DNF!

I gave up! I tried both reading the book and listening to the audiobook, but neither worked for me. The story seemed interesting, but the characters left no impression on me. For instance, one character showed up, just to be killed off a soon after, and I had already forgotten his name. This is just such a bland book with underdeveloped characters that I struggled to not let my mind wander whiles listening to the book. ( )

Dark novel about a detective called into solve brutal murders in post - reconstruction Atlanta. Murder and death scenes described in too much detail all throughout the book. Won't read this author again. ( )

A serial killer is terrorizing Antebellum Atlanta, who if not caught quickly will jeopardize the success of the upcoming 1881 International Cotton Exposition. Prominent black businessmen are found dead with a single letter carved into their forehead. Detective Thomas Canby, a disgraced former Atlanta policeman, is called back into town to help find the killer. He is partnered with Atlanta's African-American police officer, Cyrus Underwood.

After reading the blurb on the inside dust jacket flap, I was eager to read this book, especially the relationship between the two officers. I was disappointed to find that Underwood made very few appearances in the book. When he did make make appearance there was little substance, the character was not fleshed out. The reader never understood the motivations behind this character. Did he have a past? How did he break the racial barrier to become the first black police officer? For a character that received top billing on a book's dust jacket flap, I expected more than I read. ( )

A mystery set in post-Civil War Atlanta. It is 1881, and the city is hoping to gain notice as a progressive Southern city with the International Cotton Exposition. But a series of gruesome murders threatens to scare visitors away. Thomas Canby, a detective who recently left the city in disgrace, comes back to partner with the city's first Black police officer, Cyrus Underwood, to solve the crime. I enjoyed this book, especially the historical detail, but the number of murders that were included between the book's covers prevented much character development. I don't think that this is a part of a series, so I was left wanting to understand Canby and Underwood a bit better. ( )

Disappointing. I really do love mysteries, but I am picky. I don't like cozy and I don't like gratuitous and overly descriptive violence.

This author was nominated for an Edgar for his last book, so I was hopeful, and LAPL recommended it. It's too violence and too obvious at the same time--I don't want to be able o guess who the guilty party is halfway through the book. At the same time, there were holes in the story that were never explained.

The end of this book certainly makes this seem as though it will be a series. Meh. ( )