9780553801767

Scorched Earth

Format: Hardcover

ISBN13: 9780553801767

Hardcover|9780553801767


Overview

From David L. Robbins, bestselling author ofThe End of WarandWar of the Rats,comes a novel of searing intensity and uncompromising vision. Part mystery, part legal thriller, it is a story of crime and punishment set in a small southern town during one brutal, hot, and unforgiving summer that lays bare the potential of the human heart to hate–and, ultimately, to heal. Scorched Earth The inhabitants of Good Hope, Virginia, haven’t felt the cooling effects of rain in weeks. The crops are withering. The ground is parched. There is no relief in sight. With the town a tinderbox waiting to explode, all it takes is a spark to ignite all the prejudice, the rage, and the secrets that are so carefully kept hidden. And then, in the midst of the terrible heat, a tragedy occurs. A baby is born and dies in her mother’s arms. The child, Nora Carol, is buried quickly and quietly the next day in a church graveyard. It should have ended right there–but it didn’t, for Nora Carol is of mixed race. The white deacons of Good Hope’s Victory Baptist Church, trying to protect the centuries-old traditions of their cemetery, have the body exhumed. That night the church is set ablaze, and the sole witness is the only suspect–Elijah Waddell, Nora Carol’s father. Nat Deeds, a former prosecutor and an exile of Good Hope, is pressed into service as Elijah’s attorney. With a politically savvy prosecutor and a vindictive sheriff aligned against him, Nat knows it will be nearly impossible to get Elijah acquitted. But Elijah refuses to accept a plea. As the evidence mounts, Nat begins to suspect there is something his client isn’t telling him, and the next revelation turns Good Hope into a powder keg: a body is found in the ashes of the church. Now Elijah is accused of murder, and the case is no longer a matter of winning or losing, but of life or death. The only way Nat can save his client is to scratch and claw for any shred of evidence, even if he has to bend the law to find it. As the summer heat intensifies and passions reach their boiling point, Nat must navigate through the incendiary secrets kept by friends and neighbors, by the guilty and the innocent, to an act of justice that has nothing to do with the law. From the Hardcover edition.

ISBN-13

9780553801767

ISBN-10

0553801767

Weight

1.40 Pounds

Dimensions

6.75 x 1.25 x 9.75 In

List Price

$24.95

Format

Hardcover

Pages

352 pages

Publisher

Bantam

Published On

2002-03-26



View All Offers

Sort by:

Rows per page:

1–5 of 5

Condition
Seller
Seller Comments
Price
Used, Good
Seller details
BayStateBooks
★★★★☆

North Smithfield, RI, USA

The book is in good condition with all pages and cover intact including the dust jacket if origina...
$11.74

 Free delivery by: 30 Mar 2026

Used, Good
Seller details
BooksRun
★★★★☆

Philadelphia, PA, USA

It's a preowned item in good condition and includes all the pages. It may have some general signs ...
$11.99

 Free delivery by: 30 Mar 2026

Used, Very Good
Seller details
Delight of Life Books
★★★★★

CEDAR, MI, USA

Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 352 p. Audience: General/trade.
$13.89

 Free delivery by: 30 Mar 2026

Used, Very Good
Seller details
HPB-Emerald
★★★★☆

Dallas, TX, USA

Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and ...
$14.98

 Free delivery by: 30 Mar 2026


Bookstores.com relies on cookies to improve your experience.