by S. A. Cosby
First published 2021
Ike Randolph gets the knock on his door he's dreaded for fifteen years. The cops tell him his son Isiah is dead, murdered alongside his white husband Derek. Ike had struggled to accept his son's sexuality and marriage, but the loss devastates him. Derek's father Buddy Lee carries his own shame about his gay son and his criminal past. Now both ex-cons face the same brutal reality: someone killed their boys. Despite their differences in race and temperament, Ike and Buddy Lee join forces to track down the murderers. Buddy Lee's underworld connections provide leads the police won't pursue. As they close in on their targets, both men confront the prejudices that damaged their relationships with their sons. Their hunt for vengeance becomes a reckoning with their own failures as fathers. The trail leads them deeper into violence, forcing them to decide how far they'll go to honor their dead children.
Genres: fiction, african-american, mystery, crime, thriller, family-drama
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, redemption
322 pages · Hardcover · Flatiron Books
Content warnings: homophobia, murder, racism, violence