Thursday, July 17, 2025

This author and I attended the same high school together

It Never Rains in Los Angeles ~ by Charles Flowers, 1970, mystery, 256 pages
This is the story of the murder of a black radical leader at a Los Angeles high school and a white teacher's attempt to find the murderer.  It won the Thomas R. Coward Prize for best first novel.
I had not been aware of this one until a friend of mine mentioned it.  (Thanks, Sarah.)  Charles Flowers was not in our class, but we all attended Chattanooga High School at the same time.  I have also just learned that Charles went on to teach college, and I was happy to see this review on Amazon:
"I first read this decades ago when the author was a professor at my college, and about once a decade or so, I read it again.  It was his first novel and an engrossing story, beautifully written.  Yes, it is a mystery and a good one, but it is more a character study of Finch who is clearly based on Flowers."
Sarah also sent me a link to the author's obituary, HERE.  It says that he passed away at the age of 81 on October 30, 2024.

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