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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.