There’s no such thing as the good ol’ days and reading Thomas Mullen’s Darktown is a fair reminder of that.  In this historical crime novel, America is still patting itself on the back for a job well done in World War 2, but late-40s Atlanta offers a glimpse of home-grown intolerance and corruption that must be confronted.

Following the war, Atlanta has hired its first black police officers to serve the community known as Darktown. The eight new officers aren’t exactly held in high regard...