“One incendiary image ignites the next in this highly combustible procedural…written with a ferocious passion that’ll knock the wind out of you.” —The New York Times Book Review “Fine Southern storytelling meets hard-boiled crime in a tale that connects an overlooked chapter of history to our own continuing struggles with race today.” —Charles Frazier, bestselling author of Cold Mountain “This … bestselling author of Cold Mountain
“This page-turner reads like the best of James Ellroy.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“In the way the story is told coupled with its heightened racial context, Darktown reminded me of Walter Mosley or a George Pelecanos novel.” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“High-quality…crime fiction with a nimble sense of history…quick on its feet and vividly drawn.” —Dallas Morning News
“Some books educate, some books entertain, Thomas Mullen’s Darktown is the rare book that does both.” —Huffington Post
Award-winning author Thomas Mullen is a “wonderful architect of intersecting plotlines and unexpected answers”(The Washington Post) in this timely and provocative mystery and brilliant exploration of race, law enforcement, and justice in 1940s Atlanta.
Responding to orders from on high, the Atlanta Police Department is forced to hire its first black officers, including war veterans Lucius Boggs and Tommy Smith. The newly minted policemen are met with deep hostility by their white peers; they aren’t allowed to arrest white suspects, drive squad cars, or set foot in the police headquarters.
When a woman who was last seen in a car driven by a white man turns up dead, Boggs and Smith suspect white cops are behind it. Their investigation sets them up against a brutal cop, Dunlow, who has long run the neighborhood as his own, and his partner, Rakestraw, a young progressive who may or may not be willing to make allies across color lines. Among shady moonshiners, duplicitous madams, crooked lawmen, and the constant restrictions of Jim Crow, Boggs and Smith will risk their new jobs, and their lives, while navigating a dangerous world—a world on the cusp of great change.
A vivid, smart, intricately plotted crime saga that explores the timely issues of race, law enforcement, and the uneven scales of justice.
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One of those rare books that both my fella and I loved, that I have recommended successfully to folks with very different reading tastes, which is why I think it makes a great holiday gift.
Brutal-yet-ultimately-hopeful(ish) historical novel inspired by the first black police officers in Atlanta. It’s set in 1948 but is painfully timely. It’s intense and brutal but does exactly what good historical fiction should, which is to give a vantage point from which to connect the past to issues that are still very much present today, and the perspective to take a hard look.
This book was dark, disturbing, complex, and very well written. The characters are people you want to know more about. It is hard to revisit this time in our history, but at the same time knowing that there were those people who did what they could to promote change leaves the reader not only entertained by the story, but uplifted by the potential for social change.
An amazing fictionalization created from the realities of a Jim Crow-infested time in Atlanta’s history. It’s about the original members of the first Black police force in that city and it is indeed scary times for those members. Incredible bravery and fortitude to stay with the job after enduring the dirt they were dealt, especially from the existing white police force. To imagine that life is like this on a regular basis, even to this day, for the sole reason of having dark skin– is very hard to accept. Mullen is a gifted writer, yes, but you can also tell the hard work that went into the research of actual events and lives of the time. An exciting and informative book to read.
I am not from the South but have lived in Atlanta for 26 years and I am fascinated by its history since the racial tensions are still palpable today. The specific references to historical events, factual descriptions of neighborhoods and streets i have driven gave this story a greater sense of “too close for comfort” feeling as I read. It is well written and engaging so that it can share parts of our countries failings in a way some may learn from them and move forward instead of avoiding our past.
Enjoyed this book very much. I do not know much about what black police went through in the 40’s -50’s, found it very interesting. their reactions to situations were informative and well thought out. will read the next if this is a series.
I found this book when I was researching law enforcement and racism for a newspaper column. It’s a fictional account of the desegregation of the Atlanta Police Department in 1948. Mullen brings to life an ignominious time before the 1965 Civil Rights Act when “Negro” police officers had to endure both discrimination from white officers and mistrust from the black community they were trying to serve. It is both eye-opening and inspirational. And heart-breaking. More crime fiction should be like this.
Well written. I really like this book.
If you are the “sensitive type” who cannot abide the “N” word, this book is not for you. But if you want “reality” – the way it was, this book is a GREAT read! Historical fiction, this book tells the story of eight brave souls who signed on as Atlanta, GA’s first black cops, with emphasis on two of them.
As a young (21) year old naive gal from the L.A. area, I stepped into this world in 1962 and saw first hand the “reality” of segregation as it existed in Nashville, Tenn. I was appalled at the separate drinking fountains and bathrooms in the Courthouse, and the way blacks were treated. I was reprimanded by HR for speaking to the “elevator boy” – Nice white girls don’t speak to blacks!! Whoa!
But, if we step back and look over the advancement of the last 60 years, it is a vast improvement and we can only pray things will continue to peacefully improve for all of us. It’s a slow process. Great book, I hope to read more of his work.
Excellent!
An eye-opening trip to early 20th century Atlanta, Ga. where the Civil War is really not over and something even worse than slavery still remains. A black man or woman have no standing among whites in that City and their lives are forfeit upon a whim. Yet two black police officers (among Atlanta’s first eight and limited to “policing” blacks only, begin to make a dent in the standing of blacks as “people”. A heart-wrenching read which leaves the reader wishing for more and for more success for these officers. A great read which will keep you turning pages.
A haunting view of racism in the 1940s south. Atlanta has come a long ways.
I started this book because the theme is so connected to today’s realty. However, and that’s a big however, I quit after about the 40th page. I was getting so angry by what I was reading and realizing that this kind of s*** really went on and, to some degree, still goes on was eating at me. I guess its true, some of us just can not handle the truth.
This book stayed with me. Outstanding. I am looking forward to the second instalment.
I wanted to like this story much more. The premise was so gripping and the crime was a mystery I was eager to see unfold. Combined with the novel’s time period and its cast of characters, Darktown quickly drew me in with its look back in history- a hard to read (or, in my case, listen to) time in history when the African American community was treated with an overt brutality that shamefully, can still be seen today. The book had a sure 5 star rating for me. If only…there had been more of a resolution to the crime. Not to mention the fate of one character in particular-who was treated much more delicately than deserved. Anyway… situations were either unresolved or tied up with bows that were way too shiny, given all the detail that had gone into crafting them.
Totally liked the book,read it straight through and have also read his second book.wonderful writer,very good characters and an outstanding story,highly recommended
Mullen’s post WW ll story of Atlanta’s first African-American policemen opens eyes an rends hearts.
Darktown by Thomas Mullen is a Great story and very informative
It is an historical thriller that takes place in Atlanta in 1948 at the time of the integrating of the police force.
There is a murder of a young black woman – and so the story begins- many twists and turns.
The writing is fantastic- you feel the Atlanta heat and smell the hydrangeas! Highly recommend
Also there is a sequeL – two years later – Lightning Men