... vivid ... In [...] When Evil Lived in Laurel, Wilkie follows along through the ludicrously conflicting stories the Knights concocted to cover themselves; the spiraling fear of informers they couldn’t manage to identify; the wild-eyed accusations they started to level at one another; the threats of trials and expulsions and retribution that ran through the ranks; the desertions, the confessions, the breakdowns, the collapsing membership and the deepening despair.
In acclaimed journalist Curtis Wilkie’s fascinating new book When Evil Lived in Laurel: The 'White Knights' and the Murder of Vernon Dahmer, the author takes the reader inside the White Knights sect to document their rise and fall during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, a fall that came too late for their victims ... Written with the gripping narrative of a thriller novel, When Evil Lived in Laurel makes readers feel as if they were actually there as the Klansmen plotted and carried out their reign of terror in Laurel and surrounding counties.
This thorough, well-researched book represents a landmark in the history of the Klan, how they operated in the Deep South, and the complex, often frustrating role of law enforcement. Most of all, When Evil Lived in LaurelM/em> demonstrates the continued impact of racial violence on the current political climate in America. Readers will find a wealth of historical detail in this engaging narrative, a natural follow-up for fans of the 2018 Spike Lee film BlacKkKlansman who want to learn more about this subject.
[T]he author skillfully examines a case full of cloak-and-dagger intrigue: passwords, death threats, secret codes, clandestine meetings in wooded areas after dark, and well-maintained suspense about whether the White Knights would discover the spy in their midst ... A true-crime tale that offers a rare insider’s perspective on the KKK in its heyday in Mississippi.
