Author R.J. Bonett will discuss and sign copies of his book Biloxi on Friday, June 24 at 2 p.m. at the Beach Haven Public Library.

Bonett is a former Philadelphia police officer who always had a passion for writing, and began publishing books shortly after retiring following 23 years of service with the police department.

His first novel, Veronica, is a mystery and was released in July 2019. It was followed by New Hope, released that fall.

Biloxi is set in the Deep South between 1858 and 1865. For Tom Stewart, 1850 was the year his dream of owning a plantation came to fruition. With the financial help of his older brother David, he was able to buy at auction Cliveden, a 600-acre property on the edge of the Mississippi Delta. Not fully understanding the depth of responsibility that goes with owning and operating a plantation, he has difficulties, which leaves him no alternative but to seek further financial assistance from David.

David, wealthy in his own right, owns a shipping dock in Biloxi, and half interest in a dock in New Orleans.

His primary business is shipping and trade, but occasionally he dips into the institution of the slave trade, a necessity for keeping a plantation going. Realizing Tom’s disadvantage, David barters for a beautiful slave girl, Elizabeth, who works in the kitchen at Cliveden. Wealthy enough to possess any woman freely, what was the underlying force fueling his overwhelming desire for her?

With the impending Civil War over abolishing slavery, plantation owners realized there would be a devastating effect on their businesses of growing cotton and tobacco.

For more information on the signing, call the library at 609-402-7081