Blackberry Days of Summer by Ruth P. Watson

May 29, 2012 - PRLog -- In an exciting historical thriller, a young black man is murdered. Though suspects abound, no one feels hard-pressed to find his killer.

Ruth Watson, a former writer for the Atlanta-Journal &Constitution and Upscale magazine, has penned an impossible to put down, page-turner. Set against the backdrop of post- World War I, BLACKBERRY DAYS OF SUMMER (Simon and Schuster/Strebor Books; $15.00; June 19, 2012) is a compelling look at the Jim Crow era in rural Virginia.   This suspenseful tale of deceit is filled with lust, adultery, and romance.

In the tradition of The Color Purple and The Help, Watson introduces readers to Herman Camm.  As Robert Parker’s body is lowered into the grave, in Jefferson County, Virginia, Herman slithers into the life of the mourning family. Camm is a beady-eyed, small-framed womanizer with nice clothes, who has a complicated life involving three women: his wife, Mae Lou Parker; her daughter, Carrie, and a nightclub singer, Pearl Brown.

All of the women’s lives converge when Herman is found dead from a shotgun wound.  There are many people Herman has offended. And all three women are suspects in his murder.  An investigation is launched. However, it is 1920, and the fate of a black man’s life is never a concern in the Jim Crow South.

BLACKBERRY DAYS OF SUMMER discusses themes, such as:

•the importance of education in the 1920’s and what that meant for the quality of life for an African American in the South,

•the mistreatment of African Americans in the Jim Crow era and the negligence among murder cases with African-American victims,

•mental health concerns within the  African-American community,

•and much more!

With BLACKBERRY DAYS OF SUMMER, Watson delivers characters that are neither good nor evil but a provocative combination of everything that makes us human. Watson is a strong writer and her talent for creating complex and fallible characters will engage readers from the very  first page. Watson weaves a fascinating novel as she makes her debut on the author scene.

About the Author
Ruth P. Watson has an MSA from Central Michigan University and is currently an adjunct professor and project manager. She is the recipient of the Caversham Fellowship, an artist’s and writer's residency in Kwa Zulu, Natal South Africa, where she published her first children's book in Zulu, Our Secret Bond. She has written for Upscale, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other publications. She lives with her husband and son in Atlanta.
BLACKBERRY DAYS OF SUMMER By Ruth P. Watson   |   Strebor Books/Atria Books
June 2012   |   Price: $15.00   |  ISBN: 9781593094133