Glass House

Set in contemporary New Orleans, this is a compelling story about a young woman whose return to her hometown is undermined by old fears and new hatreds. Recovering from a failed marriage and haunted by the murder of her parents by two black men, Thea Tamborella moves back from New England into a mansion in the Garden District bequeathed to her by her aunt. Still at the mansion is Delzora Monroe, her aunt's housekeeper, whose son Burgess was Thea's childhood playmate until he was banished from the house. Now a rich and powerful drug dealer, Burgess is determined to rebuild the Convent Street Housing Project. Drawn to Burgess, Thea begins to understand the fear and distrust blacks feel in reaction to the white community's suspicion and prejudice. Racism lurks beneath the well-bred facades of Thea's old friends, her high school boyfriend Bobby Buchanan and well-to-do Sandy and Lyle Hindermann. Lyle has become a white supremacist fanatic and--when a white police officer is killed--a vigilante. The tensions between the two communities escalate beyond control until another fatality occurs. Shattered by the crossfire of raging hatred, Thea must come to terms with her parents' deaths, her conflicted feelings toward Burgess and her gradual recognition of the real enemy. This cautionary tale (which was inspired by real events) is a powerful, heartbreaking evocation of an American tragedy. Wiltz wrote The Killing Circle and other mysteries and was coauthor of Backlash: Race and the American Dream. (Jan.)