A Homicide in Hooker's Point

by Gloria Taylor Weinberg

In the fall of 1950, Vicki Leigh Bayle learned that love and hate are drawn from the same well, and that some of the people she loved most kept stores of each in equal measure. In the segregated context of South Florida, she learned that prejudice is not always about color, and that truth, as adults define it, is malleable. During one tragic weekend of violence, Vicki saw that all living beings inexplicably are both good and evil, depending on circumstances. Including herself. This was a concept she would accept late in life, but never truly embrace.

Gloria Taylor Weinberg is a fourth-generation Floridian and award-winning journalist who now writes for Indian River Magazine. She lives in Fort Pierce, Florida, with her husband, Mark, and Dudley, their spoiled cocker spaniel. Weinberg also paints, with a special love for the flora, fauna and unique light of her native state.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 17, 2012

Reviews

[Gayle Swift · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reader's Facebook post enticed me into purchasing this book. Boy, am I glad that I did.

Gloria Taylor Weinberg has penned an extraordinary story. Her lush prose, birthed in a painter's aesthetic brings the Florida landscape into view with beauty and detail. Set in the 1950's,the gitty story centers on a feisty eight year-old with a fierce commitment to family, fairness and an intellectual curiosity that is both a gift and a burden. It propels her into observing and questioning at a time when children were expected to be seen and not heard, a time when neighbors heped neighbors yet also turned a blind eye to violence, racial inequality and intimidation.

Young Vicky sees and hears a lot. More importantly, she doesn't forget. Ever. A Homicide in Hooker's Point, unfolds with page-turning energy, characters that touch the heart,a plot that explores hard-scrabble issues not in simplistic, good guy/bad guy ease but with complicated, thought provoking grey.

An excellent read on many levels.

[Book Reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victoria Leigh Bayle, mostly called Vicki, is an 8-year-old girl with a natural empathy for all living things. She is distraught upon witnessing a tragic accident involving her next-door neighbor Eric Magruder, who had killed her beloved cat earlier in the day. As one of the core eyewitnesses, Vicki finds herself responsible yet burdened with delivering the truth that could either justify or inconvenience those involved.

A Homicide in Hooker’s Point by author Gloria Taylor Weinberg depicts a moral dilemma in the eyes of a young girl who realizes that truth can easily be manipulated by adults, particularly those discrepancies that exist due to race and color. It is a compelling novel about hate and love and how the lines separating the two are often blurred.

Weinberg magnificently taps into human sentiments, making one speculate moral choices throughout the passage of this complex and emotional story. She builds compassion for her characters and elaborates on the concepts of virtue in children as being vivid and consistent. Moreover, she delivers a powerful lesson based on the prescriptiveness of truth; both fairness and family commitment validate the narrative. It captures how choices that govern moral reasoning tend to be overlooked when it comes to those that one is most obligated to protect.

Young readers will be moved by the tenderness of a young girl who sympathizes over the loss of all living things yet observes a distressful event that makes her question the reality of life and choices. Questions of right and wrong fill the pages without clear answers as readers realize the truth and what is right is clouded by perspective and life paths.

A Homicide in Hooker’s Point is a crime fiction novel that illustrates the complex realities of relationships through relatable characters. This is a psychological thriller readers can experience with the characters as they sort through facts and blurred lines of truth.

[Gloria Weinberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

You won't forget this one.

[Susan Stans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. It was hard to put down. It was a great remembrance of days gone by in Florida. Highly recommended.