The Fervent Whites

A Novel

By: De'Shawn Charles Winslow

Guilt, shame, and suspicion swirl as a small community in upstate New York turns on itself in this moody, propulsive thriller from the award-winning writer of In West Mills.

“Endlessly entertaining . . . Does anyone write about the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality with more honesty and intensity than De’Shawn Charles Winslow?”—Wiley Cash, author of When Ghosts Come Home

The truth is closer than you think—just beyond the fence.

The year is 1982, and the people of the Hudson Valley community of Fervent have begun to move on from a homicide that upended the once quiet town. When the former neighbors who were convicted of the crime, James and Ella White, are proven innocent, released from prison, and return to Fervent, some people have cause for concern.

Sylvia Upshaw and her best friend, Lafayette “Fate” Jolly, are uneasy about the Whites’ return. While the Whites were incarcerated, Sylvia revealed an explosive secret to their adopted son, Morgan, with devastating consequences. During the murder trial, Fate’s testimony helped seal their fate. James and Ella won’t let the betrayals go unpunished. Sylvia and Fate quickly become victims of harassment from the Whites, and when another murder is committed in Fervent, the town is left to fend for itself.

Intimate and chilling, The Fervent Whites examines how small communities with long-simmering tensions behave when pushed to the limits of civility.

Critic reviews

“Does anyone write about the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality with more honesty and intensity than De’Shawn Charles Winslow? The Fervent Whites is a story of murder and buried secrets and how tight-knit communities nurture grudges as wholly as they nurture hope. This is an endlessly entertaining novel.”—Wiley Cash, author of When Ghosts Come Home

“Winslow writes small-town secrets and familial closeness with such a keen eye and deft hand; The Fervent Whites is an unsettling, propulsive, and cinematic thriller.”—Claire Lombardo, New York Times bestselling author of The Most Fun We Ever Had

“De’Shawn Charles Winslow is a formidable talent, as adept at plumbing the depths of our most intimate relationships as he is at convincing us to keep turning pages. I’ll read whatever he writes.”—Rachel Beanland, National Jewish Book Award–winning author of The House Is on Fire

“Winslow gracefully weaves in story lines concerning lingering pushback over integration in the area and the recent arrest of a white supremacist serial killer. A stunning climax and rich atmosphere ensure this makes a major impression. It’s a gut punch of a novel.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review