Indian Time

Rating:
Summary: Good story
Review: Courtesy of WWW.LOVEROMANCES.COM

A recently divorced woman encounters a potential love interest in INDIAN TIME, a novel by Mary Verdick, which brings up the question of an interracial relationship, and how different cultures can clash.

Liz Sawyer is a divorced woman with a twelve-year old daughter, Cokey. They are on a trip to visit her parents, the Farlows, who now own "The Whistling Winds", a small adobe ranch resort in New Mexico which they used to visit on vacations while Liz was growing up. Many happy memories are attached to this place, and Liz is looking forward to this mini-vacation. Her good friend, Maria, still lives close by, and it feels wonderful getting reacquainted with her longtime friend and her parents, the Valdezes.

Other interesting characters include two guests of the resort, Major Reginald Hall and Miss Bartley. Major Hall claims to have graduated from West Point and spends all his time digging for archeological artifacts at Husaka, one of the old abandoned pueblos. Miss Bartley is an elderly matron who appears to have a crush on the Major, and seems to have been brought up in an upper class, privileged environment. Both of them irritate Liz from time to time, but Cokey enjoys their company, constantly asking them questions.

However, there is one person who stands out. Clyde Hawkins works at the resort, helping out her parents in any way he can. By trade he's an artist, selling his artwork at Maria's gallery. Liz feels drawn to him, while Clyde has also noticed Liz and approaches her one day at the resort. There is one problem - Liz is finding herself questioning a lot of things about his culture, that of the Adobe Indians. She can't believe that both he and Maria take seriously the myths and legends of their people; superstitions that Liz laughs at and questions them on whether they truly believe these stories. Liz also shows her obvious repulsion toward a group of dancers at a festival, an act that does not go unnoticed by Clyde. Clyde tells Liz that his previous marriage broke up because of their clash in cultures, and Liz is confused on how she feels.

Maria warns Liz that Clyde is meant to be an artist, and cannot be distracted by a love interest, especially someone who is not of their ethnic background. Liz wonders if there is more to Maria's warnings than that of a concerned friend, but promptly ignores her advice. When Cokey's new pet cat disappears, Maria's warnings about the myth of Morning Star may be coming true, and that their lives may be in danger. But how could Liz truly believe that an ancient myth about a deceased Indian could be anything other than legend?

INDIAN TIME was a well-written book, but it lacked a few things. The book was too short, and it stands to reason why there was not enough room to develop the relationship between Clyde and Liz. While the other characters appear to be fully-developed in detail, especially that of Major Hall and Miss Bartley, the author did not spend as much time creating a realistic romance between the two main characters. There were a few romantic scenes between them, but this reviewer found it hard to believe there was any chemistry. This reviewer believes the book was aimed toward the young adult audience, and in that case, the lack of any real romance makes sense. However, this reviewer had a hard time believing that there was anything real going on between Clyde and Liz. On the other hand, the mystery behind the missing cat, and other adventures that follow, were well done. The author could have used another fifty pages or so to make this a perfect romance. There is definite promise in this author's future, and this reviewer gives INDIAN TIME three and a half stars.