First published 2017
Brady Sims enters a Bayonne, Louisiana courtroom where his son has just been convicted of robbery and murder. He pulls out a gun and shoots the young man, then asks the sheriff for two hours before surrendering himself. A newspaper editor sends his cub reporter to find the human interest angle behind this shocking act. The reporter heads to the local barbershop, where the barbers and regular customers begin telling Brady's story. They reveal a man who served as unofficial disciplinarian for the black children of Bayonne, using tough love to keep them in line and protect them from an unjust world. Brady was honorable and unsparing in this role, handed down by the white sheriff and black community alike. When his own son made a fatal mistake, Brady felt compelled to carry out what he saw as necessary justice. Through these voices, the story reveals a small Southern town divided by race, where the black community struggles to survive as many residents leave for the North during the Great Migration.
Genres: drama, american-fiction, historical-fiction, crime, southern-gothic, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-secrets, small-town, tragedy
Setting: Bayonne, Louisiana
Period: Great Migration
111 pages · Kindle Edition · Vintage
Content warnings: death, murder, violence