Murder on Second Street: The Jackson Ward Murders

It's 1929 and a local Negro neighborhood called Jackson Ward in Richmond, Virginia is booming. In fact, it's called "The Black Wall Street of America" by economists of the day. Things are booming financially and socially for the Negro community, but then a series of what appears to be random murders of poor working class Negro women begins to happen and everyone is on edge, especially the Negro business owners. The Ward is a very tight community - strangers cannot move freely about in this segregated town. They hire haunted World War I veteran and alcoholic Sy Sanford to catch the cold-blooded murderer, but murder is not the only thing threatening to destroy "The Black Wall Street of America." The real Wall Street is about to come tumbling down and plunge Jackson Ward and its infamous 2nd Street into a debilitative financial and social state it may never recover from

Rebekah L. Pierce is an avid playwright and author with her works focusing on contemporary women and their search for purpose and identity. She received her MA in English with a concentration in Literature from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2002. In 2006, Mrs. Pierce placed as an alternate in the Virginia Commission of the Arts Playwriting Fellowship for her works Perfect and The Myth. Her work has appeared in the following Off-Broadway festivals: the Midtown International Theatre Festival, The Network One Act Festival, Strawberry One Act Festival, the DC Black Theatre Festival and the Fresh Fruit Festival. Her most recent non-fiction publication is the self-awareness resource book, Kryptonite Killed Superwoman: Trading in the Cape for an Authentic, Purpose-Driven Life. It features a collection of inspirational blogs and journaling activities designed to empower and encourage women to live and work in their purpose. Murder on Second Street: The Jackson Ward Murders is her first full length mystery/suspense novel. Inspired by early 20th Century American and African American history, this debut novel gives a stark look into the commerce and race politics of one of America’s most historic neighborhoods, Jackson Ward, Richmond, VA. Soon to be released will be Pierce’s second mystery/suspense novel, Sex, Lies & Shoeboxes featuring an African American female protagonist and set in Stockton, CA in the mid-1990s. An African-American military veteran and prevailing entrepreneur, Mrs. Pierce knows her purpose is to give a voice to women from all walks of life through her plays and publication. She is also a former radio talk show host, founder and publisher of Average Girl Magazine, motivational speaker, English teacher, wife and mother. She lives in Richmond, VA with her husband and two children.