Barbara J. Hamby

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Book Review

I just finished reading a novel that may give me nightmares. It comes so close to what I suspect is truth that I find it very scary. Redemption by Lee Jackson, an American writer presently residing in New Zealand, is set in a tiny town in Montana, a most unlikely spot to become the center of national attention in the “war on terror.” The protagonist is an apparently falsely-accused terrorist whose life is totally ruined by the results of that error.

As I write this, it occurs to me to wonder why the writer is living in New Zealand. Is he as afraid of what is happening in this country as his novel suggests? Or is he just as disgusted as many of us observing political activities in this country have become? Or, the cynic in me wonders, is the tax situation just better there?

Perhaps I’ll attempt to contact him and ask. Most writers are flattered to hear from readers and many will respond. Before I started writing I was intimidated by the perceived “status” of writers. A few years of limited publication of my work disabused me of that attitude. Whether or not a writer ever makes any money or achieves any stature, it soon becomes obvious that writers suffer so much rejection that any attention is greatly appreciated.

Whether or not, as a reader, you buy into the premise of this novel, action moves it along and the story offers food for thought.