46 pages 1 hour read

Susan Crandall

Whistling Past the Graveyard

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2013

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Chapters 27-33Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 27 Summary

Porter arrives and fights with Lulu after Lulu accuses Mamie of not doing what they “pay her for.” Porter asks Eula if she and James want to come in the car, and Eula nods. At a diner, Starla tells Porter her story, starting with Priscilla. She says that Wallace kidnapped James, and she reveals that Eula killed Wallace with a skillet.

Chapter 28 Summary

James and Eula sit at a separate table, and Starla tries to get Porter to use the bathroom so that she can tell Eula about how she changed the story, but Porter is already speaking to Eula. He suspected that Starla “modified” the part about Wallace kidnapping the baby. Porter tells Eula that he’s friendly with a county deputy, so he thinks the police will treat her respectfully. Starla is less confident.

Starla criticizes Porter for not revealing that he and Lulu got a divorce. Porter didn’t think Starla remembered Lulu—she left when Starla was “so little.” Now, Starla thinks that Lulu is “horrible.” Porter admits that he made a mistake.

For lunch, Porter suggests Riedell’s diner, but Starla doesn’t want to support a racist business, so Porter finds a restaurant that serves white and Black people.