BLUE BEACH

The mysterious death of a teen girl threatens the tenuous relationship between Black and white communities in a California beach town in 1929.

Fifteen-year-old Blue Collins and her friend Ben Clark avoid the partying crowd the evening after the annual Poseidon’s Trident Parade, instead taking a sunset stroll along Blue’s family’s property, a refuge for Black beachgoers in Santa Monica. There they discover the body of white teen Dottie Whitehouse. Knowing the trouble a dead white girl would cause for Blue’s family as well as Black boys and men in the area, they take Dottie’s body out into the ocean. When Dottie washes up on a neighboring white beach, the investigation focuses on Ben’s earlier interactions with the dead girl, making him a suspect. And when he disappears, both Black and white folks become convinced of his guilt. Racial tensions mount, threatening Blue’s family and highlighting local resentment over the existence of an African American–owned beach. A loyal Blue is frantic to find a way to prove Ben’s innocence. This taut mystery successfully blends history, the complexities of life in a close-knit community, and issues within Black society (such as colorism, which affects Ben, who has a darker complexion). Blue is a fully realized protagonist who’s surrounded by an intriguing, richly drawn supporting cast. Parsons’ latest is a page-turning narrative bolstered by a strong sense of time and place.

A riveting story of secrets, betrayal, racial struggle, and loyal bonds.