Malice: An Alex Bell Mystery
Ebook
Malice is an historical mystery novel set in a few momentous weeks in the spring of 1961. As the Kennedy administration is barely underway, congressional aide Alexandra Bell works to stop a CIA catastrophe in the making, the botched invasion of Cuba. Meanwhile, her roommate, Gwen Gray, joins the Freedom Rides, the bold civil rights initiative that challenged southern segregationists on their own home territory. The language of freedom is everywhere in the beginning of the 1960s, but both Alex and Gwen soon realize it is often hypocritical and the real agenda is violence and suppression. These two young women will not surrender their hopes for a more just America, but they are up against enormous forces that threaten to crush each of them without hesitation. The events of those weeks and the outcomes defined the opposing American approaches to power for well into the twenty-first century. Indeed, the events of those weeks set in motion the forces that are today tearing the fabric of American democracy apart.
“Abraham Lincoln might as well have said, ‘With malice toward many with charity for few,’ as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the bloody Freedom Rides played out. Susan Thistlethwaite captures the dynamics in a gripping mystery set in mid-century America. Protagonists Alex and Gwen, in their respective efforts to effect change, learn chillingly familiar lessons. Their actions remind readers that structural change and real justice remain elusive while solidarity and advocacy remain our best hope.”
—Mary E. Hunt, co-director, Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual (WATER)
“A gripping thriller, Malice is a heartwarming story of companionship set amidst two fascinating and often overlooked historical events. The doggedly determined characters embody aspirational qualities as they show us the preparation required to make real change. As a reader and as an activist, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and gained both insights and courage for the work ahead. A great read!”
—Michael Neuroth, acting director, United Church of Christ Office, Washington, DC
“In Malice, Susan Thistlethwaite highlights the ways that the agency and actions of ordinary women—the women who actually make the wheels of government run, who tell the stories about the uses and misuses of power, and who risk their lives to make change—connect with the big pictures of history. This fast-moving window on the past highlights, illuminates, and renders intelligible today’s current hatreds that require the resistance from ordinary people today.”
—Cheryl Townsend Gilkes, professor emerita of African American studies and sociology, Colby College
- Title: Malice: An Alex Bell Mystery
- Author: Susan Thistlethwaite
- Publisher: Resource Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666773316, 9781666773293, 1666773298, 9781666773309, 1666773301, 166677331X
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666773316
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-07-08T21:41:23Z
Susan Thistlethwaite is president emerita and professor emerita of Chicago Theological Seminary. She is the author of five previous mystery novels and the author and/or editor of thirteen academic works.