Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner

Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner, 241 pages.

Lucas Beauchamp, a black man reviled by his white neighbors for his refusal to feign respect for them, more or less saved Chick Mallison's life when Chick was a boy. A few years later, the now teen-aged Chick still rather reluctantly feels that he owes Lucas a debt. And when Beauchamp is accused of the murder of a white man, Chick has to decide whether to acknowledge his debt to a black man and attempt to help Lucas, or to allow the horrible customs of that time and place prevail. Beauchamp's claims of innocence are ignored by everyone, including Chick's uncle, a rational and fair-minded attorney, and the sheriff, who is portrayed as a reasonable and just man, because of the overwhelming prejudices of the time and place. All of this leaves Chick, who largely shares the views of his white family and friends reluctantly assisting Beauchamp.
Maybe not Faulkner at his best, but certainly at his most accessible, a decent mystery told in the authors inimitable style.
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