Dr. St. Clair claims that Mrs. Ida Johnson died from a heart attack, but her broken tea cup and tansy weed on her kitchen table tell another story. The apparently natural deaths of a homeless man, a congenitally disabled child, and others that followed right after her raise questions about what is happening in the town. Trent Tyson, the town’s deputy sheriff, struggles to disclose the cold-blooded murder while maintaining the peace during The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes. Reaping the Whirlwind by Rosey Dow is a murder mystery rooted in the historical Scopes trial, in which a physics teacher is accused of teaching evolution to his class against the newly enacted law that prohibited the teaching of evolution in high schools.

Author Rosey Dow has done an excellent job of blending the fictional murder mystery with the events of the Scopes trial. The murder mystery is well-written and suspenseful, and it kept me guessing until the end. Unfortunately, there was no link between the murders and no motive strong enough behind them, and it spun my head around as to who could be the murderer.

It shed a lot of light on people’s lifestyles in the twentieth century, and I found it to be very similar to small-town culture today, with some differences. The concise and analytic representation of the trial indicates the painstakingly thorough research that Dow has done. The reaction of the residents and business community is well depicted and demonstrates their efforts to attract tourists and businesses to Dayton. The book’s clean romance between Trent Tyson and Nessa McKenzie is my favorite thing. However, this book could have been more fast-paced, but I enjoyed the introduction of all the characters, from boarding house owner Mrs. McKenzie to town gardener Elmer Bentley.

Reaping the Whirlwind is a captivating historical fiction novel and mystery story. Readers interested in the Scopes Trial of 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee, will enjoy this fictional take on the case of teaching evolution and the historical ramification it had on the US. Education system. Fans of the murder mystery genre will also find it amusing.

Pages: 288 | ISBN : 163698052X

Original source: https://literarytitan.com/2023/01/18/reaping-the-whirlwind/