A Dangerous Roadmia

African-American P.I. Smokey Dalton faces a very personal rendezvous with history when his childhood friend from whom he's been estranged for years, Martin Luther King Jr., is scheduled to speak at a Memphis church in April 1968. This impressive debut novel steeped in the turmoil of the civil rights era. For a long time, for his own reasons, Smokey has been keeping a low profile. Then Chicago heiress Laura Hathaway, a white woman, informs him that he's a beneficiary of her mother's will, and she wants him to find out why. Despite reservations, he agrees to accept the case, curious to learn something about his own past, which seems to be linked in some way to Laura's family. Neither he nor Laura is prepared for the startling and dangerous secret that Smokey unearths during a visit to Atlanta, where he and his old friend Martin grew up. At the same time, Smokey must look after his young friend Jimmy, who is equally in danger and in need of his help. By the end, Smokey, Jimmy and Laura are swept up in events far greater than themselves. Nelscott conveys the feelings of her characters and the anxiety of the times with the vividness of an actual observer. More than just offering a puzzle, this novel encourages self-examination about identity, responsibility and the consequences of choices. Smokey proves himself a man of conscience able to make tough choices. His return will be cause for celebration. (July)