Lucius Boggs is a scion of Atlanta's black community in 1948: The college-educated son of a prominent minister, he is a veteran of World War II and one of the city's first "colored" police officers. Boggs and his partner, Tommy Smith, have worked hard to achieve this distinction—though they know all too well that, by forging this new path, they are walking targets in the fiercely segregated Southern city. When a young black woman is found murdered on their beat in "Darktown," the white community doesn't care. But for Boggs and Smith, her death means something…especially since they last saw the victim running from a white man. Determined to uncover the truth behind the murder, the men begin a covert investigation that thrusts them into a dangerous quagmire of police corruption and racial violence—an investigation that not only could cost them their lives, but could threaten their entire community. This gritty page-turner is part crime novel, part history lesson (complete with offensive racial slurs), a deeply immersive mystery starring an unforgettable team of sleuths.

(KG)

This title is part of our 2018 Mysteries Book a Month Package.