A Novel by
Red
Summer
It is the summer of 1954, and the small California town of Bear River simmers with Cold War paranoia. A story of love, betrayal and revenge in the McCarthy period.
A Novel by
It is the summer of 1954, and the small California town of Bear River simmers with Cold War paranoia. A story of love, betrayal and revenge in the McCarthy period.
The vivid rendering of small-town life — with all its jealousies and secrets, its rivalries and unexpected alliances — would surely make Harper Lee envious. Red Summer is a book you won't soon forget.
Amazon Editorial Review
The Story
Althea Bailey returns home to Bear River with her husband Sayer and their ten-year-old daughter Freddie — only to find the town she grew up in transformed. McCarthy-era paranoia has taken root. Old friendships have curdled into suspicion. Neighbors who once cared for one another are turning on each other with terrible consequences.
Althea carries her own isolation — she experiences synesthesia, a neurological condition that causes her to see colors in sounds, a gift that has always made her feel like an outsider. Sayer, a teacher and storyteller from Texas, is regarded with quiet suspicion by the locals. And Freddie — vivid, wild-hearted, imaginative — must navigate a childhood suddenly fraught with adult fear.
Inspired by Steinbeck in its feel for the land and the people who work it, Red Summer is a novel about what happens when fear is weaponized — how the bonds of community fray, how decency is abandoned, and how the powerful exploit the frightened. And how the costs are borne by everyone, even those who thought themselves safe.
Set in the Central Valley of California during the summer of 1954, this richly researched debut novel is both a deeply human story and a timely reminder of what America has been through before.
Why This Book, Why Now
Frances Pettey Davis remembers the McCarthy era. She grew up in the Central Valley during the Second Red Scare — the fear on the radio, the paranoia in the schoolyard, the neighbors who stopped speaking. Thousands of people lost their jobs, their families, their homes, because of the hysteria.
Red Summer is a work of historical fiction, but its concerns are urgently contemporary. Davis wrote it as a reminder that this kind of fracture — the fear-stoked division, the inflammatory rhetoric, the erosion of civility — has happened before in America. And that we got through it.
Hopefully, we'll get through this one too.
Reader Reviews
Red Summer is a gem about how the red scare and McCarthyism corrode the civility of small town life in California during the 50s. With finely drawn characters, attention to detail, and intricate descriptions of small stores and farms, the author paints a vivid picture of the economic fabric of the town... Ultimately, the cost of losing the civility and care for one another is borne by everyone in the town, even those most powerful.
Davis captures a depth of feeling that I don't think I've ever seen in another book. Her portrayal of children is memorable and cinematic, and Althea's fascinating special sense reminds us that magic, light, and life come together in both tender and tragic ways. It's a great read.
I began reading this book on a plane flight, and couldn't put it down when we landed. I fell in love with the complex, nuanced characters. This well researched novel of historical fiction is not only beautifully written, but a timely message from the McCarthy era to our present day political situation.
Beautiful and evocative writing, vivid characters, and historically accurate, nuanced storytelling set in rural agricultural California in the 1950s. A summer read for people who appreciate great writing.
Amazon Verified Review · July 2025
Available Now
Available in paperback and Kindle. Order from Amazon or ask for it at your local independent bookstore.
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