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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 2000)
Page 6 September 13, 2000 Focus (Elje Portland ©beeruer Blanche Passes Go In Print I3y Barbara Neely Viking; 2000 Praise the Ancestors! After three years in Boston Brahmin territory, Blanche W hite is finally coming home to Raleigh, North Carolina, for an entire summer. And, like a sign from above that she’s indeed headed in the right direction, she’s already lined up a date with the handsome train conductor she met somewhere between Boston and Baltimore. The summer holds lots o f promise - including a long- awaited reunion with her best friend, Ardell, as she helps out with Ardell’s bustling new catering business. Then, like a slap in the face on her first night back, Blanche is reminded o f a part o f home she’d rather forget: David Palmer, the man who raped her eight years ago and who has tormented her mind and spirit ever since, shows up as a guest at her very first catering event. The time has com e... she must exact her revenge so that she can finally move on. RarbaraNeel Then a young woman is murdered and there are signs that David P alm er m ay be in volved. So Blanche sets o ff on a hunting expedition - for clues she hopes wil 1 help convict David Palmer and put an end to his legacy once and for all. While Blanche is busy pursuing all possible leads, there’s Thelvin, the train co n d u cto r, p atie n tly waiting for her. Will Blanche s wariness o f men prevent her from knowing a good thing when it’s staring her smack dab in the face? Join Blanche as she tries to unravel the mysterious death o f a young woman while untangling the even greater mysteries o f love and hate, revenge and forgiveness, all with her feisty style, indomitable wit, and unmatched spirit. passes 6® A Dangerous Road By Kris Nclscott St. Martin’s Minotaur; 2000 Memphis, 1968. The city is about to explode, as the tensions and resentments o f the struggle for civil rights come to a head. The sanitation workers’ strike has gone on for three w e e k s, fo rm e rly p e a c e fu l dem onstrations are turning into riots, and the city is bracing for a massive marchby Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. like the rest o f the country that year, Memphis is battered by violent forces o f change. The social upheaval o f the late sixties provides a dramatic setting for Kris Nelscot’s powerful novel, A Dangerous Road. This thought- p ro v o k in g m ystery in tro d u ces private eye Smokey Dalton, a man with firsthand knowledge o f the violence and prejudice that had spurred the civil rights movement. Thirty years earlier. Sm okey’s parents were lynched in Atlanta. The terrified child was adopted by strangers, and grew up haunted by the secrets surrounding his parents’ murder. Now, the arrival o f Laura Hathaway will bring those secrets to light. The wealthy young white woman has tracked Smokey down to find out why her mother - a Chicago socialite—left the detective $10,000 in her will. Sm okey’s investigation uncovers an ugly trail o f theft, kidnapping and murder, along with a revelation that will shatter both their lives. In A D angerous Road, Kris Nelscott has created a provocative portrait o f the bitterness and hope that characterized the tumultuous events o f 1968. Smokey Dalton is a complex and compelling character that readers will want to know more ab o u t. T h is n o v e l m ark s an auspicious mystery debut by a very talented writer. Up North Records ‘P 'teà& tt H o s te d b y : J - M A C K YO U N G FAM E KENNY MACK MANIAC LOK 4 • C o - H o s t : B IG -E R V G M.C, • SKUNTBUNNANA AKA MAFIA S E L F T IG H T L E KANT-B-CAUGHT CLUB HIP-HOP 13N.W . 13th & Burnside DT THE MOUTH PIECE THE FRANCHISE N E O -S U P R E M E D o o r s o p e n a t 9 :0 0 S h o w s ta r ts a t 1 0 :0 0 A ll A g e ! Saturday September 16, 2000 Sponsored By: Pile Driver R e co rd ! • Muele Qelore • Reellty Entertainment Dekum Street Merket • The Portland Observer • J u t' Family Reco rd !
