Books: Trouble at Lacey

THE VOICE AT THE BACK DOOR (334 pp.) — Elizabeth Spencer — McGraw-Hill ($3.95).

The people of Lacey, Miss, had reason to be proud of themselves and of their town. After a history stained by lynching and violence, they had acquired a new sheriff who was outspokenly determined to apply justice equally to blacks and whites. The leading politician, Kerney Woolbright, backed the sheriff's policy. So did Jason Hunt, the town's rich man. Even Bootlegger Jimmy Tallant was willing to accept this manifestation of the "new South"—provided his business was left alone.

But Sheriff Duncan Harper is too highprincipled to let anything...