About this item
From the widely praised author of the FBI Special Agent Ana Grey series and A Star for Mrs. Blake, this riveting epic drama follows the Kusek family from New York City to America's heartland, where they are caught up in the panic of McCarthyism, a smear campaign, a sensational trial, and, ultimately, murder.Calvin Kusek, a WWII pilot and attorney, and his wife, Betsy, escape the 1950s conformity of New York City to relocate to a close-knit town in South Dakota. They settle on a ranch and Betsy becomes a visiting nurse, befriending a quirky assortment of rural characters. Their children, Jo and her brother Lance, grow up caring for animals and riding rodeo. Life isn't easy, but it is full and rewarding. When a seat in the State Assembly becomes available, Cal jumps at the chance to repay the community and serves three popular terms. Things change when Cal runs for the U.S. Senate. The FBI investigates Betsy, and a youthful dalliance with the Communist Party surfaces to haunt the Kuseks. Mass hysteria takes over, inflamed by Cal's political enemies. Driven by fear and hate, their neighbors turn, condemning them as enemies and spies. The American Dream falls apart overnight as the Kuseks try to protect their children from the nightmare that follows. The family is vindicated in a successful libel lawsuit, but the story doesn't end there: years later, Lance Kusek and his wife and son are brutally attacked, and the mystery then unfolds as to who committed this coldblooded murder, and are they related to the stunning events of decades earlier?
About the Author
Yes, I'm the same April Smith who writes the FBI Special Agent Ana Grey Mystery/Thrillers but I've taken a new direction into suspenseful historical fiction. My latest novel, HOME SWEET HOME, takes place in 1950s South Dakota, where a family becomes the victim of a witch hunt during the McCarthy era. A STAR FOR MRS. BLAKE, set in the 1930s, tells the untold true story of the Gold Star Mothers pilgrimages to Europe to visit the graves of their loved ones killed during WWI. Where do I get such wide-ranging ideas? I grew up in the Bronx, New York, where the Kingsbridge Road Branch public library was the center of my universe. There it was safe and warm -- the library was a tiny space above a dry cleaners -- and I was free to explore everything from science fiction to James Bond. I moved to Los Angeles to write for TV shows like Cagney and Lacey, but I am still, firmly and forever, happy in the world of books.
