Murder at Town Meeting

Race. Real estate. A long forgotten burial account. When several town officials and an endangered amphibian meet untimely ends at the hands of "America's purest form of democracy," four teens, two white, two Cape Verdean, confront prejudice, privilege, and each other in an effort to conceal evidence that could incriminate a friend.

Selectman and middle school teacher Wes Blauss has participated in many town meetings in his not-quite-fictional town of Hanson, Massachusetts. He's seen flipped tables, forged documents, interdepartmental trysts, cops barring the exits, and an aerial search for an illegal piggery performed by characters universal in their appeal: condescending public employees, perjured elected officials, whistleblowers, unsuccessful peace brokers, and single-issue voters who will not succumb to gavel. The one thing he has not witnessed is an actual murder, although the number of murders contemplated during a town meeting would probably astonish. This novel is his attempt to remedy that.