Northampton author Ellen Meeropol used her first four novels to explore how a range of social and political issues, from the rise of the U.S. security state in the aftermath of 9/11 to the divisiveness of the Vietnam War, played out in the lives of different people.
In her newest book, “The Lost Women of Azalea Court,” Meeropol has drawn on a chapter of local history — the former Northampton State Hospital — as background for a mystery that examines the secrets, lies and painful stories at the heart of a small group of families. The novel, set in Northampton, is also an examination of how society treats the mentally ill and the unpredictable ways in which people can come together.