This novel is a few years old and is the prequel to 'Heaven, My Home' by the same author that I posted in April. The books should be read in sequence, and I strongly recommend both. Darren Matthews is a Texas Ranger, only the second black one in history, and the principal character in both novels. In this one, he is sent from Houston east to Shelby County to investigate the murder of a black man from Chicago. Butting up against local hatreds and plenty of secrets, he solves that crime as well as one from a few years back. The books are great mystery stories, but what makes them exceptional is the author's skill in dealing with race in communities where blacks and whites have lived side by side for generations, sharing the same space and the rural poverty that comes with it. The author is a young black woman from Texas, who is very good at her craft.
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