Thin Walls: A Smokey Dalton Novel [Paperback]

To support the two of them, Smokey cannot obtain a formal but traceable sleuth license even under his alias of Bill Grimshaw. Instead he does whatever comes his way to include some under the table inquiries. While dealing with Jimmy and the gangs, and his lover/employer relationship with a wealthy white woman, "Bill" agrees to investigate the death of a Black dentist. Rather quickly, "Bill" finds himself in the middle of the very thing he needs to avoid: the FBI and other police officials investigating a potential serial killer.

The third Dalton historical mystery, THIN WALLS, is a fabulous tale that brings to life the turbulent sixties through the frustrations of various groups. This technique could have proven fatally stereotyped, but instead Kris Nelscott makes each group distinct in their rage at their inability to truly matter. The mystery is first class and Smokey's efforts to keep Jimmy clean feel genuine and makes him humanly like most caring parents. The series is as big a winner as the Detroit Tiger's World Series (Jets Superbowl was still a few weeks a way) victory.

Harriet Klausner

Smokey is hired by a woman to investigate the murder of her husband after she was dissatisfied with the job the police did. She felt that because he was a black man the police made poor assumptions and gave the case a low priority without bothering to look too hard. In fact they attributed the death as a gang murder, even though the man was a respected dentist. The case is the catalyst to an investigation that leads him to uncover crimes on an unimagined magnitude. But because the crimes have been perpetrated on blacks, the solution is not as simple as just identifying the murderer.

Smokey has to juggle his time working on the case with getting Jimmy to and from school. A local gang, the Blackstone Rangers are attempting to recruit Jimmy, which would most likely lead to an inevitable life of crime. Smokey is determined to come up with a solution to put them off for good.

A further responsibility is heaped on Smokey's shoulders when Laura Hathaway asks him to act as her security for some hostile business negotiations in which she is involved. It is this sub-plot that highlights a second form of prejudice, that of sexual discrimination.

The story flows smoothly from crisis to crisis as Smokey handles each situation with his usual common sense and decency. Although he is challenged more regularly with the need to quell the impotent rage and frustration that he is filled with as he deals with bigotry and racism on a daily basis.

There is so much more to the Smokey Dalton books than just a mystery to be solved, although the mystery in this case is very interesting, cleverly constructed and relevant. Each of the books are also surrounded by turmoil often with a simmering feeling of unrest, echoed by the increasingly vocal Civil Rights movement and the backlash that it caused.

The mood of the book as seen through Smokey himself ranges from resignation to barely controlled fury. The portrayal of the racism that was prevalent at the time created some poignant moments and some tension-charged moments as the humiliation felt by Smokey emanated from the pages.

Two examples of this kind of racism stayed with me long after I finished the book. The first took place in a supermarket in a white neighbourhood that Smokey was passing through. He had decided to pick up some groceries and was pleasantly surprised to find the prices were much cheaper and the fruit and vegetables were much fresher than those found in his own neighbourhood. When he came to the checkout, the cashier simply refused to serve him, closing her checkout. The manager then confronted Smokey in front of everyone in the shop and advised him to leave the groceries and go.

Later that night while he was still seething, Smokey was to make the following observation about the incident.

"I hadn't encountered that kind of overt racism since I'd come to Chicago. Usually in Chicago, people smiled at you and then denied your rental application...

...I'd once said to Franklin that I'd preferred overt racism. At least then you knew where you stood.

I now regretted those words. Either kind of discrimination felt bad. Even now I felt nauseous, a sense of helplessness filling me."

The second example was much more shocking in it's brutality. A white man and his black girlfriend were bashed and raped by a couple of white men, outraged by the white man kissing "that monkey" in a park. The assault itself was shocking to start with, but then the assumptions made by the police when they arrived were even worse.

I found the issues that were raised very sobering and found myself being outraged by the unfairness of the treatment, knowing that scenes like these happened every day in real life.

This is another superb story that continues a terrific series set right in the middle of a time of great turmoil, occasionally touched by events that followed the Civil Rights Movement. In this book, Smokey crosses paths with the fledgling Black Panthers; serving as a reminder of the difficult times he was living in.

Once again, Kris Nelscott has produced an outstanding thriller and set it in a difficult place and time in history. I found it compelling reading, both for the tense thriller and for the thought it promoted by raising such strong issues.