Black & White

June 6, 2011
The versatile Shiner (Black and White) plunges into the dark recent history of Argentina in this thriller that tells a gentle love story against a backdrop of sheer terror. Rob Cavenaugh, an American computer programmer, has sought solace in Buenos Aires after the breakup of his marriage. While tangoing one night in a dance club, Rob meets Elena, a beautiful but troubled woman who's been followed for the past several weeks by a tall, gaunt man who stays in the shadows. Under pressure from Rob, Elena finally reveals that the stranger may be a hit man sent by her stepfather, whom she recently discovered was a leading figure in the murder of thousands of political dissenters in the mid-1970s. Finding himself now a target, Rob must scramble not only to protect Elena but to elude danger himself. Shiner gracefully and efficiently tells his moving tale within a tight frame. Along the way are short tutorials on tango, Argentine history, and torture techniques.

March 31, 2008
Set in Durham, N.C., Shiner's powerful and affecting sixth novel (after 1999's Say Goodbye
) explores civil rights, race relations and “progress” in that city over the past half century. In 2004, 35-year-old Michael Cooper accompanies his father, Robert, who's dying of lung cancer, and his mother, Ruth, from Texas to Durham, to honor his father's wishes and to find out more about his father's past. Michael learns about Hayti, a well-to-do black neighborhood that was demolished to make way for an expressway, uncovers an old murder and finds himself point-man in a race to prevent a much greater tragedy. Shiner weaves Michael's, Robert's and Ruth's stories into a stunning tapestry that captures the hopes, dreams, greed, bigotry, ambitions and betrayals that shaped their destinies and those of our country. While the crime plot builds to a conventional resolution, Michael's poignant discovery of his parents' roots and the splendid depiction of Durham's changing social fabric more than compensate.