TWO GUNSHOTS. A HASTY SUICIDE VERDICT. AND A CITY DETERMINED TO BURY THE TRUTH ALONGSIDE THE BODY.
In the autumn of 1885, the Gilded Age splendor of Newport, Rhode Island, was shattered. Benjamin J. Burton-a prominent Black entrepreneur-was found dead on his kitchen floor with a gunshot to his head, another to his heart, and unchewed bread still in his mouth.
Despite the bizarre scene, authorities moved with suspicious haste, declaring it a suicide and burying Burton without an inquest. But as whispers of a cover-up began to circulate, the truth could no longer be ignored.
A Harbor of Deceit follows an unlikely trio forced to navigate a community fractured by the accusation of patricide, and a tangled web of uncooperative authorities to find justice:
- P.J. Galvin: The son of an Irish immigrant and the youngest member of the Newport bar, thrust into a spotlight he never asked for.
- The Pinkerton Detective: A gritty New York investigator who specializes in the secrets people kill to keep.
- Aunt Emily: Burton's formidable sister-in-law, a woman who refuses to let anyone silence her family's tragedy.
As the investigation deepens, the spotlight turns toward Burton's own family-specifically his son-in-law, a brilliant medical student on the verge of becoming one of the country's first Black surgeons. When a deathbed confession reveals a cold-blooded plot to fund a medical education with a father's life, Newport is split in two. Is it a case of ruthless ambition, or is an innocent man being framed?
Based on the popular non-fiction account featured in Smithsonian Magazine and Narratively, this is the haunting true story of a 19th-century crime that riveted a nation. It is a masterful exploration of a courtroom drama where the line between guilt and innocence is blurred by the shadows of the Gilded Age.
"Kay Adams and Nancy Markey combine meticulous historical research with masterful and intimate storytelling. The result is a dynamic page-turner... a forgotten case that demands attention." - Brendan Spiegel, founder and editor, Narratively
