Judith Miller, Daylight Comes

Daylight Comes

Judith Miller

Bethany, November 2006, $12.99

ISBN: 0764200003

In 1882, Truth Wyman has remained in her hometown Nicodemus, Kansas, while her husband Moses has served as the Graham County representative at the statewide Republican Convention for several months. He is the first black man to hold that honor, and now he is about to embark on another mark of distinction, having been nominated by the party as the first black man to run for state auditor. A pregnant Truth is stunned, as she does not wish to leave her family or her home to relocate, albeit temporarily, in Topeka. She struggles with her choices.

After a European tour, Macia Boyle has returned home to Nicodemus' thriving twin prairie town Hill City, thinking of the young men she left behind before she crossed the ocean. The blacksmith Jeb Malone wants to court her, and she finds him quite handsome. The store owner's son Garrett Johnson is also a keeper. She struggles with her choices.

The third book Freedom's Path historical novel (see FIRST DAWN and MORNING SKY) is a strong entry in a series that provides refreshing insight into the lives of African-American heritage on the Great Plains in the early 1880's. The storyline focuses on the two females (and to a lesser degree a newcomer); each has tough decisions to make. Truth fails to live up to her name, as she turns manipulative to get her husband to drop his run for state office, while Macia must choose one and leave the other behind. Readers will enjoy this fine Americana tale, in which choices are not often easy, but honesty rather than cruelty goes a long way to living with one's decisions afterward.