Reaping the Whirlwind

Reaping the Whirlwind by Rosey Dow is a historical mystery that examines the real story behind the historic Scopes Trial of 1925, and its impact on modern America. The book follows small-town Sheriff Trent Tyson as he investigates the mysterious murders of two people; an elderly woman thought to have died of heart failure while alone in her home, and a homeless man murdered a few weeks later. The mystery is rooted in the real story behind the historic 1925 Scopes Trial, also known as State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes. As the mystery unfolds, Dow reveals the reality of the Scopes Trial and its lasting impact on American culture.

Small-town sheriff Tyson Trent is the sheriff in Dayton, Tennessee, a tiny town without much going on, though the sleepiness of the town abruptly shifts when Trent investigates the body of an old woman, who was found dead in her home. Though the town doctor is convinced that there was no foul play and the woman died of heart problems, Trent finds it suspicious that the woman was locked inside her own house. He begins to casually investigate the case as a murder; his investigation becomes more than just casual after an autopsy comes back, indicating the woman was murdered.

Meanwhile, as Trent investigates the unseemly murder of an elderly woman, the town of Dayton is in an uproar over a brewing trial in the state of Tennessee. The trial began with an ad placed by the American Civil Liberties Union, seeking a volunteer teacher willing to implicate him or herself in order to test the legality of a new law prohibiting the instruction of evolution in Tennessee schools. This law, called the Butler Act, is part of the creationist and anti-evolution movement, which is moving swiftly through many southern states. A local substitute teacher, John T. Scopes replied to the ad, and soon the state of Tennessee was prosecuting Scopes for violation of the new law.



The murder of the old woman occurs one week before the Scopes Trial when hundreds of people have flocked to the city to watch what will prove to be a landmark case in the history of American education. This pleases Scopes and others in Dayton, who hoped that the trial would bring tourism and a lively economy to the struggling small town. While reporters are following every movement of John T. Scopes and the high-powered lawyers involved in the case, William Jennings Brian and Clarence Darrow, Trent is looking for a murderer.

Soon after the body of the old woman is found inside her home, the murderer strikes again. This time, the target is a homeless man. Suddenly, Trent realizes that he is tracking a serial killer – a violent person with a desire to snuff out the lives of anyone who is weak, lame, or otherwise unwanted by society. With the backdrop of the Scopes trial, where the subject of evolution and survival of the fittest is being argued on the national stage, Trent has the eerie suspicion that the person he is tracking has nefarious, and in some ways scientific motivations.

Ultimately, Dow reveals the real story of the Scopes trial – including the fact that John Scopes was innocent, not even sure if he had ever taught evolution in a public school setting because he was a substitute teacher. Regardless, he implicated himself, was found innocent, and ultimately forced higher courts to question the efficacy of teaching creationism to public school students.



Rosey Dow is a best-selling and award-winning mystery author. A former missionary and long-time lover of mystery novels, Dow has written more than twenty-five books, including the titles Meagan's Choice, Betrayed, and Lisa's Broken Arrow. Reaping the Whirlwind is her most well-known book, and won the Christy Award for North American Historical Fiction in 2001. Dow now lives in the South, writing novels for a living.