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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thomas Mullen impressed me with his debut novel and now I’m eager to return for more. This time, we delve into post-war Atlanta, a hotbed of segregationist sentiment and Black suppression. While the city needs policing, it is apparent that there are issues that will require a less uniform race. Still, as Mullen addresses throughout, respect and equality are not present, leaving a small band of Black officers to struggle as they try to keep the peace in the city’s predominantly African American communities. A murder leaves some aghast, while others could care less, forcing a handful of cops to try to find justice amongst all the hatred. Thomas Mullen does it again, in this series debut, sure to be a hit.
While the Second World War ushered in a great deal of change, the race wars of America remained strong in the late 1940s. After being pressured to show a more integrated force, the Atlanta police hire their first Black officers in 1948. These men are trained, but there is a great deal of resentment towards them, both from their brothers in blue and by the general public, many of whom feel they are no better than the scum that wander the street. With significant limitations placed on them, this small group of Black officers try to swim against the current and keep parts of Atlanta safe that many others would not deign to visit.
Officers Boggs and Smith are two of these men, having grown up in Black America from vastly different families. Still, they share the inability to be taken seriously, while trying to patrol the streets of Darktown, the predominantly Black community. After a black woman turns up fatally beaten, her lifeless body triggers a memory in the two cops. They saw her recently accompanied by a white man and being slapped around. While this might trigger action in many other parts of the country, APD’s white officers could not care less, feeling that it is one fewer Black roaming the streets at night. As Boggs and Smith try to investigate, they are stonewalled by a wily cop named Dunlow, who has control of the streets and much of the APD force.
As the story unfolds, Boggs and Smith learn more about the victim and determine that her past may have come up to bite her, though this is no reason to dismiss her murder as anything less than a crime. As Dunlow tries to shut down the operation, he makes it clear that these Black police officers should stand idly by and simply serve as window dressing, leaving the real work to the white majority, none of whom could care less about the murder. Still, there is something to be said about dedication and perseverance, including a determination to keep the streets free of crime, no matter the colour of someone’s skin. Mullen keeps the reader guessing in this novel, which touches on race relations, policing, and the need for colourblind justice, even in the Deep South.
I am a great fan of historical fiction, particularly when mysteries are woven into it. Thomas Mullen has impressed me with what little of his I have read, always able to transport the reader back in time and touching on some of the issues of the day. Strong themes emerge in the solid narrative, which lays the groundwork for a stellar story, developing with each passing chapter. The characters are also highly important, fuelling the racial divide effectively and keeping the reader in awe of the treatment handed down by both sides. Plot twists emerge, as in many other mystery novels, but they are all locked in race and cultural divisions, adding something new to the book that kept me flipping pages well into the evening. I can only hope the next book in this series proves to be as exciting, as I have so much more than I would like to learn, both about Boggs and Smith, as well as the growth or recession of Atlanta’s police force.
Kudos, Mr. Mullen, for laying the groundwork for a stellar series.
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This book was gifted to me about a year ago, and I didn’t get to it until now. However from the description alone I thought that this would be an interesting read, primarily because of the combination of being a crime novel and one that would deal with race dynamics and the challenges with a segregated system (let alone a segregated police system). But does the book live up to the jacket’s promise?
In short, yes – but also no. I acknowledge that the main plot – the death of a woman that is the main investigation from main characters Boggs & Smith – is a good page-turner, and for the most part holds up throughout the novel. We’re given several red herrings along the way, and the story twists accordingly to make sure that it’s not an open and shut case (even though the white police officers would love it to stay that way). The first part of the book also follows a neat structure in that it seems to follow the day-to-day shiftwork from the beat cops (both the white and black officers). That’s the “yes” part.
The “also no” part rests with the characters. Going back to the structure really quick, the “beat cop” narrative structure gets dropped as Boggs & Smith (and Rakestraw, to an extent) begin to investigate the murder in earnest. I was slightly disappointed that this structure was dropped midway through the book, because I thought it was an interesting lens to follow the story through. But that aside, I had more problems with the characters, so let’s get back to that.
I think that Boggs was the only character that was fully fleshed out. As the book goes along we find out that yes, he is technically a war veteran, but he didn’t actually go overseas; he was held back (due to his extra “enthusiasm” to fight) and had a miserable time in South Carolina training camps. He comes from money – his father is a Reverend very popular in the community – and realizes that the world works much differently than he has been allowed to perceive; he comes very close to quitting as a police officer at a few points in the book.
The rest of the characters come across as your “usual” caricatures found in race relations media. The evil, bad cop Dunlow just hates the black officers, and is doing everything he can to get them fired. He encourages his kids to take up violence to drive a black man out of a white neighbourhood. Mullen attempts to give him some depth at the end of the novel when he tells a story about how he felt sorry for prostitutes in a brothel, but it really falls flat.
Officer Rakestraw, the “progressive” officer, is thankfully not presented as a white saviour. His backstory is a little bit interesting – he’s progressive because his grandmother suffered persecution in Germany and encouraged acceptance and tolerance in his family, so at least his progressiveness tracks. Despite his willingness to accept the black police officers, he doesn’t do much to help them: he tells himself he’ll stop Dunlow from beating up black people; he doesn’t understand what the black police officers really want, and his reason for helping investigate the woman’s murder is to help separate white cops from black cops and keep them out of each other’s business. In the end, Rakestraw is by no means “enlightened” and just barely respects his black colleagues – so I will give Mullen points for this realism.
That’s where I’m also conflicted. By the end of the books, the only real “progress” is that Boggs decides he will stay on the force as a police officer. Otherwise, nothing else has really changed. The murder is solved (more on that in a little bit), but there’s no justice involved. All of these things are realistic and fit with the era in which the novel is set. I guess I was disappointed with the mostly flat characters.
The setting – Atlanta – also seemed to be very important to the book, but then it also wasn’t. The way it was important is because it is very true, the city of Atlanta introduced black police officers in 1948. The attitudes toward black people in the South the late 40’s are very relevant, and the contrast between the “country” and the “city” are felt here. There’s a feeling of safety felt in Atlanta that is not at all there outside the city limits that is very believable and real. But Mullen concentrates on making sure we know exactly how hot it is, but I don’t see how that heat comes into play in the story at all.
And that’s another point of writing that really bothered me. Mullen used some really bad metaphors and literary devices to describe how oppressively hot it was, and it took me out of the book.
The sun was not taking any prisoners.
Page 247
…the sun had a serious agenda that no sane person wanted to get involved with.
Page 283
I have to figure that Mullen was trying to emulate the “hard boiled” detective stories that he references as books Boggs read as a kid; were these descriptions supposed to be from Boggs’ point of view? It doesn’t seem that way, but really…the writing was bad. In other areas, it was sloppy. I found at least two sections where the narrative cut off just as a character was about to learn something important, and the next section we get has a character saying something to the effect of, “Wow that was some important information we learned! We better act quickly.”
And there was a point where we are made to think a character was shot in the head, and then soon after in another chapter the character is talking freely with another, and we don’t find out until the NEXT chapter after that one what really happened – the onomatopoeia of “bang” was just mouthed by the character pointing the gun at him. That felt really cheap.
Which leads me to the conclusion of the murder investigation. Throughout the whole book there were so many twists and turns that it felt like it was a complicated story and every time we learn something new, another layer was added to the story. As it continues more and more suspects are eliminated until we find out that “it was the congressman’s son”. That also felt like a really cheap ending. We’ve gone through all sorts of trials and ordeals, and it ended up being a simple, clichéd solution. Isn’t it always the rich kid who makes a mistake and tries to handle it?
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the book despite the flaws I pointed out. The story WAS interesting and I finished it rather quickly compared to my “normal” pace of reading. Credit to Thomas Mullen for crafting the book in such a way to keep me reading all the way through!
I initially thought a “3” rating was appropriate for the book but after re-thinking everything, I think two stars makes sense here. I liked the book, but there were a lot of problems with the book (for me) that I couldn’t look past. Glancing over the Goodreads reviews, most of them are 4 or 5 stars, and I hope that it is because the readers genuinely enjoyed the book that much, and not because the book purported to look at racial issues in 1948 Atlanta and they feel obligated to give it a high rating lest they be painted as racist. I think there is enough in this book that lead me to believe someone could genuinely enjoy it that much, so I’m not going to think poorly of those people.
If you are looking for a mystery / crime novel, I don’t think you would be disappointed with this novel. Twists, turns, some conspiracies – it’s got quite a lot packed into 370 pages. On top of that, it could also sit on the “Historical Fiction” shelf. Give it a shot!
In short, yes – but also no. I acknowledge that the main plot – the death of a woman that is the main investigation from main characters Boggs & Smith – is a good page-turner, and for the most part holds up throughout the novel. We’re given several red herrings along the way, and the story twists accordingly to make sure that it’s not an open and shut case (even though the white police officers would love it to stay that way). The first part of the book also follows a neat structure in that it seems to follow the day-to-day shiftwork from the beat cops (both the white and black officers). That’s the “yes” part.
The “also no” part rests with the characters. Going back to the structure really quick, the “beat cop” narrative structure gets dropped as Boggs & Smith (and Rakestraw, to an extent) begin to investigate the murder in earnest. I was slightly disappointed that this structure was dropped midway through the book, because I thought it was an interesting lens to follow the story through. But that aside, I had more problems with the characters, so let’s get back to that.
I think that Boggs was the only character that was fully fleshed out. As the book goes along we find out that yes, he is technically a war veteran, but he didn’t actually go overseas; he was held back (due to his extra “enthusiasm” to fight) and had a miserable time in South Carolina training camps. He comes from money – his father is a Reverend very popular in the community – and realizes that the world works much differently than he has been allowed to perceive; he comes very close to quitting as a police officer at a few points in the book.
The rest of the characters come across as your “usual” caricatures found in race relations media. The evil, bad cop Dunlow just hates the black officers, and is doing everything he can to get them fired. He encourages his kids to take up violence to drive a black man out of a white neighbourhood. Mullen attempts to give him some depth at the end of the novel when he tells a story about how he felt sorry for prostitutes in a brothel, but it really falls flat.
Officer Rakestraw, the “progressive” officer, is thankfully not presented as a white saviour. His backstory is a little bit interesting – he’s progressive because his grandmother suffered persecution in Germany and encouraged acceptance and tolerance in his family, so at least his progressiveness tracks. Despite his willingness to accept the black police officers, he doesn’t do much to help them: he tells himself he’ll stop Dunlow from beating up black people; he doesn’t understand what the black police officers really want, and his reason for helping investigate the woman’s murder is to help separate white cops from black cops and keep them out of each other’s business. In the end, Rakestraw is by no means “enlightened” and just barely respects his black colleagues – so I will give Mullen points for this realism.
That’s where I’m also conflicted. By the end of the books, the only real “progress” is that Boggs decides he will stay on the force as a police officer. Otherwise, nothing else has really changed. The murder is solved (more on that in a little bit), but there’s no justice involved. All of these things are realistic and fit with the era in which the novel is set. I guess I was disappointed with the mostly flat characters.
The setting – Atlanta – also seemed to be very important to the book, but then it also wasn’t. The way it was important is because it is very true, the city of Atlanta introduced black police officers in 1948. The attitudes toward black people in the South the late 40’s are very relevant, and the contrast between the “country” and the “city” are felt here. There’s a feeling of safety felt in Atlanta that is not at all there outside the city limits that is very believable and real. But Mullen concentrates on making sure we know exactly how hot it is, but I don’t see how that heat comes into play in the story at all.
And that’s another point of writing that really bothered me. Mullen used some really bad metaphors and literary devices to describe how oppressively hot it was, and it took me out of the book.
The sun was not taking any prisoners.
Page 247
…the sun had a serious agenda that no sane person wanted to get involved with.
Page 283
I have to figure that Mullen was trying to emulate the “hard boiled” detective stories that he references as books Boggs read as a kid; were these descriptions supposed to be from Boggs’ point of view? It doesn’t seem that way, but really…the writing was bad. In other areas, it was sloppy. I found at least two sections where the narrative cut off just as a character was about to learn something important, and the next section we get has a character saying something to the effect of, “Wow that was some important information we learned! We better act quickly.”
And there was a point where we are made to think a character was shot in the head, and then soon after in another chapter the character is talking freely with another, and we don’t find out until the NEXT chapter after that one what really happened – the onomatopoeia of “bang” was just mouthed by the character pointing the gun at him. That felt really cheap.
Which leads me to the conclusion of the murder investigation. Throughout the whole book there were so many twists and turns that it felt like it was a complicated story and every time we learn something new, another layer was added to the story. As it continues more and more suspects are eliminated until we find out that “it was the congressman’s son”. That also felt like a really cheap ending. We’ve gone through all sorts of trials and ordeals, and it ended up being a simple, clichéd solution. Isn’t it always the rich kid who makes a mistake and tries to handle it?
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the book despite the flaws I pointed out. The story WAS interesting and I finished it rather quickly compared to my “normal” pace of reading. Credit to Thomas Mullen for crafting the book in such a way to keep me reading all the way through!
I initially thought a “3” rating was appropriate for the book but after re-thinking everything, I think two stars makes sense here. I liked the book, but there were a lot of problems with the book (for me) that I couldn’t look past. Glancing over the Goodreads reviews, most of them are 4 or 5 stars, and I hope that it is because the readers genuinely enjoyed the book that much, and not because the book purported to look at racial issues in 1948 Atlanta and they feel obligated to give it a high rating lest they be painted as racist. I think there is enough in this book that lead me to believe someone could genuinely enjoy it that much, so I’m not going to think poorly of those people.
If you are looking for a mystery / crime novel, I don’t think you would be disappointed with this novel. Twists, turns, some conspiracies – it’s got quite a lot packed into 370 pages. On top of that, it could also sit on the “Historical Fiction” shelf. Give it a shot!
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A book inspired by the story of 8 black men who at the end of WW2 are recruited as the first people of colour to be police officers. The book then focuses on two officers who are frustrated by the limitations of their role and the inherent racism to which they are exposed within the wider service. As they come across a young woman apparently being abused by a white man they call for help from 2 white officers who are then key characters as an investigation ensues when a body is later discovered.
The book lifts the stone and looks at the nastier elements of society in the 1940's america and I found it both compelling with a great plot but also a fascinating piece of history.
The book lifts the stone and looks at the nastier elements of society in the 1940's america and I found it both compelling with a great plot but also a fascinating piece of history.
Set in Atlanta in 1948, this book uses the true story of the first African-American cops in Atlanta as the framework for a mystery that exposes the corruption within the police force. So many contrasts are presented in this book - the lives of well-educated African-American are juxtaposed with lower middle class whites and the urban poor, both white and black. The lives of city folk are contrasted with the troubled experience of the rural African-Americans living in the same areas where their ancestors had been enslaved. Throughout the story runs the omnipresent racism and physical danger that all African-Americans lived with and have not fully escaped today. It is easy to see the roots of events today in the past as depicted here. This book has only scratched the surface, but it does not try to sanitize or excuse anything. All of the characters are compelling. I was a little disappointed that some of the white characters eventually turned out to have backstories that explained their complete rejection of the humanity of African-Americans. Having grown up white in Texas in the 60s and 70s, I am all too aware that sometimes people are just horrible racists. They don't need a pivotal experience to make them that way (or to excuse their behavior, which this book does not try to do); they are the flowering of the racist culture they were raised in. I did like the fact that the more open-minded white guy was aware and ashamed of explicit racism, but was (for the most part) unaware of the implicit racism of his own actions. His lack of self-knowledge made him believable and appropriate for the time. The wealthier African-American families could also not always see the impact of their behavior and assumptions on others not in their situation. The idea that even well intentioned actions can have devastating consequences is a major theme in this book. Highly recommended.
Spännande och provocerande kriminalhistoria som berättas ur två svarta polisers perspektiv i Atlanta 1948.
Grim, powerful crime novel depicting the racism and corruption in 1948 Atlanta as the first black police officers were given limited roles.
dark
informative
tense
slow-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:
Yes
Sickening and uncomfortable in a good way. A must read, IMO. Detailed and all of the POVs were excellent. It is very slow paced though, so you really have to stay invested to enjoy the story.
Loved the writing style. Also appreciated how the white protagonist, though certainly less appalling than his coworkers, still harbored racist beliefs and was nowhere near perfect - given the setting and the time, this felt like the appropriate choice (also preventing the reader from using the "well not all white people" excuse to avoid feeling uncomfortable).
I'll definitely be checking out the sequel.
I'll definitely be checking out the sequel.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
I received an advance copy of this book from Simon & Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review.
This was a really interesting book to read in light of what’s been going on in the United States lately. Despite being in Canada and from my perspective, things being better here, we do hear a lot about it, and there is an effect on things up north. And there has never been an effect on the television shows, movies, and books we’ve been seeing. Black Lives Matter has been a common theme, and I think, for good reason. It’s what we need right now, in light of some recent events.
This is not a discussion on social attitudes, though. This is about this book by Thomas Mullen. I enjoyed this book, and had a lot of fun reading it, despite some of the heavier topics it involves. Is it the greatest, most original book I’ve ever read? No. It’s pretty straight forward, and there’s nothing particularly surprising about the mystery. But it’s still enjoyable, and there are some great elements to it.
The Good Points of Darktown:
The characters in this book are great. With a book that focuses so much on race, it would be easy to fall into stereotypes and one-sided characters. But Mullen created some great characters that have different sides, good qualities and bad qualities, and none of them have anything to do with the colour of their skin. Even the people I was supposed to dislike in this book, I still enjoyed following them.
The writing in this book is easy to read, without being dumbed down. So many adult books tend to be written to impress, rather than to tell a story. This book is written well enough that it feels like adult fiction, but you get so wrapped up in the story that you forget that you’re actually reading.
I liked the way that the race issue was presented and handled in this book. In these times, it can be a really sensitive issue, and just that alone may get this book some interesting press upon its release. But Mullen presented it in a way that doesn’t make any one race look bad, instead showing that individuals alone choose to be good or bad.
The Downsides of Darktown:
When you read the synopsis for this book, you get the impression it is going to focus predominantly on the murder mystery. However, the race issue takes a bigger precedence in this book. Not necessarily in a bad way, but when I’m promised something in a story, I expect that to be what I get.
There’s nothing particularly unique about the murder mystery, or about the book in general. You may not guess how the murder mystery works out, but it won’t surprise you either. The actions of some of the characters you’ll predict right from the beginning. It’s good, just not that original.
All in all, I enjoyed this book, and I may even read it again, but it was nothing spectacular. Perhaps I’ve just read/watched too many mysteries though, and have gotten good at guessing things. But if you’re looking for a good that handles the issue of race in a really great way, you should definitely check this one out.
This was a really interesting book to read in light of what’s been going on in the United States lately. Despite being in Canada and from my perspective, things being better here, we do hear a lot about it, and there is an effect on things up north. And there has never been an effect on the television shows, movies, and books we’ve been seeing. Black Lives Matter has been a common theme, and I think, for good reason. It’s what we need right now, in light of some recent events.
This is not a discussion on social attitudes, though. This is about this book by Thomas Mullen. I enjoyed this book, and had a lot of fun reading it, despite some of the heavier topics it involves. Is it the greatest, most original book I’ve ever read? No. It’s pretty straight forward, and there’s nothing particularly surprising about the mystery. But it’s still enjoyable, and there are some great elements to it.
The Good Points of Darktown:
The characters in this book are great. With a book that focuses so much on race, it would be easy to fall into stereotypes and one-sided characters. But Mullen created some great characters that have different sides, good qualities and bad qualities, and none of them have anything to do with the colour of their skin. Even the people I was supposed to dislike in this book, I still enjoyed following them.
The writing in this book is easy to read, without being dumbed down. So many adult books tend to be written to impress, rather than to tell a story. This book is written well enough that it feels like adult fiction, but you get so wrapped up in the story that you forget that you’re actually reading.
I liked the way that the race issue was presented and handled in this book. In these times, it can be a really sensitive issue, and just that alone may get this book some interesting press upon its release. But Mullen presented it in a way that doesn’t make any one race look bad, instead showing that individuals alone choose to be good or bad.
The Downsides of Darktown:
When you read the synopsis for this book, you get the impression it is going to focus predominantly on the murder mystery. However, the race issue takes a bigger precedence in this book. Not necessarily in a bad way, but when I’m promised something in a story, I expect that to be what I get.
There’s nothing particularly unique about the murder mystery, or about the book in general. You may not guess how the murder mystery works out, but it won’t surprise you either. The actions of some of the characters you’ll predict right from the beginning. It’s good, just not that original.
All in all, I enjoyed this book, and I may even read it again, but it was nothing spectacular. Perhaps I’ve just read/watched too many mysteries though, and have gotten good at guessing things. But if you’re looking for a good that handles the issue of race in a really great way, you should definitely check this one out.