What do you think?
Rate this book
Scavenger
"Novels written from the perspective of homeless substance users don't come along every day. When they do, it's a good idea to pay attention, since they offer a window into the casual cruelty of our social economy, which much fiction eschews. Christopher Chambers' new mystery Scavenger offers just such a window." —Washington City Paper
In the streets of the nation’s capital, a homeless man must quickly learn the ropes of being a detective after a wealthy ex-government official sets him up to take the fall in a cat-and-mouse game of greed, deceit, and murder. Dickie Cornish’s lives in a homeless camp dotting the Smithsonian’s Museum of National History, addled by the K2 and liquor he prays will blunt the pain of a harsh winter, the cruelty of Donald Trump’s capital, and the enduring nightmares from his youth. He makes a few dollars a day turning the possessions of evicted tenants into curb flotsam, scavenging what he can from the wreckage of other lives to save his.
On one expedition Dickie gets lucky as he uncovers a treasure in the trash of a wealthy ex-Homeland Security Secretary, Jamie Bracht. But his joy is short-lived, when he simultaneously finds out that his dear friends who escaped the shelters for a decent life have been murdered. In fury, he attacks the local cops, lands in jail, then is plucked out by Bracht, who has a job for him: find a woman using the sub-level network of the streets and the underground world of undocumented immigrants. In return, Bracht promises Dickie a fresh, clean start at a new life.
Before long, Dickie discovers that the woman he is supposed to locate guards another treasure that Bracht will stop at nothing―even murder―to retrieve. In his achingly amateur role as sleuth and guardian, Dickie must quell his demons and use his scavenger skills and street smarts to deny Bracht his prize…and save himself from the big frame-up.
SCAVENGER is a 21st century take on the noir, hardboiled tales of the 20th, with both bleak and colorful backdrops in the nation’s capital of today. It is layered with characters whose damage outlines why they love, lose, double-cross, and even kill. Dickie Cornish is a new kind of detective: one who is a street-wise local and a neophyte detective, learning to play a new game as it unfolds.
In the streets of the nation’s capital, a homeless man must quickly learn the ropes of being a detective after a wealthy ex-government official sets him up to take the fall in a cat-and-mouse game of greed, deceit, and murder. Dickie Cornish’s lives in a homeless camp dotting the Smithsonian’s Museum of National History, addled by the K2 and liquor he prays will blunt the pain of a harsh winter, the cruelty of Donald Trump’s capital, and the enduring nightmares from his youth. He makes a few dollars a day turning the possessions of evicted tenants into curb flotsam, scavenging what he can from the wreckage of other lives to save his.
On one expedition Dickie gets lucky as he uncovers a treasure in the trash of a wealthy ex-Homeland Security Secretary, Jamie Bracht. But his joy is short-lived, when he simultaneously finds out that his dear friends who escaped the shelters for a decent life have been murdered. In fury, he attacks the local cops, lands in jail, then is plucked out by Bracht, who has a job for him: find a woman using the sub-level network of the streets and the underground world of undocumented immigrants. In return, Bracht promises Dickie a fresh, clean start at a new life.
Before long, Dickie discovers that the woman he is supposed to locate guards another treasure that Bracht will stop at nothing―even murder―to retrieve. In his achingly amateur role as sleuth and guardian, Dickie must quell his demons and use his scavenger skills and street smarts to deny Bracht his prize…and save himself from the big frame-up.
SCAVENGER is a 21st century take on the noir, hardboiled tales of the 20th, with both bleak and colorful backdrops in the nation’s capital of today. It is layered with characters whose damage outlines why they love, lose, double-cross, and even kill. Dickie Cornish is a new kind of detective: one who is a street-wise local and a neophyte detective, learning to play a new game as it unfolds.
386 pages, Paperback
First published October 13, 2020
12 people are currently reading
1281 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Chambers
45 books63 followersChristopher Chambers is a crime novelist, professor of media studies, lawyer, and International Fellow at International Conflict Resolution Center. His works include the first two installment in the Dickie Cornish mystery series, Scavenger and Standalone (Three Rooms Press); two Penguin Random House releases: A Prayer for Deliverance and Sympathy for the Devil (NAACP Image Award nominee); the graphic anthology (with Gary Phillips) The Darker Mask (Tor Books); the PEN/Malamud-nominated story “Leviathan” and "The Psalm of Bo"; and more. Chambers is a regular commentator and contributor on media and culture issues on SiriusXM Radio, ABC News, and HuffPost. He resides in his hometown of Washington, D.C. with his family and German Shepherd, Max.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 19, 2021
This was super intense and thrilling detective noir kind of book that never had a dull moment. So intrigued to get to know what was going to happen next and I would definitely read/listen to more by Christopher Chamber's in the future
July 17, 2020
Received an early copy of this book. Wow. Chambers comes out of the box swinging hard in this fast-moving, down-and-dirty crime novel that kicks up the tarp on the sleazy, duplicitous, double-dealing underbelly of our nation’s capital. Into this shadowy knot of deceit walks unconventional detective, Dickie Cornish, a homeless, down on-his-luck survivor for whom the stakes couldn’t be higher, or the risks greater. Two thumbs up for Chambers!
August 30, 2020
Dickie Cornish lives in an unseen and unwanted world in Washington, D.C., where he protects the forgotten and damaged and provides them with the supplies they need as homeless dwellers camping in the shadow of the Smithsonian. Dickie is not what he seems – he is educated and comes from a different world, but now his brain and life are polluted by drugs and alcohol. He is still capable of functioning, though, and Dickie is a pro, a scavenger who can get anything you need or want:
“You flip up one of the Dumpster lids and, with the light clamped in your mouth, you descend into the strata of milk cartons, coffee grounds, chicken bones and banana peels … Kleenexes and catalogs … tampons and Target circulars … down, adeptly, like one of those sperm whales …”
Dickie slithers through the abandoned rooms of the evicted and the garbage of the more fortunate, pawing their leavings for hidden treasures – food, clothing. Then, one day, he hits gold. Literally.
Dickie finds Spanish coins in the trash of Jamie Bracht, a former secretary of Homeland Security. Dickie returns the coins to Bracht and that one act of honesty sets Dickie on a life-altering journey through violence, intrigue, corruption, murder, politics. Bracht offers Dickie a chance to clean up his life and in exchange asks him to locate a woman, Esme. Dickie finds himself using his scavenger skills for detective work. He also finds himself in a seemingly inescapable web of greed and murder and working for a monster.
Chambers weaves a fast-moving story that focuses on some of the major issues of the day: immigration, homelessness, police abuse, drug addiction, sex trade, political corruption, wealth disparity, racial injustice.
What is so good about this novel is that it helps evolve and elevate the noir genre for a new audience and gives it more urgency. It also resurrects a difficult and seldom employed narrative voice: second person.
The style and the at times incomprehensible dialect in “Scavenger” make for a difficult and often unpleasant read. But that is one of the challenges of a good and thoughtful tale. Books should provoke us, make us think, make us stretch our minds and, enhance our knowledge.
Writing in a second person voice brings readers to the action. We not only see what Dickie sees, but we smell, feel, and hear it, and we are part of his memories and thoughts. Chambers brings all our senses alive, whether we like it or not.
And should we scratch our heads at the narrative’s alien street dialect any more than we would with the untranslatable ramblings of “Finnegan’s Wake” or the Southern dialect of “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Huckleberry Finn,” or unintelligible words in “A Clockwork Orange” or the Cockney of “Pygmalion”? Unlike Victor Hugo’s masterpiece, “Les Miserables,” where we can pull out a French-English dictionary and translate the words we don’t know, there is no language guide for “Scavenger.” But once you begin to absorb its rhythms and plot twists, you can easily ride along with the dialogue.
And what a grand ride it is. Chambers is a talented storyteller and is slick and savage in his delivery. His more recent short stories published in a series of anthologies with other noir writers, showcase his wry humor and strong political/social justice voice. In his novels, “Sympathy for the Devil” and “A Prayer for Delivery,” he sent us into the scary world of a serial killer and Angela Bivens, the fragile FBI agent who fell in love with him. Now he delivers another scary world, scarier still because of the many truths that will resonate long after you read the final word.
“Sympathy” and “Prayer” are perfect for film or streaming. So is “Scavenger.” Let’s hope that a bright, insightful production company scoops them up; Chambers’ stories are platinum!
Meanwhile, keep a sharp eye out for Chambers next work. I can hardly wait to see what thrills he sends our way.
"Scavenger" (Three Rooms Press, Oct. 13)
“You flip up one of the Dumpster lids and, with the light clamped in your mouth, you descend into the strata of milk cartons, coffee grounds, chicken bones and banana peels … Kleenexes and catalogs … tampons and Target circulars … down, adeptly, like one of those sperm whales …”
Dickie slithers through the abandoned rooms of the evicted and the garbage of the more fortunate, pawing their leavings for hidden treasures – food, clothing. Then, one day, he hits gold. Literally.
Dickie finds Spanish coins in the trash of Jamie Bracht, a former secretary of Homeland Security. Dickie returns the coins to Bracht and that one act of honesty sets Dickie on a life-altering journey through violence, intrigue, corruption, murder, politics. Bracht offers Dickie a chance to clean up his life and in exchange asks him to locate a woman, Esme. Dickie finds himself using his scavenger skills for detective work. He also finds himself in a seemingly inescapable web of greed and murder and working for a monster.
Chambers weaves a fast-moving story that focuses on some of the major issues of the day: immigration, homelessness, police abuse, drug addiction, sex trade, political corruption, wealth disparity, racial injustice.
What is so good about this novel is that it helps evolve and elevate the noir genre for a new audience and gives it more urgency. It also resurrects a difficult and seldom employed narrative voice: second person.
The style and the at times incomprehensible dialect in “Scavenger” make for a difficult and often unpleasant read. But that is one of the challenges of a good and thoughtful tale. Books should provoke us, make us think, make us stretch our minds and, enhance our knowledge.
Writing in a second person voice brings readers to the action. We not only see what Dickie sees, but we smell, feel, and hear it, and we are part of his memories and thoughts. Chambers brings all our senses alive, whether we like it or not.
And should we scratch our heads at the narrative’s alien street dialect any more than we would with the untranslatable ramblings of “Finnegan’s Wake” or the Southern dialect of “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Huckleberry Finn,” or unintelligible words in “A Clockwork Orange” or the Cockney of “Pygmalion”? Unlike Victor Hugo’s masterpiece, “Les Miserables,” where we can pull out a French-English dictionary and translate the words we don’t know, there is no language guide for “Scavenger.” But once you begin to absorb its rhythms and plot twists, you can easily ride along with the dialogue.
And what a grand ride it is. Chambers is a talented storyteller and is slick and savage in his delivery. His more recent short stories published in a series of anthologies with other noir writers, showcase his wry humor and strong political/social justice voice. In his novels, “Sympathy for the Devil” and “A Prayer for Delivery,” he sent us into the scary world of a serial killer and Angela Bivens, the fragile FBI agent who fell in love with him. Now he delivers another scary world, scarier still because of the many truths that will resonate long after you read the final word.
“Sympathy” and “Prayer” are perfect for film or streaming. So is “Scavenger.” Let’s hope that a bright, insightful production company scoops them up; Chambers’ stories are platinum!
Meanwhile, keep a sharp eye out for Chambers next work. I can hardly wait to see what thrills he sends our way.
"Scavenger" (Three Rooms Press, Oct. 13)
Read
May 16, 2021This book is a whole adventure unlike any other I have taken. I think I will forever be baffled at the mind of Dickie… this novel will really take you outside of yourself if ever a novel could.
July 14, 2020
Got a galley and can't wait to have the final version. I completed a review of the author's first novel Sympathy for the Devil, written almost 20 years ago, with the same setting, and it is amazing how this is the same author regarding tone, voice, tense shift, point of view, characters. But the fundamental tie is a protagonist that has endured, will endure, and simply outlasts, not outfights or out-clevers, the antagonists and the forces they represent. One a homeless, alcohol and drug-addled, the other a black female FBI agent. The latter was a pioneer story for 2001 and the dark things rampant in that year; this new one, Dickie Cornish, is a pioneer for 2020. It is a standard crime book on one level: hard-boiled and more noir than Sympathy. But all that means is that Chambers remained true to the genre's mainstay detective elements including temptresses, shady lawyers, gunsels, yet fitted them into a world we know is there but avoid. It's that "realism" is a character itself. It's more that realism propels the story. Life here is not a straight march but more a pinball game if readers are old enough to know what that is. Bumps and pings, pure luck good or bad, mistakes and victory.
July 17, 2020
Dug the hell out of this story. Literary cinema verite, Chris delivers a sly, slick and twisty hardcore mystery that drops you in the protagonist's world. Get yourself a glass of something you like to sip on and crack Scavenger open.
November 30, 2020
Scavenger by Christopher Chambers is a compelling book for several reasons. A wrongly accused man, twisty mystery, and a look at parts of society often overlooked (often intentionally over the past four years especially, but not limited to the orange menace).
The language of the streets will make parts of the book a slower read for many of us, but with a few exceptions I had to look up I could contextually make sense of most of it. I would argue that it is well worth the work making sense of the writing, maybe that attention to detail will carry over into some attention to the homeless, the mentally ill, and those battling addictions. If taking the time to understand what they are saying makes the reader even a little more attentive to the ills of society, it is time well spent. Unless you're like one reviewer who just admits that he finds those speaking like that not "worth one wit" of care or compassion. You can translate that dog whistle for yourself.
The pace, once you're more comfortable with the dialogue, is brisk, with a lot of nice twists and turns. The mystery part of this book works very well. I would stop short of saying you'll be totally surprised, especially if you read a lot of these types of books, but the ending isn't broadcast so early that you lose interest in the how of the resolution.
Recommended for those who like some social impact with their mysteries and don't mind doing a small amount of work for the reward.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
The language of the streets will make parts of the book a slower read for many of us, but with a few exceptions I had to look up I could contextually make sense of most of it. I would argue that it is well worth the work making sense of the writing, maybe that attention to detail will carry over into some attention to the homeless, the mentally ill, and those battling addictions. If taking the time to understand what they are saying makes the reader even a little more attentive to the ills of society, it is time well spent. Unless you're like one reviewer who just admits that he finds those speaking like that not "worth one wit" of care or compassion. You can translate that dog whistle for yourself.
The pace, once you're more comfortable with the dialogue, is brisk, with a lot of nice twists and turns. The mystery part of this book works very well. I would stop short of saying you'll be totally surprised, especially if you read a lot of these types of books, but the ending isn't broadcast so early that you lose interest in the how of the resolution.
Recommended for those who like some social impact with their mysteries and don't mind doing a small amount of work for the reward.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
August 18, 2020
Got an early copy elsewhere in exchange for an honest review. Figured I might as well post it here too:
While it took a little time to get into the flow of the narrative style and multilingual dialogue, once it got going, I found Scavenger to be a pretty wild ride. Granted, second person narration isn't for everyone. However, the choice seemed appropriate in that it immediate places the reader on the level of our drug addicted and homeless, but nevertheless gifted protagonist Dickie Cornish.
Are some of the plot points implausible, as suggested by another review featured here? Perhaps. But this is obvious noir, where implausibility is baked in - if the mystery was straightforward, we wouldn't need an army of overlooked to solve it for us. In fact, the plot hinges on this distinction; are we meant to believe the outlandish warnings of those we typically overlook, or the reassurances of the wealthy and powerful who may be pulling strings we cannot see?
If you're willing to give this story a few chapters to introduce its rhythm to you, and maybe google a few key Spanish phrases (assuming you are not already familiar), the ride is worth the investment. Most reminiscent for me of George Pelecanos and Richard Price (and of course The Wire since they both contributed heavily), with some of the underlying rage at the conspiratorial failings of the government and its sanctioned agents, as found in Don Winslow and James Elroy.
While it took a little time to get into the flow of the narrative style and multilingual dialogue, once it got going, I found Scavenger to be a pretty wild ride. Granted, second person narration isn't for everyone. However, the choice seemed appropriate in that it immediate places the reader on the level of our drug addicted and homeless, but nevertheless gifted protagonist Dickie Cornish.
Are some of the plot points implausible, as suggested by another review featured here? Perhaps. But this is obvious noir, where implausibility is baked in - if the mystery was straightforward, we wouldn't need an army of overlooked to solve it for us. In fact, the plot hinges on this distinction; are we meant to believe the outlandish warnings of those we typically overlook, or the reassurances of the wealthy and powerful who may be pulling strings we cannot see?
If you're willing to give this story a few chapters to introduce its rhythm to you, and maybe google a few key Spanish phrases (assuming you are not already familiar), the ride is worth the investment. Most reminiscent for me of George Pelecanos and Richard Price (and of course The Wire since they both contributed heavily), with some of the underlying rage at the conspiratorial failings of the government and its sanctioned agents, as found in Don Winslow and James Elroy.
March 10, 2021
Engaging & Thrilling In Spite of Distracting Narrative Style
First let's get the bad stuff out of the way. I know this novel will not be for everybody. It may even rub some more sensitive readers the wrong way. This is for two reasons:
1. The characters and protagonist of this novel could care less about being PC. There is no such thing as political correctness in this novel. Prepare to read all kinds of expletives and slurs against Black ppl, Latin/Hispanic ppl, the LGBTQ+ community, and the homeless population. If you're the type easily upset by this kind of language, I highly advise skipping this novel.
2. This is really gritty novel. The protagonist is an addicted, homeless man who experiences, sees, and does some pretty awful things on top of what he's already experienced in his life, and he's possibly one of the more lighter characters in this dark novel. There's corrupted political big wigs who degrade and take advantage of vulnerable populations in awful ways one wouldn't imagine. There's depictions of mental illness, mental and physical disabilities, and homelessness that are gut wrenching, child endangerment, sex trafficking, incest... and none of this is whitewashed or sugar-coated to make it more palatable. Neither is it presented in an exploitative, shock value kind of way either. It's presented as a matter of fact way off life because unfortunately all of these are very real, matter of fact ways of life for populations that are often called the "invisible" populace.
Now let's get into the good, which if you can get past the two points I mentioned above, I feel actually greatly outweighs how uncomfortable parts of the novel makes you feel. The story and the mystery are engaging. Once you start the story, it's hard to get away from it. Even before the protag starts his investigative journey, you find yourself enraptured in his life as a person of the streets. His daily quest for quick, but meager earnings, his interactions with others on the streets like him, his unique perspective on the world around him that looks pasts him. At no point does anything he narrates feels voyeuristic. You feel like you are him and these are your thoughts.
Now admittedly, the narration style does take some time to get used to. Even more than a few times afterwards, I still found myself losing where I'm at in the story because of the narrative style, but instead of getting annoyed, I actually liked the dedication to giving the character an authentic voice. It made the story feel unique, even though it does hit a lot of the same investigation tropes associated with the detective/neo-noir gene. Even down to the double crossed and an enigmatic femme Fatale from the protag's past. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and recommend it for those who want a gritty, neo-noir type of mystery but I strongly advise having a strong constitution while reading this novel.
First let's get the bad stuff out of the way. I know this novel will not be for everybody. It may even rub some more sensitive readers the wrong way. This is for two reasons:
1. The characters and protagonist of this novel could care less about being PC. There is no such thing as political correctness in this novel. Prepare to read all kinds of expletives and slurs against Black ppl, Latin/Hispanic ppl, the LGBTQ+ community, and the homeless population. If you're the type easily upset by this kind of language, I highly advise skipping this novel.
2. This is really gritty novel. The protagonist is an addicted, homeless man who experiences, sees, and does some pretty awful things on top of what he's already experienced in his life, and he's possibly one of the more lighter characters in this dark novel. There's corrupted political big wigs who degrade and take advantage of vulnerable populations in awful ways one wouldn't imagine. There's depictions of mental illness, mental and physical disabilities, and homelessness that are gut wrenching, child endangerment, sex trafficking, incest... and none of this is whitewashed or sugar-coated to make it more palatable. Neither is it presented in an exploitative, shock value kind of way either. It's presented as a matter of fact way off life because unfortunately all of these are very real, matter of fact ways of life for populations that are often called the "invisible" populace.
Now let's get into the good, which if you can get past the two points I mentioned above, I feel actually greatly outweighs how uncomfortable parts of the novel makes you feel. The story and the mystery are engaging. Once you start the story, it's hard to get away from it. Even before the protag starts his investigative journey, you find yourself enraptured in his life as a person of the streets. His daily quest for quick, but meager earnings, his interactions with others on the streets like him, his unique perspective on the world around him that looks pasts him. At no point does anything he narrates feels voyeuristic. You feel like you are him and these are your thoughts.
Now admittedly, the narration style does take some time to get used to. Even more than a few times afterwards, I still found myself losing where I'm at in the story because of the narrative style, but instead of getting annoyed, I actually liked the dedication to giving the character an authentic voice. It made the story feel unique, even though it does hit a lot of the same investigation tropes associated with the detective/neo-noir gene. Even down to the double crossed and an enigmatic femme Fatale from the protag's past. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and recommend it for those who want a gritty, neo-noir type of mystery but I strongly advise having a strong constitution while reading this novel.
July 14, 2020
I read the ARC provided as a fiction book club review for Fall and Winter 2020. I didn't think I was going like it given the description but I did. Primarily because the characters and settings are at once heartbreaking and vivid. The novel itself is a straight crime mystery, with the usual tropes and turns, yet very neo-noir. It is likely a homage to George Pelecanos, as it is set in the Nations Capital, and flavored with Mosely's Devil in a Blue Dress. After that it stands alone! The author gives us a sleuth who must learn the game very quickly or risk losing everything and everyone, which in of itself is the paradox: has a homeless man cleaning out evicted tenants for wealthy landlords, he feels he had nothing to lose. His new life as a gumshoe teaches him differently. It might be too hardcore for some of our ladies given the real-life urban language but I am recommended it regardless.
September 20, 2023
Scavenger is a noir tour-de-force, written in a stream o consciousness patois depicting the experience of Dickie Cornish, the protagonist. Dickie is ex-military and a street person in Washington, DC, who is dragged into the investigation of two elderly people who are his friends. Dickie is one sick puppy and his thoughts reflect that. Most of the narrative is written in the second person to represent Dickie’s inability to confront his issues. Consequently, the story suffers-much of the time Dickie isn’t totally sure of what’s happening, so neither is the reader. But his struggle to drag himself up from the bottom is admirable if not heroic, and is worth experiencing along with him . Scavenger is also a paean to Washington DC-the darkness of our nation’s capital is hauled out and displayed for the reader’s edification.
December 18, 2021
This thrilling, confusing, suspenseful mystery is a fast paced wild ride into a parallel world right here on earth. The insight into the daily lives, challenges, relationships and struggles of the homeless is depicted so vividly that it makes me want to have dinner with the author to ask how he came to write in such realistic detail. I'm looking forward to reading other books he has written.
April 11, 2021
Life can be doggedly miserable – and dangerous – for a black man in Washington D.C. Throw in homelessness, and it’s even harder. Now, he’s been accused of murdering two of his friends on the street and he’s facing life in prison unless he can pull off a couple of miracles. When the guy who used to run Homeland Security gives him a job to do (find a woman living on the streets who is somehow involved in immigration issues) and he will guarantee Dickie Cornish a fresh start. No problem, except Dickie is not a detective. So now what? He has not choice, really, but to take a crash course in street detection before his not-really-luck runs out. Dickie’s quite the character. I really think I like him. Hope you do, too.
I met this book at Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane, WA
I met this book at Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane, WA
August 28, 2020
Dickie Cornish is a homeless vet, addicted to drugs and makes money buy scavenging. He gets hired by some rich guy to find a woman and that’s about all I get out of the story. Written in a way that I couldn’t grasp (street language?) and it didn’t my interest, not did I care about Dickie. I know it is a mystery noir, but the mystery for me is why? Sorry, it didn’t work for me.
October 5, 2020
Why isn't this on Netflix or Prime???
October 18, 2022
Set in DC, but the parts not as well known - the underworld of the "unhoused" and drug gangs - complicated story - a bit hard to follow due to slang, Spanish and trying to write spoken speech
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2022
There's a good story hiding in this book but the best I could get was a glimpse of it. I found the writing style to be so confusing that half the time I didn't understand what just happened.
It's a pity. The plot and the protagonist seemed pretty appealing.
It's a pity. The plot and the protagonist seemed pretty appealing.
Want to read
August 27, 2021Bought this book in preparation for a writer's conference, since I was to be a co-panelist with the author (a fellow crime fiction writer and writer of color like me). Began the first chapter then decided to DNF it due to the conference being canceled and the extreme backlog in my TBR pile. As such, I will not be reading/reviewing this title for now. I will update when/if I can get to it.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews