s MI5.

In Ayers’ characteristic style, the story meanders in and out of mountainous Appalachia, chronicling a battle of ideologies between Cravens and a fervent terrorist, Ald al-Furud, who operates under the pseudonym Rasheed Shamali. Inspired by the same puritanical sect of Sunni Islam as Osama bin Laden, Ald al-Furud is on a mission to cause devastating harm to American lives. After Ald al-Furud believes he has killed Cravens, whose cover as a convert to Islam had been discovered, he is joined by four additional terrorists, and the nature of the planned attack and its location is changed. More importantly, Ald al-Furud’s role changes as well; it becomes pivotal to the new plan’s success. While Ald al-Furud and his counterparts are updating their plans, Cravens, who alone may know what the terrorist’s role may be and how to stop it, lay comatose in a Tennessee hospital

“A Christmas Dilemma” is a masterclass in character development, intricately weaving psychological complexity into the lives of its protagonists. The reader’s first impression in the beginning chapters of the book may be that it is a typical good versus evil, pre-scripted work. As they read further, however, the complexity of the characters begins to emerge, keeping the reader guessing about what comes next and asking when the book ends: what just happened?

This exciting conclusion to Sheriff Whitaker’s legacy promises to capture the hearts and minds of readers everywhere. The book is now available through major retailers and LifeRich Publishing.

W. Bruce Ayers s a retired community college president who served in higher education for over 45 years. Now at 81, Ayers has said “A Christmas Dilemma” will be his last novel. Many readers may come away from this tour de force hoping he will write another.