Guest Review: Night Hawk by Beverly Jenkins

Posted October 12, 2011 by Book Binge Guest Blogger in Reviews | 1 Comment

Publisher: Avon, Harper Collins

Judith’s review of Night Hawk by Beverly Jenkins.

Outlaw. Preacher. Night Hawk. He has had many names.

Since Ian Vance’s beloved wife was murdered. Years ago, the hardened bounty hunter knows he’ll never feel love or tenderness again, so he’s made it his mission to ensure others get their justice. But when he’s charged with delivering a sharp-eyed beauty to the law, Ian can’t help but feel he may still have something left to lose.

Orphaned at twelve, Maggie Freeman has always found her way out of trouble. But now there’s a vigilante mob at her back who would like nothing more than to see her hang for a crime she didn’t commit. Maggie may have to accept help for the first time in her life . . .even if it’s from the one man standing between her and freedom.

A brand new novel that deals overtly with racial prejudice and the plight of women of color in the post Civil War era. Not only was Maggie 1/2 Native American, her father was black. With the death of her father and mother in her early teens, Maggie had to somehow survive. She was given every possible horror job that no other human would do, and found that if it was particularly heinous, she was told to do it. Now she has been arrested for the accidental death of a man who was attacking and molesting her–he hit his head when she struck him and died–and expected to be hanged. The deputy marshall given the responsibility for seeing that she reached Kansas City by train was himself 1/2 Scots and 1/2 black, but his reputation was legendary–“The Preacher” was one of the most famous bounty hunters. Now Maggie’s life and that of Marshall Ian Bigelow were inextricably linked and their story moves forward from there. It is a compelling look at the racial prejudice that was rampant in the American West and while women and men of color were given the vote already in Wyoming territory, there was still tremendous resentment toward Native peoples and blacks, orientals and hispanics. Not a nice world, but in the midst of that mess of human misery and anger comes a love story that is like a break in the clouds, and it shines brightly. Maggie is a woman of incredible determination and a person who, even with the social constraints she had to live with, never allowed others to speak down to her. She suffered for that, but she kept on anyway.

Perhaps my overriding sense while reading this novel was that the world has not changed in so many ways, especially in regards to racial prejudice. It is a constant source of amazement to me that when encountering people of color, so many respond negatively to what are really different social norms, issues of the way families are viewed or configured, varying power structures within ethnic societies, etc. Rather than take the time to figure out and respect those differences, people just reject anything that is not understood and it is all collected under the heading “race.” The color of the skin is the least defining issue between humans, yet we as individuals and societies take the “lazy” way out and simply reject those with whom we differ, with whom we don’t see “eye to eye.”

In this novel Ms Jenkins has opened the literary heavens and allowed readers to pierce the darkness of racial prejudice and the wholesale rejection of an individual based on race and family origin. It is a testimony of the power of love to move beyond the surface issues and delve into the wonder of connecting with another person on the deeply emotional, inner spirit level–a level that makes possible respect, cherishing, and that knowledge that one is truly unique in the eyes of another. This is a marvelous story and one I feel privileged to have read. You don’t want to miss this one.

I give it a rating of 4.75 out of 5

You can read more from Judith at Dr J’s Book Place.

This book is available from Avon. You can buy it here or here in e-format.


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One response to “Guest Review: Night Hawk by Beverly Jenkins

  1. I love Beverly Jenkins historical novels. I didn’t know she had a new one out. I’ll have to look for this. Thank you for the review!

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