{"product_id":"into-the-suffering-city-a-novel-of-baltimore-9780578618784","title":"Into the Suffering City: A Novel of Baltimore","description":"\u003cp\u003eNew historical crime thriller explores Baltimore through the eyes of a young female doctor on the autism spectrum.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eInto the Suffering City\u003c\/em\u003e, by Bill LeFurgy, centers on a murder investigation set against the backdrop of a historically accurate depiction of city life a century ago.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt's 1909 and Baltimore is jumping with danger and excitement. Cars, cocaine, ragtime music, and moving pictures are new. But some things are as old as the city itself: murder, corruption, and the painful divisions of race, class, and gender. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDr. Sarah Kennecott is brilliant and on the autism spectrum--a trait that is unidentified and unappreciated at the time. And after getting fired for probing the death of a showgirl, she refuses to back down. Although dealing with people is hard, she works to get information from arrogant and abusive men while defying an effort to banish her to a horrifying insane asylum. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSarah forms an unlikely bond with Jack Harden, a down-on-his-luck private detective struggling with a condition similar to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from witnessing a wartime massacre overseas. Jack pushes the case into Baltimore's seedy underworld, a vitally corrupt realm of saloons, brothels, and burlesque theaters. Along the way he's got to deal with a murderous police detective and a moving pictures actress who is as deadly as she is beautiful. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eInto the Suffering City\u003c\/em\u003e uses the actual historical circumstances of 1909 Baltimore, including virulent racism (including a law that prevents a people of mixed race from marrying a white person), rampant use of cocaine and other narcotics, and widespread, out in the open, prostitution. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eInto the Suffering City \u003c\/em\u003egives insight into the struggles a century ago of women, people of color, those with mental illness, those on the autism spectrum, and the great mass of people considered \"lower class.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book also explores the newly emergent field of criminal forensics at a time when fingerprints and rigorous crime scene analysis were not routine police procedure.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e High Kicker Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/15\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780578618784\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 318\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.89lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.71d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eBlueInk Review\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/10\/2020\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Bill Lefurgy","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36638981750940,"sku":"9780578618784","price":12.71,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_f97a88cd-c81d-4618-ac40-d2400265f8f6.jpg?v=1603848710","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/into-the-suffering-city-a-novel-of-baltimore-9780578618784","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}