Under a Dark Summer Sky

In her standout debut, Lafaye takes a historical event—the devastating hurricane that hit Islamorada, Fla., on Labor Day in 1935—and weaves it into a richly imagined tale that also makes a bold statement on race relations in the ’30s. Missy, a black nanny for a wealthy white couple’s son, is waiting for the man she loves to return to the fictional town Heron Key. The man, Henry, is a broken and despairing veteran of World War I who has never gotten over the horrors he saw overseas; now, during the Depression, he’s trying to eke out a living in President Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration program under a sadistic supervisor’s eye. After a white woman is brutally attacked following a segregated beach barbecue, all eyes turn in accusation to Henry, who is black. As the small town’s uproar grows, few realize that the devastating hurricane headed their way will test their ability to survive. Lafaye’s blistering commentary on race, as well as her vivid descriptions, will stay with the reader. (June)