The AP likes Willie
The Associated Press review of Evergreen, the eighth novel in the Willie Black series and my 18th novel overall, came out yesterday, and it was very pleasing. With any series, there is the fear that the latest installment will be met with something less than enthusiasm. It is my hope that each of the Willie Black mysteries will be a good read on its own, even if the reader has no previous knowledge of Willie. There is the fear that reviewers will not pay it much attention, being, in this case, the eighth book with the same protagonist.
That is why Bruce DeSilva's review for the Associated Press (which has a pretty big audience) is so encouraging. Bruce is a great mystery writer, much respected in the journalism and mystery writing communities.
Here it is:
By BRUCE DESILVA
The Associated Press
This
cover image released by Permanent Press shows "Evergreen," a release
by Howard Owen. (Permanent Press via AP)
“Evergreen,” by Howard
Owen (Permanent Press)
When Willie Black was 15
months old, his father, Artie Lee, was killed in an apparent automobile
accident. That’s all Willie — police reporter for a Richmond, Virgina,
newspaper — knows about his dad. He’s never been curious about the man.
That changes when
Willie’s aunt on his father’s side summons him to her deathbed. She’s been
tending Artie’s grave in Evergreen, an abandoned cemetery, and now it’s up to
Willie to inherit the chore.
Readers of Howard Owen’s
underappreciated Willie Black novels already know that Willie’s father was
black, that his mother was white, and that they weren’t allowed to marry in
1960s Virginia. But in “Evergreen,” the eighth book in the series, they’ll grow
as curious as Willie about what really put Artie in his grave.
Finding out is no easy
task.
Willie’s mother won’t say
and urges Willie to drop it.
Artie’s old pals
reminisce about his saxophone playing but clam up about his death.
The police chief says
there were rumors that the car crash was no accident but has no details.
Old newspaper files are
no help. The death of a black man didn’t merit a news story in 1961 Virginia.
Patiently, Willie
squeezes a few minor details from townsfolk old enough to remember Artie. Each
time he gets a scrap of information, he circles back, telling the witnesses
what he knows and teasing out a bit more. He does this so skillfully that it is
a pleasure to watch him work.
Eventually, he learns
that Artie’s death was connected to a Ku Klux Klan rally, a car bombing and a
series of betrayals by friends and relatives who were threatened by racist
police officers unless they talked. The result is a conclusion that is both
wrenching and satisfying.
Readers seeking the
thrills of most popular crime fiction won’t find it here. Instead, they will
find a textured, emotionally charged tale about coming to terms with growing up
biracial in America told in the precise language of a writer who honed his
craft during 44 years in the newspaper business.
___
Bruce DeSilva , winner of the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award,
is the author of the Mulligan crime novels including “The Dread Line.”
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