The protagonist of this novel, Lilliana Swope learned from her mother that the calls of a night bird signaled hope for comfort ahead. In 1941, she flees an abusive husband for the home of her only living relative, Great Aunt Hyacinth, who lives in the small foothill town of No Creek, North Carolina. They decide to open a library for the whole town, but the Ku Klux Klan wants it to be for whites only. “Gohlke’s efforts to address real-life issues and the evils of racism is laudable and shows religious truths in this Christian historical-fiction novel. Night Bird Calling also interlaces themes of redemption, friendship.”– Booklist. “Gohlke delivers a gripping story about the trauma of domestic and church abuse set in 1941 Appalachia. . . . Gohlke creates a cast readers will love, and the strong themes of the bonds of family forged outside one’s kin resonate. The author’s fans will love this.” -- Publishers Weekly.” Cathy Gohlke examines spousal abuse and restored faith in Night Bird Calling, an engrossing novel about a woman’s flight to rural Appalachia. . . . Night Bird Calling is a sumptuous, textured ode to small-town relationships. For all of their intricate secrets and sins, No Creek and its battlegrounds yield to become a beautiful refuge.” -- Foreword Reviews. The author, Cathy Gohlke, has homes in Northern Virginia and the Jersey shore. This is her ninth book, four of which have won Christy Awards.
Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House, 2020. 431 pages with Discussion Questions. Trade paperback.