The Natural Selection
Left: H. L. Mencken, acerbic journalist for the Baltimore Sun; Right: Clarence Darrow, attorney for John Scopes
Sarah Kaufman is finally taking the vacation she deserves, visiting her cousin Lena, a college professor, in Tennessee. But relaxation is illusive, and not just because of a KKK parade or a shop locals refer to as the “Jew store.” The day after she arrives, she learns that Lena’s colleague has been murdered. Reluctantly, she agrees to help with the investigation, never imagining she would end up at the Scopes “monkey” trial, where the teaching of Darwinian evolution is under fire. Nor that the celebrated journalist, H. L. Mencken, would provide a critical clue. What follows is a harrowing search for the culprit, an even more tragic murder, and an injustice that Sarah is compelled to put right.
2009 California Commonwealth Club Book Award Finalist
2009 San Diego Book Award Finalist
2009 Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist
“A story about one of the most fascinating trials of history and told with a sympathy a remarkable eye and ear for the time. The research is superb.”
"In The Natural Selection, the second in a series of Sarah Kaufman historical mysteries, Ona Russell deftly weaves a fictitious tale of murder and intrigue with the factual Scopes 'Monkey' trial, called the Trial of the Century. Set authentically in Tennessee in the 1920s, the plot follows Sarah, a believable and appealing protagonist, as she interacts seamlessly with the story's characters as well as real participants from the trial, notably celebrated journalist H.L. Mencken. Russell crafts a vinegar divide between science and fundamentalism, reason and racism, change and convention, and intelligence and insecurity. The fast flowing, elegant writing will hook readers; but the book is all the more fascinating, if not distressing, because it strikes close to today's social and political climate. The controversy and relevance of The Natural Selection will draw them into the time period and keep them turning pages until the end."
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