The Secrets of Newberry
Victor McGlothin
Grand Central, Jun 21 2010, $13.99
ISBN: 9780446178136
In 1955 in Newberry in St. Bernard Parrish, Louisiana, mulatto Ivory “Bones” Arcineaux and black Hampton Bynote meet in the antebellum Twin Cedars Casino, an illegal gambling house. They team up as cat burglars in the nearby French Quarter. Back in St. Bernard their occupation allows them the best of women as they can afford to indulge. That changes at the Funky Butt Dance Halls when Bynote meets and falls in love with Magnolia Holiday. However, their latest robbery goes bad leaving New Orleans Councilman Huey Boytte dead; killed by Bones. NOPD tries to prove the black partner did the homicide, but settle on a lesser felon that leaves Bones free and Hampton doing fourteen months.
In 1971, Hampton and Magnolia raise a family together as he has gone scared straight since being released from prison. He loves Magnolia and their two daughters. However, his quiet family world is threatened when his former cat burger partner arrives with a job for the two of the. With Bones also comes violent criminals and even nastier people who menace his loved ones.
The setting makes for a fabulous historical thriller that uses crime to enable the reader to compare two eras (near the beginning and near the end of the active Civil Rights movement). The audience sees how various subcultures perceive relationships in 1955 and in 1971 as Victor McGlothin purposely uses stereotypical beliefs to enhance the deep story line.
Harriet Klausner
The Secrets of Newberry
Victor McGlothin
Grand Central, Jun 21 2010, $13.99
ISBN: 9780446178136
In 1955 in Newberry in St. Bernard Parrish, Louisiana, mulatto Ivory “Bones” Arcineaux and black Hampton Bynote meet in the antebellum Twin Cedars Casino, an illegal gambling house. They team up as cat burglars in the nearby French Quarter. Back in St. Bernard their occupation allows them the best of women as they can afford to indulge. That changes at the Funky Butt Dance Halls when Bynote meets and falls in love with Magnolia Holiday. However, their latest robbery goes bad leaving New Orleans Councilman Huey Boytte dead; killed by Bones. NOPD tries to prove the black partner did the homicide, but settle on a lesser felon that leaves Bones free and Hampton doing fourteen months.
In 1971, Hampton and Magnolia raise a family together as he has gone scared straight since being released from prison. He loves Magnolia and their two daughters. However, his quiet family world is threatened when his former cat burger partner arrives with a job for the two of the. With Bones also comes violent criminals and even nastier people who menace his loved ones.
The setting makes for a fabulous historical thriller that uses crime to enable the reader to compare two eras (near the beginning and near the end of the active Civil Rights movement). The audience sees how various subcultures perceive relationships in 1955 and in 1971 as Victor McGlothin purposely uses stereotypical beliefs to enhance the deep story line.
Harriet Klausner
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