Small town sins and secrets can be deadly.

Second Son chronicles a poor southern boy's journey to manhood during the final years of the Great Depression and the epic panorama of World War II.

In Mississippi, 1938, an eighth-grade education is all young Towanna Whitaker needs to be a sharecropper. Still, he is determined to finish high school and "be somebody"—until vicious rumors, bullying, and public shame drive his mother to abandon the family. It falls to a guilt-ridden Towanna to give up his education and care for the baby girl she leaves behind.

Towanna finds unexpected peace and purpose in caring for his baby sister while his pa and older brother bring in the crops—and great comfort in the presence of Kathy, their neighbor's daughter, who gives him a taste of what true love is like. But World War II arrives all too soon to tear them apart. Drafted into the army and deployed to Europe, Towanna must face death, loss, and his deepest fears if he's to survive the War and find his way home.

"Second Son is a warm and exciting story... a fine and moving novel you will want to own."—Penina Keen Spinka, author of Picture Maker, Dream Maker and Hidden in Mist.

"Second Son is an enthralling depiction of life in the Deep South during the final years of the Great Depression, and the hardships of World War II... fresh and deeply personal."—Rick Adelmann, Best-Selling Author of the MG&M Detective Agency Mysteries: The Greek Coins Affair, The Hilltop Ranch Affair, The Blue-Sky Affair, The San Carlos Affair, and the soon-to-be-released The Forgotten Murder Affair.