About this ebook
In 1937, a young trumpet player called Doc leaves Harlem with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade to fight in the Spanish Civil War. Eight hundred miles away, a little girl named Pearl is fighting a child’s war against poverty and paternal abuse in a Chicago tenement. Spain’s defeat leads directly to World War II. For the honor of Spain and self, Doc heads off to fight another war. Meanwhile, Pearl discovers the power of her voice and begins her own odyssey.By 1946, the war is over and New York is sizzling with the sounds of bebop. Doc returns to find peace in the music, but everything changes when the band’s new singer walks into the club. Her voice is as deep and arresting as her dark eyes, and her name takes up residence in his mind. Pearl.After a turbulent start, they ease into a healing love and claim Harlem as their small piece of America. But soon a new war is rumbling. As a deadly strain of heroin floods their streets, Doc is targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee, and Pearl falls under the scrutiny of a stalker with a badge. Doc learns that everything is linked, and must revisit a chilling question he still carries from Spain: What constitutes an act of war? And what is he prepared to do about it?
About the author
Walker Smith writes in a unique blend of history, drama, and suspense. Known for her plot twists and surprise endings, Smith delivers it all through the eyes of unforgettable characters. Her novels include: The Color Line, an epic story of the Harlem Renaissance and black heroism in World War I; Letters from Rome, a 1970s Sankofa journey from ancient Africa to Vietnam; and Bluestone Rondo, a racial Cain and Abel story set in the era of bebop and the Blacklist. Smith also collaborated with black radio pioneer and music industry giant Jack the Rapper Gibson on his biography Mello Yello.
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