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Reviewed by Keith Mbuya for Readers' Favorite
It is 1954. Ten years after she left for Stockton to start a new life, Althea Sparrow has just returned to Bear River, California, her hometown, to help her siblings run the family business and care for her aging father. However, she has no idea how much her past and the changes in the small town are about to rock her life and marriage. Winston “Wince” Duell, her childhood lover, is now married, rich, and very influential. Yet, he not only seems willing to win Althea back, despite knowing about her husband, Sayer Bailey, and child, Fredericka “Freddie,” but is also ready to use his influence to remove Sayer from the picture. As he champions a tight campaign against communism, he holds the town hostage with fear and dissent, hoping to turn away Sayer, a free thinker, and his allies. On top of this, he also has shocking secrets about Freddie’s paternity. Will Althea’s marriage fall apart under Wince’s onslaught? Find out in Red Summer by Frances Pettey Davis.
Right from the start, Davis wastes no time immersing readers in the fascinating lives of the townsfolk of Bear River, transporting them back to 1950s America with vivid imagery and prose. The characters are well-crafted, and I enjoyed following them as they navigated their precarious situations. Throughout the family relationships and pre-adolescent drama, some scenes made me laugh, and others were saddening. They revealed the hardships and challenges faced by people of the post-World War II era with socioeconomic and political realities, for both children and adults. Bear River is an interesting small town whose powerful gossip mill is as dangerous as its ignorant residents, or perhaps, their secrets. The volatile dynamics between Althea and Sayer highlight the complex nature of marriage. If you are looking for a historical novel laced with drama, suspense, and plot twists, Red Summer by Frances Pettey Davis is a perfect pick.
