First published 2024
Meghan McKenzie works as the youngest reporter at the Detroit Free Press. She has listened to family stories about her great-grandfather Robert Lee Harrington her entire life. In 1929, Robert moved his pregnant wife and young daughter to Birmingham, Alabama. The master carpenter came for work in the booming steel town they called the Magic City. His light-skinned wife and expensive car made him stand out in ways that worried him. Someone killed Robert, but the family never learned who or why. Meghan decides to find the truth. She travels to Birmingham and begins investigating the decades-old crime. Her search uncovers secrets that connect past and present across the city. The deeper she digs, the more dangerous her situation becomes. Local residents start helping Meghan with her investigation. Together they work to solve a murder that represents the racial violence that shaped their community.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, mystery, 21st-century, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, family-drama
Setting: Detroit, Birmingham, Alabama
Period: 1929
384 pages · Paperback · Dutton
Content warnings: racism, violence