United States
![De'Shawn Charles Winslow - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_deshawn_charles_winslow.jpg)
Decent People
From Center for Fiction First Novel Prize winning author De'Shawn Charles Winslow, a sweeping and unforgettable novel of a Black community reeling from a triple homicide, and the secrets the killings reveal.
In the still-segregated town of West Mills, North Carolina, in 1976, Marian, Marva, and Lazarus Harmon-three enigmatic siblings-are found shot to death in their home. The people of West Mills- on both sides of the canal that serves as the town's color line-are in a frenzy of finger-pointing, gossip, and wonder. The crime is the first reported murder in the area in decades, but the white authorities don't seem to have any interest in solving the case.
Fortunately, one person is determined to do more than talk. Miss Josephine Wright has just moved back to West Mills from New York City to retire and marry a childhood sweetheart, Olympus "Lymp" Seymore. When she discovers that the murder victims are Lymp's half-siblings, and that Lymp is one of West Mills's leading suspects, she sets out to prove his innocence. But as Jo investigates those who might know the most about the Harmons' deaths, she starts to discover more secrets than she'd ever imagined, and a host of cover-ups-ranging from medical misuse to illicit affairs-that could upend the reputations of many.
For readers of American Spy and Bluebird, Bluebird, Decent People is a powerful new novel about shame, race, money, and the reckoning required to heal a fractured community.
In the still-segregated town of West Mills, North Carolina, in 1976, Marian, Marva, and Lazarus Harmon-three enigmatic siblings-are found shot to death in their home. The people of West Mills- on both sides of the canal that serves as the town's color line-are in a frenzy of finger-pointing, gossip, and wonder. The crime is the first reported murder in the area in decades, but the white authorities don't seem to have any interest in solving the case.
Fortunately, one person is determined to do more than talk. Miss Josephine Wright has just moved back to West Mills from New York City to retire and marry a childhood sweetheart, Olympus "Lymp" Seymore. When she discovers that the murder victims are Lymp's half-siblings, and that Lymp is one of West Mills's leading suspects, she sets out to prove his innocence. But as Jo investigates those who might know the most about the Harmons' deaths, she starts to discover more secrets than she'd ever imagined, and a host of cover-ups-ranging from medical misuse to illicit affairs-that could upend the reputations of many.
For readers of American Spy and Bluebird, Bluebird, Decent People is a powerful new novel about shame, race, money, and the reckoning required to heal a fractured community.
Editorial Reviews
"[A] talented young author . . . Watching Winslow subvert the conventions of an old literary form is half the thrill of this novel. After all, the shelf of mystery detectives is hardly crowded with 60-year-old Black women. And that's not the only cozy convention Winslow toys with . . . The larger social context that Winslow explores is what moves this story beyond one crime into a reflection on the myriad unacknowledged crimes committed across decades." ―Ron Charles, The Washington Post
"Propulsive . . . a murder mystery that doubles as a savvy examination of race and class . . . Decent People practically turns its own pages, creating in the reader an insatiable curiosity." ―Los Angeles Times
"Anyone who adored Charmaine Wilkerson's Black Cake and Dolen Perkins-Valdez's Take My Hand, take note. De'Shawn Charles Winslow invites readers on a satisfying ride that, through his keen observations of human nature, leads to deeper considerations of the glacial progress of racial equality." ―BookPage, starred review
"Winslow returns to the fictional Southern town of West Mills for a second time in this expertly-plotted and character-driven follow-up to his award-winning debut novel . . . A haunting, page-turning mystery, Decent People makes a must-read on anyone's literary list." ―The Millions
"Winslow offers several points of view in this character-driven mystery, once again pulling readers in with conversational, highly readable writing while deftly weaving in themes of race, sexuality, and small-town dynamics. Another winner." ―Booklist
"Spirited." ―The New York Times Book Review
"Interconnected family secrets, a whodunit murder mystery and the unshakable remnants of bigotry spin North Carolina author De'Shawn Charles Winslow's second novel 'Decent People' into an introspective and big-hearted examination of small-town Southern life … On the surface Decent People is a cozy, homespun mystery that sets out to answer who killed the Harmon siblings. But Winslow has tucked a sophisticated story full of entwined relationships and crackling social commentary inside this small-town tale. In examining the bigotry, racism and classism prevalent in West Mills four decades ago, Winslow puts forth the question without directly asking: How much ...
"Propulsive . . . a murder mystery that doubles as a savvy examination of race and class . . . Decent People practically turns its own pages, creating in the reader an insatiable curiosity." ―Los Angeles Times
"Anyone who adored Charmaine Wilkerson's Black Cake and Dolen Perkins-Valdez's Take My Hand, take note. De'Shawn Charles Winslow invites readers on a satisfying ride that, through his keen observations of human nature, leads to deeper considerations of the glacial progress of racial equality." ―BookPage, starred review
"Winslow returns to the fictional Southern town of West Mills for a second time in this expertly-plotted and character-driven follow-up to his award-winning debut novel . . . A haunting, page-turning mystery, Decent People makes a must-read on anyone's literary list." ―The Millions
"Winslow offers several points of view in this character-driven mystery, once again pulling readers in with conversational, highly readable writing while deftly weaving in themes of race, sexuality, and small-town dynamics. Another winner." ―Booklist
"Spirited." ―The New York Times Book Review
"Interconnected family secrets, a whodunit murder mystery and the unshakable remnants of bigotry spin North Carolina author De'Shawn Charles Winslow's second novel 'Decent People' into an introspective and big-hearted examination of small-town Southern life … On the surface Decent People is a cozy, homespun mystery that sets out to answer who killed the Harmon siblings. But Winslow has tucked a sophisticated story full of entwined relationships and crackling social commentary inside this small-town tale. In examining the bigotry, racism and classism prevalent in West Mills four decades ago, Winslow puts forth the question without directly asking: How much ...
Readers Top Reviews
Carol
Everyone, it appears, has reason to kill the Harmons. It would have been nice for them to have at least one redeeming quality so that the reader actually cares who did it and why.
Julie K
Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for the copy of Decent People. I loved the characters and how well they were written. They were so good the murders almost took a back seat to them-I kept forgetting they were trying to solve a mystery because the characters were so compelling. If you like surprising endings, this is the book for you, because I never saw it coming.
K. Honsharuk
"#DecentPeople" is a terrific read! My first novel by Mr. Winslow, but I'll be visiting his first novel "In West Mills". I loved these characters - their hubris, their passion, their confusion and their secrets. Just good people trying to do the right thing, however subjective their "right" might be (I'm talking to you, Eunice!). Heartbreaking to see how they try to live within the confines thrust upon them by 1960s society, yet these folks do a great job of maintaining their humanity despite such huge odds. The white folks, not so much. They appear to be looking out for #1, and only #1. Sigh. Heavy, heavy sigh. All said, an excellent book, highly recommend. P.S. Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.
