A Long Way Home

In the mid-1960s in a small Vermont town, there has been a double murder at the Grand Hotel. Now, a Black man, the hotel tailor, sits in jail awaiting his fate.

When Harold Dickerson is accused of murder, his surprising bond with a teenage neighbor helps him in his defense. Meanwhile, the town constable works against them.

Did petty theft lead to the murders? A scorned lover who wants revenge? A key to a remote Indian deer camp might provide a clue.

Full of suspense with twists and turns, this simple, dignified man wants nothing more than to find home. But is he a murderer or an unsung hero?

In the adventure of the reveal, a town and its people are forever changed.

A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Richard Lechthaler served three years in the US Navy's Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean, attended the London School of Economics, and worked on New York's Madison Avenue before city life soured in The Big Apple. He moved to Vermont along with his new wife in 1968. There, he discovered that while the state was changing, precious remnants of the old Vermont remained. He worked for six years as director of marketing at Stratton Mountain Ski Resort before joining Northeast Planning Associates, a regional financial planning firm. He retired in 2019 and sat down and wrote his first book. Dick and Carole raised three children and now enjoy helping raise their four grandchildren. They are all pleased to call Vermont home.