Unanimous Verdict

It is 1954 in the segregated city of Washington, D.C. In the chambers of the U.S. Supreme Court, the justices are preparing to rule in the landmark school desegregation case, Brown v. Board of Education. Not far from the court, Neil Endicott, a young, hapless white private detective still trying to figure out his place in the world, learns that top officials of the Metropolitan Police Department are covering up a tragic, racially-motivated crime. He suspects the investigation was squelched to avoid stirring up racial tensions in advance of the long-anticipated court decision, but his theory of the crime proves to be woefully inadequate. His investigation takes him deep into the unfamiliar inner workings of the city's black community. It also brings him face-to-face with the ugly secrets of proud descendants of the Confederacy. Along the way, Neil encounters a number of memorable African-American characters – a rich society matron, a garrulous private detective and a militant Black Power advocate – as well as several stubborn racists, all of whom challenge his naïve assumptions about race. Nothing in Neil's background as a kid from suburban Chevy Chase, a Korean war veteran or a city police patrolman has prepared him for the startling outcome of his investigation. Like all good works of historical fiction, this book allows the reader to experience the ethos of an important era in the nation's history while enjoying a ripping good yarn for winter reading by the fire or summer reading on the beach.