A Killing in This Town - A Novel

Olympia Vernon

Beschreibung

“In language reminiscent of Toni Morrison and William Faulkner, Vernon weaves a powerful yet dreamlike story of our not-too-distant past.”—Booklist 
 
 
There is a menace in the woods of Bullock County, Mississippi, and not only for the black man destined to be lynched when a white boy comes of age. The white men who work at the plant are in danger, too, but they refuse to heed Earl Thomas’s urgent message that the factory is slowly killing them, turning a deaf ear to the black pastor. Thomas knows he should try to deliver the message again, but he hears the blood of his murdered friend calling to him from the ground, and fears that he will be the next black man to be dragged to his death.  
 
Adam Pickens, a white boy now on the eve of his thirteenth birthday, isn’t sure he wants to wear the garb being readied for him by the Klan seamstress, or participate in the town’s horrific ritual. It is only when Gill Mender—a man haunted by past sins—returns that redemption seems possible.  
 
A transfixing and pivotal work of fiction, A Killing in This Town exposes the fragile hierarchy of a society poisoned by hatred, and shows the power of an individual to stand up to the demons of history and bring the cycle of violence to an end. 
 
 
 
“At once emotionally wrenching and rewarding to read.”—The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

Verfügbar seit: 01.12.2007.

Drucklänge: 260 Seiten.

Weitere Bücher, die Sie mögen werden

Wish You Well

David Baldacci

David Baldacci's million-copy-plus bestseller is now a feature film available on DVD and video on demand!  Precocious 12-year-old Louisa Mae Cardinal lives in the hectic New York City of 1940 with her family. Then tragedy strikes--and Lou and her younger brother, Oz, must go with their invalid mother to live on their great-grandmother's farm in the Virginia mountains. Suddenly Lou finds herself coming of age in a new landscape, making her first true friend, and experiencing adventures tragic, comic, and audacious. But the forces of greed and justice are about to clash over her new home...and as their struggle is played out in a crowded Virginia courtroom, it will determine the future of two children, an entire town, and the mountains they love.

Zum Buch

Last Train to Waverley

Malcolm Archibald

To commemorate the involvement of Scots Regiments in WWI "Last Train to Waverley" is set in France during one week in March 1918. The Germans launched their final major offensive of the war and pushed the British back thirty miles. One unit of the 20 Royal Scots were cut off. This book follows the fortunes of this unit, and the personal dilemmas of Douglas Ramsay, the officer in charge. Lieutenant Ramsay returns from hospital to the front line in March 1918. Before he has time to get to know his men, the Germans attack and break through the British lines. He is left in an isolated position with a handful of men. Most of his men are very young but he has two veterans in Sergeant Flockhart and Corporal McKim. Unfortunately Ramsay and Flockhart have a bad history, the details of which come out in a series of flashbacks throughout the book. Ramsay leads the survivors of the 20th Royal Scots back through the German lines to try and reach the always moving British positions. He is aided by Flockhart and McKim as he encounters various German formations on the way, including a crack Prussian platoon. As the Royals find their way back, the back stories of the sergeant and the officer are revealed through a series of flashbacks that show the social tensions and difference in lifestyles of the period. The book climaxes when Ramsay leads his men through the town of Albert in Picardy. The German advance slows as the soldiers loot the town. Ramsay's men reach the British lines and a machine gun ambush wipes out the Prussian Guards.

Zum Buch

American Heroes: Ameilia Earhart

Lori Van Pelt

As a tomboy growing up in Kansas, Amelia Earhart delighted in trying new and risky things, once she even built a roller-coaster in her grandparent’s backyard. In her 20s she fell in love with flight while watching an aerobatics exhibition and grew even more enthralled when she took her first airplane ride. At age 24 she earned her pilot’s wings and in 1928 took part in the transatlantic "Friendship" flight. In 1937 she married publisher George Putnam who managed her career and promoted her zealously, ensuring her status as the world’s best-known aviatrix. The next year she soloed the Atlantic, afterward receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross and began championing the efforts of women to explore careers traditionally held by men. Tragically, just days before her 40th birthday her plane vanished en route to a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean as she neared the end of her round-the-world journey. After an exhaustive search, no trace of the plane or Amelia was ever found.

Zum Buch

The Cavalier in the Yellow Doublet

Arturo Perez-Reverte

In the cosmopolitan world of seventeenth-century Madrid, Captain Alatriste and his protégé Íñigo are fish out of water. But theking is determined to keep the captain on retainer and—as a veteran with no other livelihood—he must remain, even as his“employment” brings him uncomfortably close to old enemies. While Íñigo pursues an ill-fated romance with the lovely but sinisterAngélica de Alequézar, Alatriste begins an affair with the famous, and famously beautiful, actress María Castro. However, he soondiscovers that the cost of her favors may be more than he bargained  for, especially when he and Íñigo become unwilling participants in acourt conspiracy that could lead them both to the gallows. …

Zum Buch

The Sword of the Templars

Paul Christopher

After a lifetime on the front lines, Army Ranger John Holliday has resigned himself to ending his career teaching at West Point. But when his uncle passes away, Holliday discovers a mysterious medieval sword-wrapped in Adolf Hitler's personal battle standard. Then someone burns down his uncle's house in an attempt to retrieve the sword, and Holliday realizes that he's being drawn into a war that has been fought for centuries.Accompanied by his adventurous niece Peggy, Holliday must delve into the past and piece together the puzzle that was his uncle's life and his involvement with the enigmatic warriors known as the Knights Templar. But his search for answers soon becomes a race against ruthless, cunning opponents willing to die for their cause...and to kill Holliday for daring to uncover their past.

Zum Buch

The Moonstone

Wilkie Collins

Published in 1868, "The Moonstone" is often considered one of the first, if not the first, detective novels in the English language. Penned by Wilkie Collins, this engrossing tale revolves around the theft of an enormous diamond named the Moonstone. This diamond, stolen from an Indian temple and later bequeathed to Rachel Verinder on her eighteenth birthday, goes missing under mysterious circumstances. The narrative is distinguished by its shifting perspectives, with multiple characters providing their viewpoints in a series of first-person accounts. Sergeant Cuff, a famed detective, is called upon to solve the mystery. The novel delves deep into themes of colonialism, British imperialism, and the cultural repercussions of stealing treasured artifacts from colonized nations.

Zum Buch