Beulah Hill

by William Heffernan

Set against the vivid backdrop of the 1930s, the story of a white man who was murdered on land owned by the last remaining black family in a small town captures the prejudice, forbidden eroticism, and diffuculties of the time. 25,000 first printing.

Genres: Fiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

William Heffernan, a three-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, is the author of eighteen novels, including such bestsellers as The Corsincan, The Dinosaur Club (a New York Times bestseller), The Dead Detective, and Tarnished Blue (winner of an Edgar Award). Heffernan lives outside of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Reviews

[Devin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some racism on fictional display.

Every once in a while there were a couple of lines that were very touching and insightful, but I did find the whole to be a display of what racism "should" be (or rather, how one would be taught about racism/slavery in school... i.e. generalized.)

In the end, Beulah Hill at it's base is a who-done-it that takes place in a very racist community. The whites think the colored folks did it. The opposite is also true, and the book focuses on finding out who truly is to blame while dealing out various family, community, and romantic relationships.

A tad violent towards the ending, but all the tension building throughout the story had to express itself somehow.

We do find out who-done-it (even if the community doesn't,) and while I did not fully guess the perpetrator by the end I was satisfied with the outcome.

[ABC Group · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot. Though I think A Time Gone By is the better book, this has a lot of classic Heffernan tricks in it. One problem is the clear give away as to motive for entire murder narrative at the beginning of the book. I'd say the writer is a bit too smart to write something so obvious. Left me wondering. Overall, a great read.

[Laurie Stoll · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, this book was just an "okay" read. The author did a great job in the writing of this story. The subject matter, mainly the discrimination, left me with sad and frustrated feelings. While I know that discrimination has gotten better over the years, it will always continue with some.

Reading about such discrimination "hurt my heart".

[Destineep · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fatal death happens on the hill and Samuel has to find out who did it but the town thinks it was the african american family who own the land that the body was found on. Samuel thinks that they are being framed for the crime. He does a investgation and finds a lot of clues on who did it.

[Karla · Rating 2 out of 5]

The protagonist breached the privacy of a friend. It bothered me to the extent that I found myself n
Avoiding picking up the book again. Not good. Too many books to read. So I won't be finishing this one.

[Christy2]

This book was a great find!!!

[John Kaess · Rating 4 out of 5]

set in the early 30's in rural Vermont, a murder mystery filled with racial issues. very interesting and well told

[Joann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because it was thought provoking.