Erica Johnson, Washington, DC elementary school teacher
and activist, is on a mission. She wants to call
attention to the futility of the War in Iraq and get the
funding redirected toward education so she interrupts a C-
SPAN televised Senate hearing to make her point, landing
herself in jail. Mark Newman, US senator from a southern
state and Gulf war hero, is intrigued by Ms. Johnson from
the minute he lays eyes on her. Never mind that he
doesn't agree with her position on the war and generally
avoids her kind: T-shirt wearin', head-wrapping, no-meat-
eating, animal-loving liberal mouthpieces. Believing that
firsthand experience of his hometown and the people he
represents might help her understand folks who take pride
in their children serving their country, Mark extends an
invitation to Erica to accompany him as he campaigns for
re-election in his home state.
Unable to decline Mark's very public invitation without
looking insincere or maybe even cowardly, Erica agrees to
travel South. Perhaps she can teach the good senator a
few lessons of her own. She is attracted to him, although
she'd die before admitting that a white Republican, war-
mongering, environment-hating, gun-carrying conservative
has caught her African-American eye. And she may have to...
die. Since their televised standoff, she's begun
receiving mysterious missives that suggest someone is not
altogether pleased with this interracial coupling. Is it
the work of misguided constituents, angry militants, or
Mark's competition, and just how far will the unknown
source of these nasty grams go?
UNFINISHED BUSINESS is a smart, savvy, thought-provoking
take on interracial romance. Ms. Langhorne pulls no
punches and few of today's interracial stereotypes go
unexplored albeit it with aplomb and laughter. By the
end, it is hard not to cheer for Erica and Mark's union,
no matter what your politics. I found it interesting that
the closest friends of both characters, whether members of
the urban DC community or of the southern enclave Mark &
Erica visit, had few reservations about them seeking love
outside their race. Not that they should have. Just one
more stereotype turned on its head.
Opposites attracting is a common theme in romance. For
those who want a bit more than the average romance read, I
highly recommend UNFINISHED BUSINESS.
Black activist Erica Johnson wears her causes on her
sleeve—literally. With her class of beloved fourth graders
depending on her to represent their concerns, Erica's ready
to confront golden-boy conservative senator Mark Newman. And
she's willing to suffer through a night in jail and a battle
of wits with a real-life war hero, if it will help get the
children the money they need.
Mark Newman's a
worthy adversary. But there's a more human side to the
ambitious politician with the dreamy blue eyes—from the
physical pain of his war wound, to his grief over his wife's
death. Though they disagree on every hot-button issue, Erica
and Mark can't resist their attraction or ignore the
unfinished business between them—much to the delight of
those trying to use this new relationship against the
senator. And when Erica starts receiving some particularly
vicious hate mail she has to decide if this handsome dream
from the right/wrong side of the political fence is
worth risking her heart for . . . and maybe her life.
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