by Sue Harmes
First published 1999
Sam Cayhill sits on death row, his appeals nearly gone. The former Klan member was convicted of bombing a Mississippi law office twenty-two years earlier. The blast killed Marvin Kramer's two young sons. Now Sam faces execution with little hope left. Enter Adam Hall, a young attorney willing to take on the seemingly impossible case. Hall steps into a legal battle against time and a justice system ready to carry out Sam's sentence. The lawyer must navigate the complexities of death penalty appeals while confronting the ugly history of racial violence that brought his client to this moment. As the execution date approaches, Hall fights to find new grounds for appeal. He faces not only legal obstacles but also the weight of the victims' deaths and the community's demand for justice. The case forces both men to reckon with the past and its consequences in present-day Mississippi.
Genres: historical-fiction, crime, african-american-historical-fiction, legal-thriller
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, redemption
Setting: United States, Mississippi
Period: 20th-century
105 pages · Paperback · Pearson College Div
Content warnings: racism, violence