"gritty, realistic, unforgettable!"
Just in time for Summer reads, here is a chance to find
some new voices you might have missed. One of the best
finds is Judie Aitken. She is an extremely talented
writer, drawing strongly on her Native American
background. It's through this pride, this passion she is
able to write vivid books with strong Lakota backgrounds
that carry the reader into a brilliantly envisioned world
of the Lakota Indian Reservation. Secret Shadows was a
2004 Reviewers International Award Winner, as well as
winning other awards for her books, Love Beyond Time, A
Place Called Hope and Distant Echoes. Once you read one of
her books you will be scrambling to get the others. In Secret Shadows, Dane White Eagle is an undercover FBI
agent. He is hot on the trail of drug dealers using the
Lakota Reservation as a cover for other dirty dealings.
Dane is furious they're peddling the stuff to his people
and wishes to stop it. As he is drawing nearer to the
Ecstasy dealers, they move to put a stop to his meddling.
Dane returns home to find his 13-year-olds sister, who was
dying of cancer, shot with his gun. Dr. Claire Colby is covering the graveyard shift at the
emergency room when Dane's sisters is rushed there. She is
the one who pronounces her dead. Dane is arrested for the
sister's death and Claire is called to testify against
him. With the strength of her testimony Dane is sent to
prison. Their paths cross again as Dane is knifed by an
inmate and she must save him. Later, after Claire takes a
job on the Cold Creek Lakota Reservation, she is surprised
to learn Dane is there. He has been freed on a
technicality. Dane is more determined than ever to find the drug lab and
the true killers of his sister. Claire becomes involved
with Dane's investigation, and finds herself falling for
the brooding man, even though she is not certain whether
he is innocent or not. Still, she cannot deny the dreams
she has begun to have, begun to share with Dane. As Dane
and Claire fight to end this evil plaguing the
reservation, they cannot fight the passions that arise
between them. The book is simply unforgettable. I read hundreds of books
each year, and maybe only a dozen will stay in my heart
and mind, that ten years later I will touch the spine of
that book and recall all the details so vividly. Secret
Shadows is just that sort of a book. Aitken is just not a
well-researched writer, she is a Native America, proud of
her heritage and it's that power that gives her the magic
ability to pen such strong tales depicting the beauty and
grim realities of the reservation and the people who have
often been denied their rights, their voice. Her prose are
fluid, moving the reader through the mystery, the passion. So take advantage of Berkley Summer push to introduce you
to new writers. It's just doesn't get any better than this. Posted July 1, 2005
Reviewed by Deborah Macgillivray
Posted January 13, 2007
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Dane White Eagle is an undercover FBI agent, searching for the drug dealers who have been poisoning the residents of the Cold Creek Lakota Reservation with designer narcotics. Dr. Claire Colby works te graveyard emergency shift at the hospital, patching up the walking wounded who appear night after night. When tragedy brings them together, they realize they share a dedication to their work -- to making life better for those on the reservation. But since the fateful night of their meeting, Dane and Claire share other things as well -- like strange dreams of the legendary trickster spirit, Iktomi. And a growing passion for each other that intertwines thier souls and hearts -- and may lead them into mortal danger...
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