Two spies on opposite sides of the war should not find
solace in each other. Yet the first day he met her, Hawk
knew that this girl would be a part of his life forever. The
young girl had clearly never killed anyone, though she put
up a good front. Had him on a mission saving the lives of
children bred and trained into enemy spies. Her strength and
courage astounded him. For years they worked against one
another, always aware of where the other one was. Adrian
never expected that Owl, as she was called, would grow into
a beauty that would rival his loyalty for his heart. Until
the day she shot him.
Justine DeCabrillac had been trained since she was a girl by
the best of them to be a spy for the French. Now that the
war is over it is strangely London that she calls home.
Hoping to see Adrian again, and maybe this time make
something of the love that she found so long ago in his
arms. But someone has been stalking her through the streets
of London. With nowhere else to turn Justine knows that she
must flee to the only man who has ever been her friend.
Wounded and dying, Justine hopes that Hawk will be able to
save her in time.
Justine has been stabbed with a knife. No ordinary knife at
that, but one custom made by Adrian himself. Who would want
Justine dead? More importantly who would want to frame
Adrian for the deed? The number of enemies that they have
accumulated through the years is rather high and figuring
out just who is behind the attack will be difficult.
However, between the two of them they should be able to find
her would be killer and place death at their door. Hopefully
before it's too late for them.
From beginning to end story of Owl and Hawk captivated me. I
loved walking through their lives and getting to know their
history. Joanna Bourne did a fantastic job of separating
past from present and keeping my attention throughout all
the transitions. The mystery and intrigue combined
beautifully to add to the story instead of overwhelming it
as other books seem to do. I found Adrian aka "Hawk" to be
magnificent! I really liked the fact that he was not
portrayed as a beefy hunk, but lean and muscular as a fencer
should be. I simply adored how Bourne unraveled Adrian's
depths throughout the story. In the beginning I thought that
he was rather cold and jaded for a boy, yet as the story
grew so did he. Justine, or Owl, was everything an
illustrious French spy should be. The strength of her
character was shown in the beginning of THE BLACK HAWK, yet
I felt that she too grew as the pages flew by. Bourne has
created characters to be remembered and a story that every
reader will love!
Attacked on a rainy London street, veteran spy Justine DeCabrillac knows only one man can save her: Hawker, her oldest friend . . . her oldest enemy. London's crawling with hidden assassins and someone is out to frame Hawker for murder. The two spies must work together to find who's out to destroy them...
Excerpt
Nobody noticed her dying. Every door was closed. Every curtain drawn. She passed low walls, punctuated by stone posts. Then she was at Number Seven. She knew the way even when she couldn’t see very well. The door was painted green. The knocker was a bronze rose. She covered it with her bloody hand and banged down hard and went back to holding her blood in. She leaned on the door, her forehead against the green paint. It is strange that it does not hurt. I have been in pain so many times. This final time it does not hurt at all. Really, she was not ready to die. She had a long list of things to do. The door opened and she had nothing to lean upon. The ground crested upward to meet her. The rug was scratchy on her cheek, surprisingly hard. She felt herself rolled over. She was looking up at a woman, not much more than a girl. She didn’t know this one, did she? Hands pushed her own hands away and came down strong around her arm, at the wound. Someone shouted. She could tell it was shouts from the urgency of it. It sounded distant in her ear. When she opened her eyes again, he was there. Black hair and a thin face, dark as a Gypsy. Serious eyes. She said, "Hello, ’Awker." "Hello, Justine," Hawker said.