I also thank the students in my Civil Rights & Rule of Law course from the fall 2018 semester at the Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University. I used an early draft of the novel as reading material for the course, and the students embraced the work with eagerness and open minds. I am indebted to Dr. Ellen Goldey, the dean of the Honors College at the time, for allowing me to create and teach the class.
A thank you also goes to the team at Greenleaf Book Group, especially my lead editor Jessica Choi, for the team’s professionalism and efforts in bringing the story to the public.
The Criminal Section’s civil rights enforcement work has been waiting to be celebrated for many years. I am humbled and honored to have served in the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division at the US Justice Department as a young lawyer. Certain characters' traits in the book are taken from people I knew during my time in the section, but the characters—by any measure—are fictional. They are not meant to reflect actual individuals. The book, however, is a testament to those who work or have worked in the Criminal Section and to its enduring mission.
Finally, I am most grateful to my family—my wonderful wife Robin Rosenberg, daughters Sydney and Madison, and son Adin—for their unabashed enthusiasm regarding my many projects and for their unconditional love for me.
READING GROUP GUIDE
Adrien Rush and Lee Mercer come from very different backgrounds. How do their differences influence how they see each another? Do they judge each other fairly? Does their relationship change over time? If so, how?
How does the fact that Adrien Rush is young and white affect his role investigating and prosecuting hate crimes in the South? Does he have standing to be a civil rights lawyer?
The Klan burned crosses at locations associated with various minority communities or groups in Lynwood. Do the victims in the story perceive the burning crosses differently from nonminorities? If so, why?
When do the events in the story take place? Are the issues raised in the story—race, police corruption, violent extremism, and the rule of law—still as relevant today as when the story unfolds?
Who is your favorite character in the novel? Why?
Is there a hero in the story? If yes, who is it and why?
Does Frank Daniels, the Klan’s grand dragon, have any redeeming qualities? If so, what are they?
Frank Daniels and Adrien Rush both are depicted in the story as ambitious. What drives their ambitions? Are there similarities between Rush and Daniels? What is the significance of Daniels’s missing fingers and the fact that Rush is missing some of his toes?
What is the relevance of the Twins Motel to the story? Is it significant that Rush stayed there during his trips to Lynwood? Why do the novel’s most dramatic events take place at the Twins Motel?
Does Adrien Rush feel the same about all the victims? Does he treat Nettie Wynn differently than the other victims? If yes, what accounts for his different approach?
Despite the fact that the Klan burned the crosses in a town in the Deep South, the victims who were targeted reflect the changing demographics of Lynwood (and the nation). Compare the Deep South of the 1960s, 1990s, and today. Do the decades make a difference in how the country has tried to address racial violence? If so, how?
Rush is unwilling to make a decision about whether to reveal Detective Batiste’s lies until he meets with Nettie Wynn. Why? Was it fair for Rush to burden her with that decision? Why or why not?
Do you agree with Rush’s decision to tell the court about the Klansman’s confession being coerced? What would have happened if he had remained silent?
Daniels and his followers did in fact burn the crosses to start a new race war. Does it matter that Daniels’s confession was true? Does the fact that Daniels murders someone after being released change your view?
Why did Rush want to be a prosecutor? Did Rush fail as a prosecutor?
What is more important: securing justice for the victims of the cross burnings or protecting Daniels’s civil rights? Why?
Numerous strong women, including Nettie Wynn, Nicole DuBose, Assistant US Attorney Kris Battle, Section Chief Kay Tipton, and US District Judge Gail Matthews, play significant roles throughout the story. How do these female characters help set the narrative’s tone? How does Rush treat women in the story? Is the novel a feministic story at heart?
What is Rush doing at the Lincoln Memorial in the last chapter? Does his presence at the memorial provide a clue about what Rush intends to do next?
What does a burning cross mean to you?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael McAuliffe has been a practicing lawyer for over thirty years. He was a federal prosecutor serving both as an assistant US attorney in the Southern District of Florida and an honors program trial attorney in the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.
In 2008, Michael was elected and served as the state attorney for Palm Beach County, leading an office of over 120 prosecutors.
He also has been a partner at a major law firm, a global company general counsel, a senior lecturing fellow at Duke University’s School of Law, and an adjunct professor at William & Mary’s School of Law. Early in his career, he was a Civic Education Project fellow and visiting professor of law in the Czech Republic.
Aside from the law, Mr. McAuliffe is an alpine mountaineer, having climbed and reached the summits of Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro (with his daughter), Island Peak in the Himalayas, and many other mountains.
He received his JD from the College of William & Mary’s Law School and his BBA from the Business Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin. Michael and his wife Robin Rosenberg, a US district judge, have three children and live in Florida and Massachusetts.
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