Harriet Klausner's Review Archive
When the World Bank selected African-American Julius Wellingon to the Board of Directors, they set history with his appointment. A proud Julius asks his niece Katherine to join the honors in Kenya.
In Kenyatta, Julius' daughter JaLisa misses the celebration due to earlier food poisoning. In the bathroom, N Zee uses a "wet cloth" to render Katherine unconscious. She and her reluctant accomplice take Katherine to their leader, the terrorist Jackson Shugaa so they can use their captive to influence her father Julius for they mistake Katherine for JaLisa. Jackson knows his staff and plans to return Katherine to her "father". However, Jackson's efforts to rid himself of the foreigner go astray forcing him to keep her in the jungle where they fall in love.
THE RELUCTANT CAPTIVE is an entertaining ethnic romance that uses recent headlines as a backdrop to a wonderful romance and more important to the plight of the Kenyan people. The story line mixes the two subplots together in a clever decisive way so the audience can relish a strong tale, but not be overwhelmed with the situation in Africa. Sub-genre fans that want depth to their story line will find Joyce Jackson's novel a very insightful tale.