Book Review of Native Intelligence by Lorna Rainey

[elleng]

Book Review of Lorna Rainey's Native Intelligence

Lorna Rainey has quite an amazing heritage - Her great-grandfather the Hon. Joseph Hayne Rainey was America's first Black Congressman. On her maternal side, she is of Choctaw descent of the Mississippi Band. She created a talent agency, The Talent Express, representing film, TV, and other show business projects.
She pays homage to her Choctaw heritage in this exciting adventure whose backdrop is the smoldering remains of Ground Zero - after 9/11.
A beautiful Choctaw Indian, Nita Dawson works at a car rental agency. If you remember at this time frame, the car rental agencies were being swamped by people who didn't want to take a chance with an airplane ride, and would rather drive. Nita encounters a customer returning a car, and her Native Intelligence, her instincts, tell her to look at the car this man returned...it is a sty - before the clean-up person does his thing, Nita finds some evidence that will point to another terror that may face the country, reeling from the attacks of 9/11.
When Nita's best friend dies, she becomes a suspect...but also becomes a target for the potential terrorists to get the evidence back.
Nita calls the one person she trusts above all else - an old love, Philip 'Darkeyes' Thames, in Mississippi. She needs help, he immediately comes to her aid. And he is as good looking as he is honorable.
The terrorist cell, from a completely different source you'd think due to the 9/11 horror, plots an equally insidious attack. The head of this cell, will stop at nothing to stop any possibility of exposure.
The dignity of the Choctaw Nation is always at the forefront. The Culture is shown, and through the eyes of the protagonists, we see the pride our heritages give us - that make us who we are -
To never forget where we came from, even as we move forward.
This book touched me because my father started a 3 month hospital stay right after 9/11 - As we all were paralyzed with fear...the hospital was next to the tallest building and there were all sorts of contigencies - what ifs...so we were in an intensive care room in a life and death situation while the country was reeling from a life and death situation.
Ms. Rainey is an excellent writer, and is working on a film version of Native Intelligence - also in the works is a bio on her groundbreaking great-grandfather, Congressman Rainey.
We are all proud of our heritages. It is wonderful to read accurate accounts of different peoples, and Native Intelligence will take you on a wild ride of breakneck speed.
Excellent!
ellen george