Turn a Blind Eye - by Billy Parks Burton (Hardcover)

About the Book

A tale of lawlessness, racketeering, and murder in 1940s Kentucky-and the story of one veteran's struggle to take back the vice-ridden community he discovers after a decade away from home.

Book Synopsis

Inspired by the Little Chicago era in Henderson, Kentucky, Turn a Blind Eye spins a tale of lawlessness, racketeering, and murder-and of one World War II veteran's struggle to take back the vice-ridden community he discovers after a decade away from home.

Alone and lonely, Hoyt Cole is an unlikely hero. He's lost the love of his life, he drinks too much, and he's suffering from combat fatigue. G. I. Bill-college degree in hand, Cole returns to Henderson to work as a reporter on the local paper, finding there an unrecognizable haven of vice. The authorities are corrupt, and the residents seem indifferent. But when Cole covers the story of a body found floating face up in the river, he knows his duty. If there's one thing he learned from serving in the Marine Corps, it's the importance of honor. Determined to reclaim his hometown, Cole risks his relationships, his job, and his life, to clean up a community in the grip of lawlessness, racketeering, and murder.

Review Quotes

"This noirish novel is set against the real-life backdrop of corruption and wide-open illicit gambling that took place in ... Henderson, Kentucky, in the late 1940s, [bringing] to life stories that the people ... never forgot." -Chuck Stinnett, Henderson journalist

"An interesting tale of a time when Henderson, Kentucky, was on the wild and woolly side of life." -Keith Lawrence, Owensboro (KY) Messenger-Inquirer

"I had a particular interest in Bill's portrayal of the vice and citizen-led reform depicted in his novel of the "Little Chicago" era in our hometown. His word pictures and riveting subplots, woven into the central narrative, deftly engage the reader throughout the book. ... I recommend it!" -Jerry Rhoads, three-term senator from the Sixth Kentucky District and inductee in the UK College of Law's Hall of Fame

"In Turn a Blind Eye, Bill Burton has used words like a gifted painter uses a brush, painting a colorful picture where fiction and fact blend perfectly. Both interesting and enlightening, his book is a rare combination worth reading." -Bill Cunningham, Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court (retired)