by Cherie Jones
First published 2021
Lala grows up hearing her grandmother Wilma's cautionary tale about the one-armed sister who disobeyed her mother and entered the forbidden Baxter's Tunnels. Now adult, Lala lives on Baxter's Beach with Adan, her charismatic husband who makes his living through petty crime. When Adan's attempted burglary of a beachfront mansion goes wrong, the failed heist triggers a cascade of violence that engulfs their community. A gunshot rings out with an unintended witness. A newborn baby turns up dead on the sand. Lives intersect across the rigid boundaries of race and class in this changing resort destination. Two desperate men venture into the dangerous Tunnels, driven by greed to attempt a risky crime that threatens their freedom and survival. Lala finds herself caught between worlds, paralyzed by loss as the consequences of that single botched robbery ripple outward, connecting servants and wealthy homeowners in ways none of them anticipated.
Genres: literary-fiction, domestic-fiction, crime, 21st-century, family-drama, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: consequences, interconnected-stories, social-commentary
Setting: Baxter's Beach
Period: 21st-century
288 pages · Paperback · Back Bay Books
Content warnings: violence