Darkness and the Devil Behind Me [Paperback]

Persia Walker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2007

The devil claimed Esther Todd. Or so they say. In December 1923, she was a lovely young pianist, a rising star. By January of '24, she was on the most wanted list. She'd vanished along the snowy streets of a storm-swept night in Harlem and thieves had hit the home of her society patron, pulling off a million-dollar heist. Were the disappearance and robbery coincidence or conspiracy? Somebody knew, but nobody was talking. Three years later, the puzzles remained unsolved. Crime reporter Lanie Price covered the initial case. Now a frustrated gossip columnist, she's ready for a change. It comes in the form of Esther's sister, Ruth. Desperate for closure, Ruth begs Lanie to dedicate her Christmas column to the case. maybe someone, somewhere will remember something. Seeking fresh material, Lanie starts asking hard questions, dangerous questions, the kind just about guaranteed to get her killed.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

This book introduces Lanie Price, a compassionate, but relentless news reporter, who worked in Harlem during the 1920s. This was a glamorous era, a time of ermine and diamonds and jazz and gimlets; a time when white society and black artists entered into partnerships. Lanie, an affluent woman in her own right, covers the good and the bad and the sometimes ugly happenings in Harlem society.

On a dark night in December, she finds herself covering the very worst -- the disappearance of Esther, a well-loved and up-and-coming young pianist, a woman who had everything to live for. This will turn into what we call a cold case. No answers are found and Esther's family grieves for three long years. Then her sister asks Lanie to revisit the case. It's a request she reluctantly accepts, but once she gets started, she can't stop.

Lanie was inspired by my mother's compassion, her resoluteness and her glamor. Unlike my mother, of course, Lanie married a wealthy surgeon. But like her, Lanie started out poor and worked her way up.

Lanie has known personal loss as well: the early death of her husband, Hamp, the only man she had ever loved.

That is, until Sam Delaney walked into her life. As her editor at the news room, Sam tries his best to protect Lanie from her own investigatory instincts. Meanwhile, he took has a past, a mysterious and perhaps dark past, about which she would some day like to know.

I love Lanie and Sam. I enjoyed spending time with them and hope you will, too. I also hope you'll enjoy going along for the ride as Lanie digs deep, and then deeper, to reveal the fate of that young woman who disappeared so quickly, so completely, on that night so long ago.

--Persia --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

Persia Walker is also the author of Black Orchid Blues and the award-winning Harlem Redux, which the Boston Globe called "a full, vibrant portrait of that storied era when Harlem's pulse was the rhythm of black America." She was also a contributor to the anthology The Blue Religion - New Stories About Cops, Criminals and the Chase. A former news writer for The Associated Press, she lives in New York. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: Rich Girl International (October 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979253802
• ISBN-13: 978-0979253805
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,844,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Persia Walker is the author of three acclaimed historical novels, BLACK ORCHID BLUES, DARKNESS AND THE DEVIL BEHIND ME, and HARLEM REDUX. She is also a contributor to the anthology MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA PRESENTS: THE BLUE RELIGION. She won the Author of the Year Award by the Go On Girl! Book Club.

Persia has served on the Mystery Writers of American mentoring panel and as a member of the board of the MWA's New York Chapter.

She has written for The Associated Press in Arkansas; Washington, DC; and New York. She has also written for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc., (RFE) in Munich, worked as a freelance book editor, and done cultural reporting and voice work for European publications.

On a more personal note, she's happily single, fluent in German, breathtakingly disorganized, and sporadically inspired to cook. She enjoys Indian and Thai food for dining, romantic thrillers and detective stories for reading, movies about superheroes, and television programs about desperate housewives and true crime. Her perfect Sunday morning includes a lengthy and lazy browse through The New York Times online.

For more information, visit her online at PersiaWalker.com or at Facebook.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars (RAW Rating: 4.5) - Be careful who you ask, January 29, 2008

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Darkness and the Devil Behind Me (Paperback)

DARKNESS AND THE DEVIL BEHIND ME by Persia Walker takes place in 1920s Harlem. Esther Todd, a very talented pianist, disappears without a trace and her family is devastated. Lanie Price, a newspaper reporter, tells the story in her column in 1923. About the same time, a major robbery of the society woman who gave Esther her chance for fame, clouds the issue. Was Esther somehow involved and simply disappeared to avoid prosecution? By Christmas 1926, her sister, Ruth, is desperate. Ruth's desperation leads her to Lanie and asks her to write about her sister again. Lanie agrees and also begins to ask questions, attempting to find out what really happened to Esther. She even promises Esther's young son that she will do everything she can. Lanie is sure someone knows what happened that dark and snowy night, however, no one is talking, but she is persistent. She is also having a bit of difficulty with her boss, who feels she should be writing something light and upbeat for Christmas, plus his bosses are on his case for letting her have her way. Will Lanie find Esther alive and ease the young son's grief?

DARKNESS AND THE DEVIL BEHIND ME is a truly good mystery with lots of suspense, romance, fright and racial issues. Even if Lanie discovers what happened, will the high society white people involved let her tell the story without ruining the newspaper, which is a black production in Harlem? There are many characters and quite a few side plots, but they all blend together to make a coherent story that is easy to follow. I found the book to be delicious!

Reviewed by Alice Holman
of the RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What's Done In the Dark Will Come To Light, February 24, 2008

By 

M. P. McKinney (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Darkness and the Devil Behind Me (Paperback)

Darkness and the Devil Behind Me by Persia Walker will capture your attention from the first page. Esther Todd, a talented and aspiring pianist, disappears into thin air on a cold December night. The investigation of her disappearance stalls after several dead ends. Her sister, Ruth, is determined to find out what happened to her sister. Ruth appeals to Lanie Price, the crime reporter turned society columnist who initially covered Esther's story. Frustrated with the superficial lives of the elite that she covers in her column, Lanie cautiously agrees to help Ruth uncover the truth. Unfortunately, there are folks who would rather leave the past in the past and are willing to do anything, including murder, to make sure that happens.

Persia Walker presents a page-turning thriller infused with pockets of romance. Set in Harlem, New York, Walker depicts an often unseen version of life during the Harlem Renaissance and Prohibition. Readers might be a bit overwhelmed with details and distracted by minor grammatical errors at times but they will not be disappointed with this engaging and entertaining story.

Reviewed by M. P. McKinney
APOOO BookClub

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting mystery and look at Harlem Society of the 1920's, January 11, 2008

By 

A. Symonette (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Darkness and the Devil Behind Me (Paperback)

"Darkness" is a very entertaining mystery that gives an unusual insight to life in Harlem in the 1920's. The reader comes to understand the complex interaction of race, class and gender through the eyes of Lanie Price an feisty, independent society reporter seeking to find the truth about the unsolved disappearance of talented young woman who, but for her family, had been long forgotten. That search will cross many of that society's boundaries and cross those who maintain the balance of place. Lanie is not just Easy Rollins in a dress. She is the type of assertive Afro-American woman that the reader would be pleasantly surprised to find at a time in history when the rights of white women to vote were still questioned. It is her spirit that drives this story.