Larry Karp
|
The Ragtime Kid
Type of edition: hardback
|
Fifteen-year-old Brun Campbell hears Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag, then runs off from his home in Oklahoma to take piano lessons from Joplin in Sedalia, Missouri. Coming into town late at night, Brun finds the body of a young woman by the side of the road, panics, thoughtlessly pockets a couple of clues, and runs off. Next day, he locates Joplin and persuades him to be his piano teacher, and then finds work with John Stark, the 58-year-old owner of a music store.When Edward Fitzgerald, who befriended Brun his first night in town, is arrested for the murder of the young woman, Brun is certain he's innocent. But if the boy shows anyone the clues he found with the woman's body, he'll implicate Scott Joplin, and probably himself as well. Those clues become Brun's albatross, spurring him to exonerate Fitzgerald without putting himself or Joplin in Fitzgerald's place.
Girls and women are a mystery to Brun, and the behavior of a thirteen-year-old girl with extreme religious conviction, a couple of mischievous prostitutes, and an attractive young woman with ambitions and a hint of scarlet in her past complicate Brun's pursuit of the killer. Eventually, the boy gets in over his head, and John Stark decides to set aside his age and respectable position in town to join forces with Brun. But in the end, Walter Overstreet, doctor, mayor, and closet alcoholic, may decide the outcome.
This thought-provoking crime novel, populated by real people and incorporating well-documented historical facts, explores aspects of the legacy of slavery in America which still cuts deep, and cuts both ways.
|
First, Do No Harm
Type of edition: Hardback
|
In 1943, teenager Leo Firestone investigates some troubling behavior by his father, Samuel, a legendary physician in their small NJ town. The results are disastrous. Not until sixty years later, when Leo's curious son Martin untangles the threads, are matters set straight."A triumph of storytelling...that will hold readers as spellbound as a terrifying tale told round the campfire." (Booklist starred review)
Page maintained by webcrew6@sinc-ic.org .
Last updated 10/23/06.
Questions about the web site? Write to websister@sinc-ic.org .
Unless otherwise specified, all content is copyright © 2006 Sisters in Crime, Internet Chapter.