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Tall Cotton
In the summer of 1970, in the small town of Lowell, Mississippi, ten-year-old Bailey Connor lives in constant fear of his abusive father, Otis. His mother, Annie, dreams of an escape and accepts a job working for Jim Cunningham, a wealthy white plantation owner. But when Jim is found brutally stabbed to death, Annie, a Black woman in a town still deeply segregated, is quickly accused of the crime. Since the Connors have no money for a lawyer and the nearly all-white jury is poised to convict, Annie’s fate seems sealed—the electric chair waits in the shadows.
While visiting Lowell, Jonathan Streeter, a prominent Black attorney with a troubled past, reluctantly agrees to take on Annie’s case. With Bailey’s world thrown further into turmoil, he desperately tries to help Jonathan free his mother.
As the trial gains national attention, Jonathan uncovers a tangled web of lies, corruption, and deep-seated racial hatred woven into the very fabric of Lowell, all tied to Jim’s murder. While violence escalates and interference from the local KKK grows, Jonathan and Bailey become trapped in a life-and-death struggle against those determined to bury the truth… and the two of them along with it.
While visiting Lowell, Jonathan Streeter, a prominent Black attorney with a troubled past, reluctantly agrees to take on Annie’s case. With Bailey’s world thrown further into turmoil, he desperately tries to help Jonathan free his mother.
As the trial gains national attention, Jonathan uncovers a tangled web of lies, corruption, and deep-seated racial hatred woven into the very fabric of Lowell, all tied to Jim’s murder. While violence escalates and interference from the local KKK grows, Jonathan and Bailey become trapped in a life-and-death struggle against those determined to bury the truth… and the two of them along with it.
316 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 7, 2025
24 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
March 17, 2025
I am an ARC reader and this is my honest opinion. There are good books and great books. I'm generous with my 5 star reviews, as long as I've enjoyed a book. But occasionally I read a book like this that I wish I could give an A star plus. Wonderful characters written by this author in a tragic story of a black couple in Mississippi in the deep south in 1970, where they live on the poverty line, picking cotton like their enslaved ancestors, for a rich man in his enormous plantation mansion. Annie May's husband is frequently drunk and very violently jealous. Narrated by their 10 year old son, Bailey the reader really feels the terror of the children every time their father nearly kills their mother. So when Annie May is arrested for murder, rather than her husband it's a shock. Being a black woman in her situation, as her lawyer says - she'd already been convicted without a trial. This kind of subject has been done before, but I kept thinking This would make a great film!
June 16, 2025
This is a must read. Wonderfully written!
Tall Cotton by Catherine Tucker is a compelling thriller that masterfully balances suspense with profound emotional depth. The engaging narrative and well developed characters make for a gripping read, while the author's thoughtful exploration of tough topics adds a layer of nuance and impact.
The book's emotional resonance leaves a lasting impression, elevating it beyond the thriller genre to something truly memorable.
I had rhe pleasure of reading this book as an ARC thanks to Booksirens.
Published 9 June.
Tall Cotton by Catherine Tucker is a compelling thriller that masterfully balances suspense with profound emotional depth. The engaging narrative and well developed characters make for a gripping read, while the author's thoughtful exploration of tough topics adds a layer of nuance and impact.
The book's emotional resonance leaves a lasting impression, elevating it beyond the thriller genre to something truly memorable.
I had rhe pleasure of reading this book as an ARC thanks to Booksirens.
Published 9 June.
May 13, 2025
The headline reads: Black women accused of murdering a white man.
When Jonathan Streeter, prominent civil rights attorney reads the headline and realizes the female defendant, Annie Connor, is his old flame from his growing-up days in Lowell, MS, he has no choice but to defend her. Along with Annie’s ten-year-old son, Bailey, they begin their own investigation into the murder of Jim Cunningham, a wealthy, white cotton plantation owner. The pair’s research and interviews uncover unholy alliances, lies, violence, cheating, government agencies, and KKK involvement – the standard MO for white folks in Lowell. What eventually comes to light is an outcome so profound, it rocks the entire nation.
There are many things to appreciate about this story.
The twist. At the beginning, one thinks this is going to be a book about domestic violence and revenge. This thought is aided by the highly descriptive scenes of fraught family life in the Connor household and the respite Annie gets when she’s with her boss and murdered man, Jim. In the end, we learn this is not that story.
As with many great murder mysteries there are many suspects, many motives. Tall Cotton has its share and then some. Just when you think you have the killer figured out, new evidence leads you elsewhere . . . and at times back to the accused. Is it the fiance’, the business partner, the KKK, a relative named in the will, a government conspiracy, a jealous husband, an accident, or plain, old burglary taken to the extreme? So many suspects, so many red herrings.
The old-age sayings and adages as well as the classic song titles generously sprinkled throughout the story helped lighten the heaviness of the story. The story is set in the 70s and it’s apparent from not only the sayings and songs, but also the clothes, hairstyles, and other cultural references that the author did her research. A true transport back into time.
Trigger Warnings:
If incidences and stories of racism unsettle you, be warned. The author tells an authentic story of the time and circumstance, including depictions of racial violence, verbal assaults, physical violence, unfair situations steeped in systemic racism, deaths, and an overtly unjust criminal justice system. These are all troubling and may cause stress for certain readers.
The depiction of domestic abuse is stark and visceral. Every time Otis, a Black man who is not allowed by society to be a man, appeared on the page, taking out his rage on his wife and the only child in the house that is not his biological child, I tensed. If your threshold is low for such, be warned.
As a whole, Tall Cotton is a robust book, full of sympathetic characters, enticing sub plots, and a satisfactory resolution to the age-old question, ‘who dun it?’.
When Jonathan Streeter, prominent civil rights attorney reads the headline and realizes the female defendant, Annie Connor, is his old flame from his growing-up days in Lowell, MS, he has no choice but to defend her. Along with Annie’s ten-year-old son, Bailey, they begin their own investigation into the murder of Jim Cunningham, a wealthy, white cotton plantation owner. The pair’s research and interviews uncover unholy alliances, lies, violence, cheating, government agencies, and KKK involvement – the standard MO for white folks in Lowell. What eventually comes to light is an outcome so profound, it rocks the entire nation.
There are many things to appreciate about this story.
The twist. At the beginning, one thinks this is going to be a book about domestic violence and revenge. This thought is aided by the highly descriptive scenes of fraught family life in the Connor household and the respite Annie gets when she’s with her boss and murdered man, Jim. In the end, we learn this is not that story.
As with many great murder mysteries there are many suspects, many motives. Tall Cotton has its share and then some. Just when you think you have the killer figured out, new evidence leads you elsewhere . . . and at times back to the accused. Is it the fiance’, the business partner, the KKK, a relative named in the will, a government conspiracy, a jealous husband, an accident, or plain, old burglary taken to the extreme? So many suspects, so many red herrings.
The old-age sayings and adages as well as the classic song titles generously sprinkled throughout the story helped lighten the heaviness of the story. The story is set in the 70s and it’s apparent from not only the sayings and songs, but also the clothes, hairstyles, and other cultural references that the author did her research. A true transport back into time.
Trigger Warnings:
If incidences and stories of racism unsettle you, be warned. The author tells an authentic story of the time and circumstance, including depictions of racial violence, verbal assaults, physical violence, unfair situations steeped in systemic racism, deaths, and an overtly unjust criminal justice system. These are all troubling and may cause stress for certain readers.
The depiction of domestic abuse is stark and visceral. Every time Otis, a Black man who is not allowed by society to be a man, appeared on the page, taking out his rage on his wife and the only child in the house that is not his biological child, I tensed. If your threshold is low for such, be warned.
As a whole, Tall Cotton is a robust book, full of sympathetic characters, enticing sub plots, and a satisfactory resolution to the age-old question, ‘who dun it?’.
April 10, 2025
The book Tall Cotton by Catherine Tucker is set in 1970 with a main family of characters having rich, diverse challenges in their lives. Annie is the mother, who is married to her husband Otis, and together they have four young children. The husband is a cotton plantation worker while the mother takes care of the family. The mother knows her family could use more money, so accepts a part-time maid job with the plantation's owner. Otis is working for the plantation owner himself during the day, picking crops. She takes this job, so she doesn't make him feel like a lesser man with his wife bringing home much needed funds. Of course, this is when trouble starts for the whole family. Race plays a big part of the story. It was hard to realize that the KKK was so prevalent during the time that I grew up and people had so much hatred for others with different skin colors than their own as I did not see this in my community. I feel so lucky to have known my friends of all colors without this hatred so many communities had. The author does a wonderful job weaving the viewpoint of the different ages of the family with the clashes of that time. The end of the book will not be known until you turn the last page. I give this book 5 stars! #booksirens #TallCotton #CatherineTucker
October 21, 2025
I’ll admit, I was a little hesitant going into Tall Cotton. Sometimes, I have to be in the right headspace to read stories touching on Black oppression or generational trauma—it can get heavy. But wow, this book completely surprised me in the best way possible.
From the very first chapter, I was drawn in. The pacing is tight, the tension is palpable, and the Mississippi 1970s setting feels so vivid that you can almost feel the humidity and the weight of history pressing in. Catherine Tucker’s storytelling is powerful, weaving historical fiction and courtroom drama together so seamlessly that I couldn’t put it down.
Bailey completely stole my heart—his curiosity and humor were such a light throughout the story. Annie Lee, though, was the emotional core for me. Her pain, her strength, her constant fight against impossible odds… I felt every bit of it.
And that ending? That plot twist had me sitting there with my mouth wide open. Tall Cotton delivers on every front: suspense, emotion, and a layered exploration of justice and survival. One of the most gripping historical novels I’ve rea
From the very first chapter, I was drawn in. The pacing is tight, the tension is palpable, and the Mississippi 1970s setting feels so vivid that you can almost feel the humidity and the weight of history pressing in. Catherine Tucker’s storytelling is powerful, weaving historical fiction and courtroom drama together so seamlessly that I couldn’t put it down.
Bailey completely stole my heart—his curiosity and humor were such a light throughout the story. Annie Lee, though, was the emotional core for me. Her pain, her strength, her constant fight against impossible odds… I felt every bit of it.
And that ending? That plot twist had me sitting there with my mouth wide open. Tall Cotton delivers on every front: suspense, emotion, and a layered exploration of justice and survival. One of the most gripping historical novels I’ve rea
April 8, 2025
There aren't enough stars to rate this book!
This powerful novel plunges us into the harsh realities of rural Mississippi in the 1970s through ten-year-old Bailey's eyes.
His mother, Annie, a Black woman, faces a terrifying injustice: wrongful arrest for her white employer's murder. The family's palpable fear of their drunken, abusive father and his cruelty towards Annie adds another layer of tension. Hope arrives in the form of a lawyer, a familiar face from Annie's past, dedicated to fighting for the wrongly accused.
I received this novel as an ARC from BookSirens and this is my honest review.
Catherine Tucker crafts believable, deep characters, and while the journey is fraught with anxiety, the conclusion offers a sense of hard-won justice with all loose ends tied up neatly. A compelling and moving read that I would highly recommend.
This powerful novel plunges us into the harsh realities of rural Mississippi in the 1970s through ten-year-old Bailey's eyes.
His mother, Annie, a Black woman, faces a terrifying injustice: wrongful arrest for her white employer's murder. The family's palpable fear of their drunken, abusive father and his cruelty towards Annie adds another layer of tension. Hope arrives in the form of a lawyer, a familiar face from Annie's past, dedicated to fighting for the wrongly accused.
I received this novel as an ARC from BookSirens and this is my honest review.
Catherine Tucker crafts believable, deep characters, and while the journey is fraught with anxiety, the conclusion offers a sense of hard-won justice with all loose ends tied up neatly. A compelling and moving read that I would highly recommend.
April 14, 2025
5+++ This is a DEBUT novel? I cannot wait to consume anything else Ms. Tucker writes. This book had everything: historical accuracy, diverse characters, complex family dynamics, trauma and resiliency, civil unrest, and a who done it underlying it all. Bailey is the perfect narrator, a young boy being our eyes as we experience the Deep south in the 1970s. Jonathan Streeter affords us a different perspective as a well-to-do lawyer out of DC but it's the raw emotion and complex scenarios processed by a child that really brought this story home for me. You will shout at characters, cry for them, and sing along to your favorite Al Green song with them. I felt nostalgia for - and relief from - a period in time when the Black family had to process so much pain and fear and love was something you would kill or be killed for.
September 15, 2025
Wow—what a ride! Tall Cotton is one of those books I simply couldn’t put down. From the very first page, it’s action-packed and draws you straight into life in Mississippi during the 1970s.
The characters are so vivid and easy to connect with. Bailey stole my heart—his endless questions had me cracking up, lol! Annie Lee, on the other hand, took me on an emotional rollercoaster. Between her abusive husband, standing trial for murder, and facing deep family trauma, I felt every ounce of her struggle.
This story has everything: suspense, drama, twists, and turns that keep you hooked until the end. If you love historical fiction with unforgettable characters and gripping storytelling, I highly recommend this book.
The characters are so vivid and easy to connect with. Bailey stole my heart—his endless questions had me cracking up, lol! Annie Lee, on the other hand, took me on an emotional rollercoaster. Between her abusive husband, standing trial for murder, and facing deep family trauma, I felt every ounce of her struggle.
This story has everything: suspense, drama, twists, and turns that keep you hooked until the end. If you love historical fiction with unforgettable characters and gripping storytelling, I highly recommend this book.
October 24, 2025
An amazing debut. Full of suspense, real and lovable characters, and lived history.
In Tall Cotton (OMG so aptly titled!), Tucker beautifully captures a young boy’s coming of age during the decade after the Civil Rights era when the Vietnam War is still raging, with a loving mom and sisters, an abusive father, and the treacherous adult world of murder.
It’s a joy to be with Bailey as he grows up asking questions about the gray areas between right and wrong, and tries to navigate a world that’s simultaneously filled with love and fear, with childhood wonder at a color TV and murder.
A must-read for adults and high schoolers alike.
In Tall Cotton (OMG so aptly titled!), Tucker beautifully captures a young boy’s coming of age during the decade after the Civil Rights era when the Vietnam War is still raging, with a loving mom and sisters, an abusive father, and the treacherous adult world of murder.
It’s a joy to be with Bailey as he grows up asking questions about the gray areas between right and wrong, and tries to navigate a world that’s simultaneously filled with love and fear, with childhood wonder at a color TV and murder.
A must-read for adults and high schoolers alike.
April 26, 2025
An ARC read for me, and I was pleasantly surprised! Very well developed writing, and it definitely pulled me in and held my attention. I would have loved to give 5 stars, but the ending was totally predictable to me. Historical fiction part of the story was truly perfection, but the thriller part was lacking. To be fair, Im an extremely harsh critic of thriller/mystery genre... I want to be SHOCKED, and very rarely does that ever happen. Overall, it was a really good read and I would recommend it.
May 6, 2025
I loved this book. The story is about a plantation owner from 1970 that is murdered and his maid is framed for murder. This story is gripping and moving is all the ways that pulls at your heart strings. That maid is a mother and wife that deals with domestic violence before having to fight for her life in the south at a time that was still very pro white and if it wasn’t for a DC lawyer that took this case her life would have ended very different in so many ways. You must read this book!!!
September 16, 2025
Tucker’s debut novel was PHENOMENAL! Tall Cotton’s story drew me in from the first page and the only reason I put it down was because I had to go to bed. The story is extremely well written and entertaining from start to finish. It’s definitely worth the read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys legal drama.
October 19, 2025
1970 Mississippi a black woman is accused of killing a rich white man. How can she possibly get a fair trial?
Poverty,Racism,injustice in the legal system in the south and unfair juries lead to an assured outcome.
A riveting story involving prejudice and civil injustice as told through the eyes of her young son is gut wrenching. Lots of complications,lies and hate fueled horrors keep the reader glued.
Definitely worth reading.
I received a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions in this review are my own.
Poverty,Racism,injustice in the legal system in the south and unfair juries lead to an assured outcome.
A riveting story involving prejudice and civil injustice as told through the eyes of her young son is gut wrenching. Lots of complications,lies and hate fueled horrors keep the reader glued.
Definitely worth reading.
I received a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions in this review are my own.
April 12, 2025
This is not the kind of book I normally read. I saw great reviews and tried it. I read it in 2 days and couldn’t put it down. It would make a great movie!!!! It tells of life in the south that I can still remember in 1970….a murder and family violence!! You will love to read this !!!!
July 18, 2025
If you like To Kill A Mockingbird then read Tall Cotton. A courtroom drama set on a plantation in the 70’s in southern Mississippi. This story reminds us of how far we have come and also how far we have yet to go.
September 7, 2025
You can't put it down
I loved Talk Cotton, it was a mixture of love and hate. I especially loved the character Bailey who served as the narrator of the story.I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a true thriller.
I loved Talk Cotton, it was a mixture of love and hate. I especially loved the character Bailey who served as the narrator of the story.I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a true thriller.
September 15, 2025
This book was really good. I was on an emotional roller-coaster but in a good way that I couldn't put the book down (work got in the way) LOL Having the book written in Bailey's POV was genius. Can't wait to read more from Catherine Tucker!
April 15, 2025
The kind of book that causes frustration and anger -- because we know the court case at its core has happened over and over.
August 16, 2025
This book was so good.
September 4, 2025
Great storytelling
This is a great book that tackles several nuances of the black experience in the deep south. I can't wait to read the author's next book.
This is a great book that tackles several nuances of the black experience in the deep south. I can't wait to read the author's next book.
September 9, 2025
Excellent!
Kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish! Hard to put down! Great story-telling!!! This book literally made me experience every emotion possible!
Kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish! Hard to put down! Great story-telling!!! This book literally made me experience every emotion possible!
September 21, 2025
This was an excellent book!
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews