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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
Living in the southern United States, I've always heard and seen a lot about the civil rights movement. But, this novel brought to light a story that I had never considered before: the first African American police officers in Atlanta during the late 1940s. They were truly in limbo. They were grudgingly accepted, but also mistreated by their fellow white police officers (they weren't even allowed to enter the main APD building alone). They were also widely mistrusted by their fellow African American citizens. Were they spies, traitors, sellouts?
The story follows an attempt by two of those first police officers trying to solve a murder. They had limited resources and were not allowed to formally investigate crimes (they basically just passed on information to white officers who took over the case). But, more often than not, if the crime occurred in "Darktown" and the victim was African American, no investigation every happened even if it was reported.
This book is not a genre that always intrigues me, but it was a good read, and realistic enough that it could almost read as nonfiction. I will be looking for other books by this author.
The story follows an attempt by two of those first police officers trying to solve a murder. They had limited resources and were not allowed to formally investigate crimes (they basically just passed on information to white officers who took over the case). But, more often than not, if the crime occurred in "Darktown" and the victim was African American, no investigation every happened even if it was reported.
This book is not a genre that always intrigues me, but it was a good read, and realistic enough that it could almost read as nonfiction. I will be looking for other books by this author.
A good story, but very tough to get through. I had to put it down for a while and come back. The injustice is everywhere and is infuriating but it's an accurate portrayal of our history and important to understand.
I can always tell when a historical novel is compelling because it makes me want to know what really happened to those people during that time in that place. This book made me feel that way. It is a great police procedural with a good mystery and it has fantastic historical interest. I highly recommend it.
Wonderfully written page turner. But the heinous racism also made me gasp, cry and made it hard to read at bedtime without thinking about the horrors of America that still permeate society.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Historical fiction that reads like a suspense thriller. Enjoyable page turner, and timely reminder of troubled history of race relations that continue to plague our country today.
The factual underpinning of the story dealing with the conditions of the first black police officers in Atlanta just after the end of the second world war is both fascinating and depressing— no police car; having to find a phone box to call for back up; no authorization to arrest white people. The list goes on. The fictional story that surrounds it is interesting enough, but no more than that. Fairly good read, but nothing special.
This is the type of story that will make everyone's blood boil, stomach turn, and heart ache. Not because this is a thriller and it's gruesome, but because of the things the reader learns about Atlanta (or just the south period) pre-Civil Rights. I get angry and disgusted just thinking about the way black people were treated, and the amount of corruption that there was in the police department. These first black police officers weren't even allowed to arrest anyone, nor were they given squad cars; they couldn't even walk into the "white" police department in uniform. I won't go into too much more detail, because I think everyone should read this novel to find out more details. Yes, it's technically historical fiction, but I'm positive that Mullen did not take liberties with his descriptions.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot