First of all, this has no idea what kind of novel it wants to be: is it a book about cults? scam artists? grief and loss? police brutality? interracial relationships? female friendship? high school to college transition? I could forgive the clumsy shoehorning of every social issue a teen could face into the background if the plot were interesting and the characters well developed. However, this thriller falls into the trap that so many do: characters making decisions inconsistent with their personalities and rendering their motivations incomprehensible. I think I’m so frustrated because if Jackson had chosen just one of these paths to go down (how friendships change in response to abusive partners, how family relationships can change when after exposure activism on college campuses, how unprocessed grief and loss can impact future relationships, how those in positions of power can use misinformation to manipulate vulnerable people) the premise of this book could have had an equally compelling execution. However, I mostly found myself frustrated with the characters, unsurprised by the twists, and deeply curious about character dynamics Jackson never explores.

I finished this in less than 24 hours, and all I can say is thank GOD Jumata Emill has written other books because I will absolutely be reading everything he’s written immediately. I’m honestly sort of enraged that I’m flew through this book so quickly because I did not want it to end. I went back and forth between reading a physical copy when I had time to sit down and immediately grabbed my headphones to listen to the audiobook whenever I had to stand up and use my hands. It’s that unputdownable. BUT WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

Okay, okay calm down. It’s about Pryce, a queer, Black student-journalist on summer break from his first year at a nearby HBCU who has returned to his church and football-obsessed hometown to investigate a series of murders that rocked his community five years earlier. The only person of interest in the case, a closeted black boy a few years older than Pryce, died before any real investigation could take place. Faced with new information about the case that might point to a different killer, Pryce decides to pursue a podcast project in the hopes of discovering the truth about the murders. If he can pull it off, maybe his project can push back on the pervasive narrative that homosexuality leads to violence and maybe he’ll finally have the courage to be honest about who he is with the family he would do anything to make proud.