Nothing More Dangerous
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4.0 • 6 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
'This powerful, unforgettable crime novel is a coming-of-age book to rival some of the best, such as William Kent Krueger's Ordinary Grace or Larry Watson's Montana 1948 . . . A must-read.' Library Journal (starred review)
In a small town where loyalty is valued above all, defying unspoken rules can be deadly. A coming-of-age novel for fans of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter.
At fifteen, Boady Sanden dreams of being anywhere other than Jessup, Missouri. Then the Elgins move in across the road. Getting to know his new neighbours - a black family in a community where notions of "us" and "them" still carry weight - Boady is forced to rethink the world he took for granted.
Secrets hidden in plain sight begin to unfold. There's the mother consumed by loss of her husband, the neighbour who carries the wounds of a mysterious past, the quiet boss fighting a hidden battle.
But the biggest secret of all is the disappearance of Lida Poe, the African-American woman who keeps the books at the local factory. Although Boady has never met the missing woman, he discovers that the threads of her life are woven into the deepest fabric of his world.
As the mystery of Lida's fate plays out, Boady begins to see the stark lines of race and class that both bind and divide this small town - and he will be forced to choose sides.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in Jessup, Mo., in 1976, this tepid coming-of-age story, with a mystery element, from Edgar-finalist Eskens (The Life We Bury) centers on the relationship between Boady Sanden, an unhappy 15-year-old white boy, and Thomas Elgin, a black boy his own age who moves in with his family next door. Boady and Thomas hit it off after some initial awkwardness when Boady thoughtlessly uses the N-word. The boys' unremarkable escapades include encounters with the opposite sex. Meanwhile, Lida Poe, an African-American woman who worked in the purchasing department of Jessup's largest employer, a plastics producer, goes missing. Rumors circulate that Lida was involved in some financial chicanery and Thomas's father was brought in from Minnesota to try to straighten the business out. Eventually, Boady and Thomas run across a corpse and start playing detectives themselves. The action builds to a climax heavy on clich s. This is no To Kill a Mockingbird. Hopefully, Eskens will return to form next time.
