St. Martin's Minotaur, August 2001

Smokey Dalton has come to Chicago to get away from the FBI and Memphis police. With him, Jimmy, the boy who may be the only witness to the Martin Luther King assassination--a witness who knows that Earl Ray was not the true killer. Unfortunately for Smokey, Chicago during the 1968 Democratic Convention is not a friendly place for blacks, nor for people hiding from the police. Someone has been watching Smokey and his young friend--someone who knows too much.

Author Kris Nelscott (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by this author) weaves the events of Chicago into her plot letting the riots, anger, rage, and police violence form the backdrop against which a more personal drama takes place. Away from his familiar ground, Smokey must still use his skills to help those around him cope with their problems, yet he cannot save everyone. When a young boy is tortured and killed, Smokey knows that he has to step up his intensity even more.

Nelscott does a fine job developing Smokey's character, his inherent distrust of the white establishment, his ambivalent feelings toward the anglo woman Laura, his nightmares of death in Korea, and his determination to protect Jimmy no matter what the personal costs. You won't have to be a conspiracy fan to find SMOKE FILLED ROOMS a compelling story about a critical time in our nation's history.

Four Stars

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