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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
Hmm. Very hard read - the content is tough and the plot is slow.
Plot driven and a tough read. I’m excited to read the next in the series.
Wow, this was excellent. It took me a long time to get through (on audiobook), simply because the story is tough, and I usually read mysteries as an escape. No one can read this book and not think about policing today.
4.5 stars. I loved this story. I loved these characters. I had never heard of this book before, but I saw it in the store brand new for $5. The plot seemed interesting enough and I love stories set in early 20th century America. The pacing was really good. I never felt bored once through this book even though it’s not constantly action packed. I guess I could describe it as a “slow burn”. That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of action sequences or times when my heart was pounding. There were plenty of those times.
The big pay off wasn’t revolutionary. Without spoiling the twist in the plot I would say that a part of me saw it coming. It wasn’t so obvious that I still wasn’t shocked though. This is why I knocked 1/2 a star off the rating, but maybe that’s being too picky.
Overall, this book was a pleasant surprise. Having never heard of it and just buying it on a whim seems to have paid off well. This is definitely one of my favorites that I’ve read this year and I’ve already ordered the sequel. I’m excited to see how much more the characters will develop in the second part of the story.
The big pay off wasn’t revolutionary. Without spoiling the twist in the plot I would say that a part of me saw it coming. It wasn’t so obvious that I still wasn’t shocked though. This is why I knocked 1/2 a star off the rating, but maybe that’s being too picky.
Overall, this book was a pleasant surprise. Having never heard of it and just buying it on a whim seems to have paid off well. This is definitely one of my favorites that I’ve read this year and I’ve already ordered the sequel. I’m excited to see how much more the characters will develop in the second part of the story.
Beautifully written and painfully realistic - just prepare yourself to be raked over the coals. For me, this is one of those works of art that one admires and appreciates and never voluntarily reads again; I had to take this one at a few sittings or else I would lose my appreciation of the novel in my own anger. But, and this is a big one, the primacy and agency of Black people and the Black community in this story - think Mr. Tibbs and Easy Rawlins - is fantastic as this could easily have slipped into some Mississippi Burning nonsense.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Believable, detailed, and suspenseful police procedural. I will definitely be checking out other books by this author going forward.
I loved this book and the story of the first black police officers in an Atlanta town, but it is NOT going to be a book for everyone.
There were a lot of tough scenes, some involving torture of black citizens. Heavy use of the N-word, which would have been used during this time.
That being said, I personally find it important to read books like this as a young white person. I think it's important to acknowledge the racism that the black community faced and STILL faces in our country today.
There were a lot of tough scenes, some involving torture of black citizens. Heavy use of the N-word, which would have been used during this time.
That being said, I personally find it important to read books like this as a young white person. I think it's important to acknowledge the racism that the black community faced and STILL faces in our country today.
A slow burner in the noir style. The last 1/3 picks up considerably. Not an easy read, but a necessary read, and instrumental in documenting the history of racism in this country so far. I was particularly struck by the section where a white character shook a black character's hand for the first time and was surprised how white the palms were. Very well-written and well-researched. One thing that made me cringe: a white author wrote this and used the n word many times. I know it's historically accurate, but couldn't some other accommodation been made to stop perpetuating the term?
Mystery book group- mystery seemed somewhat secondary to the larger issues being addressed. Great detective mystery to establish a serie. I look forward to reading the next one