DAYS OF RAGE by Kris Nelscott The time is fall 1969, and Smokey and his adopted son have fled Memphis for Chicago. Dalton is an African-American private investigator on Chicagos South Side, maintaining a low profile because of his knowledge of the Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination which threatens his life and that of his adopted son, Jimmy. Dalton is working for on again off again girlfriend Laura Hathaway. Laura has inherited her fathers business empire only to learn that it was built on less than firm moral ground. She is trying to right past wrongs with Smokeys help, while also making sure she doesnt push so hard that the entire structure tumbles. In this environment, Smokey is contributing by inspecting rental propertys for Lauras company, Sturdy Investments, when he discovers three corpses in the basement of one of the buildings. This gruesome find quickly becomes worse as more bodies are found. On the one hand, Dalton and Hathaway know this needs to be taken to the authorities and the families of the victims are entitled to some kind of closure. On the other hand, the Chicago Police have not proven themselves to be beyond reproach and if the discovery can be tied to Lauras father, she may lose everything. All the action occurs against the backdrop of the Weathermen sponsored Days of Rage demonstrations in Chicago after the earlier Democratic convention and its high profile confrontations. Over all, a well-written book as Nelscott, skillfully interweaves headline news and its impact on the lives of ordinary people as they try to live their normal lives.

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