Red Hill Blues

It is 1953, and the United States government is running amok with the likes of J. Edgar Hoover and Joe McCarthy. In the little village of Croton-on-Hudson, New York, a small group of leftist intellectuals, writers and artists feels under siege. After the suspicious deaths of two Crotonites, one a prominent anti-Communist newspaper publisher, the F.B.I. steps up its surveillance of the village. Spies, political passions, and intrigue, which echo even today, become the norm. Two fourteen-year-old girls, whose families are upended by the crisis, are willy-nilly cast into the role of amateur sleuth. As the price of her snooping, one of them lands in the hospital with a serious injury. Harth sets the historical scene in the real Hudson River valley village with the authentic touch of an insider. Her colorful cast of characters includes actors, visual artists, an architect, and a shadowy cult psychiatrist. "Red Hill Blues" features occasional comic strips and illustrations by Karen W. Klein. The tone of the novel is surprisingly light.