Part 1 of Essay
It was the summer of 1972 when Spring Hill, a Washington, D.C., suburb, got its first taste of an increasingly violent, insecure modern world. The quiet residential area, whose inhabitants traditionally left their doors unlocked and spent the summers attending one another's cookout, was rocked by the news that 12-year-old ....

Part 2 of Essay
.... scandal. The tension proves too great when the Eberhardts' shy bachelor neighbor, Mr. Green, takes interest in Marsha's mother. Though murder is the most visible crime in Marsha's neighborhood, it is by no means the only one, Marsha's father and aunt run off together and Marsha wrongly accusses Mr. Green for the death of Boyd Ellison. Marsha's father had left before the summer Boyd Ellison was killed. The divorce had a tremendous impact on the whole family. Marsha's twin brother and sister spent the summer ....