Nothing More Dangerous

by Allen Eskens

Regular Price $18.99

Regular Price $24.99 CAD

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Trade Paperback

Regular Price $18.99

Regular Price $24.99 CAD

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On Sale

Nov 3, 2020

Page Count

320 Pages

Publisher

ISBN-13

9780316509732

Genre

Fiction / Fiction / Coming Of Age

Description

Missouri native Allen Eskens’ “stunning small-town mystery” (New York Times Book Review) is a necessary exploration of family, loyalty, and racial tension in America and “a coming-of-age book to rival some of the best, such as Ordinary Grace” (Library Journal, starred review).

In a small Southern town where loyalty to family and to “your people” carries the weight of a sacred oath, defying those unspoken rules can be a deadly proposition. After fifteen years of growing up in the Ozark hills with his widowed mother, high-school freshman Boady Sanden is beyond ready to move on. He dreams of glass towers and cityscapes, driven by his desire to be anywhere other than Jessup, Missouri. The new kid at St. Ignatius High School, if he isn’t being pushed around, he is being completely ignored. Even his beloved woods, his playground as a child and his sanctuary as he grew older, seem to be closing in on him, suffocating him.

Then Thomas Elgin moves in across the road, and Boady’s life begins to twist and turn. Coming to know the Elgins — a black family settling into a community where notions of “us” and “them” carry the weight of history — forces Boady to rethink his understanding of the world he’s taken for granted. Secrets hidden in plain sight begin to unfold: the mother who wraps herself in the loss of her husband, the neighbor who carries the wounds of a mysterious past that he holds close, the quiet boss who is fighting his own hidden battle.

But the biggest secret of all is the disappearance of Lida Poe, the African-American woman who keeps the books at the local plastics factory. Word has it that Ms. Poe left town, along with a hundred thousand dollars of company money. Although Boady has never met the missing woman, he discovers that the threads of her life are woven into the deepest fabric of his world.

As the mystery of her fate plays out, Boady begins to see the stark lines of race and class that both bind and divide this small town — and he will be forced to choose sides.

Best Book of the Year: Florida Sun-Sentinel and Library Journal
Finalist for the Minnesota Book Award

Praise

"A stunning small-town mystery.... Eskens clearly has an affinity for clever boys like Boady and Thomas; but he also has lovely visions of the mighty trees and secret swimming holes that make them long for summer -- and mysteries to solve." —Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

"Nothing More Dangerous works well as a mystery, a dissection of hatred and racial prejudice, and a coming-of-age novel. . . . Eskens gracefully moves the novel through the little moments that help to shape people and see the world with a different attitude." —Oline H. Cogdill, Associated Press

"The story is gripping. . . . The characters are intriguing. . . . Eskens weaves a fine mystery that involves layers of racial introspection. . . . Eskens tells us in an author's note that he started this book in 1991 and kept putting it away, never quite feeling it was ready. He can proudly pronounce it ready now." —Ginny Greene, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Allen Eskens hits it out of the park with his new novel.... More relevant than ever in this divided country... This is a story of hope through an act of love.... It would be a fine supplementary text for high schoolers, especially the discussions of prejudice and where it comes from." —Mary Ann Grossman, Pioneer Press

"Mystery Pick of the Month: This powerful, unforgettable crime novel is a coming-of-age book to rival some of the best, such as William Kent Krueger's Ordinary Grace or Larry Watson's Montana 1948.... This timely stand-alone is a must-read for followers of the best in crime fiction." —Library Journal (starred review)

"Allen Eskens doesn't just tap into the experience of growing up in a rural Southern town; Nothing More Dangerous dissects the inner life of a teen forced to confront prejudice and persecution.... Eskens has the skill to make readers cry... and then cheer." —Shelf Awareness

"Magnificent... Nothing More Dangerous is the next best thing to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.... Setting, plot, and characterization are masterfully woven together to create a tapestry of a small town as a tinderbox of prejudice, fear, friendship, and dark secrets." —New York Journal of Books

"Eskens does an excellent job of weaving [the] disparate threads together into a fine blend of mystery and coming-of-age novel. The setting is spot-on, the characters are empathetic and well realized, and the plot is clever and compelling, building suspense until a harrowing denouement reveals all." —Booklist

"Both heartwarming and hard-nosed, Nothing More Dangerous is a coming-of-age page-turner that probes the dark heart of small towns and the resilient strength that keeps families together." —Thomas Mullen, author of Darktown

Discussion Questions for Nothing More Dangerous

1. Before you read Nothing More Dangerous, would you have considered yourself someone with prejudices? Do you feel differently about your own assumptions after reading? What does it mean to be prejudiced?

2. Discuss the setting of the novel—Jessup, Missouri. How does living in Jessup shape the characters? Would Boady be different if he lived somewhere else? How do our communities influence our worldviews?

3. What does Boady think he wants for his future? Do you agree that this is actually what he needs? How are his two desires in opposition? How does Boady try to rationalize this?

4. When you first met Hoke, did you think he was a good or bad guy? Why? Was there a point in the novel at which your opinion changed?

5. How is Boady’s world challenged by having the Elgins in his life? How is Boady changed by his friendship with Thomas? Is this friendship different from the friendship Jarvis offers?

6. Discuss how Nothing More Dangerous explores racism. Is Boady prejudiced when the novel begins? Does he think he is? How does he come to see Jessup differently?

7. What is the difference between overt racism and prejudice? Is there one? How does Hoke help Boady to see his own prejudice differently? Do you think Hoke’s vision of society is right?

8. Have the prejudices of Jessup changed by the end of Nothing More Dangerous?

9. Do you think the novel would be different if it was set in 2020 instead of 1976? Why or why not?

10. What does Boady mean when he says “It was as though I had been staring at a mirror all my life and that mirror suddenly turned into a window” (p. 225).

11. Who is the villain in Nothing More Dangerous? Is there one? Do you think this villain would agree they’re bad? Why or why not?

12. Hoke recites a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr: “Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance” (p. 167). What does this quote mean? Why do you think the author chose this quote for this novel’s title?