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Weldon Haynie Thomas #2
Gone Missing in Harlem
In her highly anticipated second novel, Holloway evokes the resilience of the Mosby family, who migrate from the loblolly-scented Carolinas north to the promise of Harlem. After Daddy Iredell dies and son Percy is sent back to the South to keep him out of trouble, DeLilah and daughter Selma meet difficulties with resolve. Selma’s baby, Chloe, is born against the backdrop of the kidnapping and murder of the infant son of the nation’s dashing young aviator, Charles Lindbergh. Then Chloe goes missing—but her disappearance does not draw the same attention. Weldon Haynie Thomas, the city’s first Black policeman, takes the case. With nuanced characters and a lyrical voice, GONE MISSING IN HARLEM affirms the restorative powers of home and family.
223 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2021
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1800 people want to read
About the author
Karla F.C. Holloway
11 books66 followersKarla FC Holloway is James B. Duke Professor of English at Duke University, where she also holds appointments in the Law School, Womens Studies, and African & African American Studies, and is an affiliated faculty with the Institute on Care at the End of Life and the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities & History of Medicine. She serves on the Greenwall Foundations Advisory Board in Bioethics, was recently elected to the Hastings Center Fellows Association, and is the author of many books, including BookMarks: Reading in Black and White; Passed On: African American Mourning Stories: A Memorial, also published by Duke University Press; and Codes of Conduct: Race, Ethics, and the Color of Our Character."
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 4, 2021
“[Harlem women] made city rules to take the place of country freedoms, like when the street lamps came on, you best be in this house; and if you can’t hear when I call, you too far away; and don’t let your daddy get here to the table before you in here to clean up and get ready to sit down together to have supper like a family should.”
The Mosby family runs from trouble in the South, only to find more struggles in Harlem. Lilah Mosby is widowed, her son Percy works for a criminal and then her young daughter Selma becomes pregnant. The most recent blow to the family comes when Selma’s newborn daughter Chloe is kidnapped from her carriage, shortly after the Lindbergh baby was kidnapped and killed. This is the second book in the author’s series about Harlem in the 1930s. It is not necessary to read the first book before reading this one, although both books share a character - Officer Weldon Thomas, Harlem’s first colored policeman. Weldon continues to pursue the case of Chloe’s disappearance, even after the police department has given up on it. This book is more family drama than mystery, but Weldon did get to do some police work.
I like this series because the characters are well developed and the plots are interesting and touching without being overly sentimental. However, what I like most are the descriptions of life in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance and the various social strata. I do think the book was often over written and it was really annoying that the author kept switching between DeLilah and Lilah for the character’s name.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
The Mosby family runs from trouble in the South, only to find more struggles in Harlem. Lilah Mosby is widowed, her son Percy works for a criminal and then her young daughter Selma becomes pregnant. The most recent blow to the family comes when Selma’s newborn daughter Chloe is kidnapped from her carriage, shortly after the Lindbergh baby was kidnapped and killed. This is the second book in the author’s series about Harlem in the 1930s. It is not necessary to read the first book before reading this one, although both books share a character - Officer Weldon Thomas, Harlem’s first colored policeman. Weldon continues to pursue the case of Chloe’s disappearance, even after the police department has given up on it. This book is more family drama than mystery, but Weldon did get to do some police work.
I like this series because the characters are well developed and the plots are interesting and touching without being overly sentimental. However, what I like most are the descriptions of life in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance and the various social strata. I do think the book was often over written and it was really annoying that the author kept switching between DeLilah and Lilah for the character’s name.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
April 15, 2021
The timeline for this book jumps around, from the days when Lilah was at home, waiting for Iredell to return home from the War all the way up to the present day, where her young son is a married man. Whilst frustrating, at times, I found this to be a great way for the story to unfold, and to understand each of the associated characters. It also created great scope for character development.
The story itself focusses on the Mosby family, throughout the years, and the various challenges they have to overcome, not least the colour of their skin in a society that still regards them as inferior. As such, Holloway does a fantastic job of evoking the overarching thoughts, feelings and prejudices of the time, and the sorrows families involved in The great Migration must have felt.
At times, I found the description of certain aspects rather long-winded; minor characters and their streams of consciousness were tedious and I felt didn’t add anything to the book. That said, some other aspects were brilliant – focusing on a family heirloom that was once gifted to a grandmother by the man who had owned her really brings home the stark realities for these families as they fought to find their place in a new world, that hadn’t yet fully changed.
The concept behind this story is brilliant, a comparison between how the law and media reacts to similar cases, different only in class and, of course, the ever-prevalent issue of colour. Very moving and a compelling read.
For more of my book news follow me on Insta: @PointsofLu
The story itself focusses on the Mosby family, throughout the years, and the various challenges they have to overcome, not least the colour of their skin in a society that still regards them as inferior. As such, Holloway does a fantastic job of evoking the overarching thoughts, feelings and prejudices of the time, and the sorrows families involved in The great Migration must have felt.
At times, I found the description of certain aspects rather long-winded; minor characters and their streams of consciousness were tedious and I felt didn’t add anything to the book. That said, some other aspects were brilliant – focusing on a family heirloom that was once gifted to a grandmother by the man who had owned her really brings home the stark realities for these families as they fought to find their place in a new world, that hadn’t yet fully changed.
The concept behind this story is brilliant, a comparison between how the law and media reacts to similar cases, different only in class and, of course, the ever-prevalent issue of colour. Very moving and a compelling read.
For more of my book news follow me on Insta: @PointsofLu
February 3, 2021
Thank you to Northwestern University Press and to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The Mosby family has certainly seen a lot of struggle, judgment, and hard times. While Iradell is away at war, Lilah tends to their unborn baby and awaits his return. Once the war is over, they start their life straight away in the Carolinas and get into a rhythm and hum of working hard. After an instance occurs with their son and the man paying their wages, they decide to pursue the dream of moving to Harlem and begin a new chapter.
Unfortunately more struggles arise as they begin living in a tenement, and learn that not many things changed from the ways of racial discrimination they encountered in the south. Still, Lilah works hard for a family in Manhattan has a baby girl named Selman, and provides for her family as things come to pass that interrupt their family union. While working for this family, Selma becomes pregnant with a little girl. The story of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping is raging through all the newspapers with detectives scurrying to find the kidnapper, however, when Selma's own baby, Chloe ends up missing, the fanfare for the Lindbergh baby isn't there for her own.
This story is a juxtaposition of two worlds that don't collide often enough. One of wealth and power from a racial divide and those that suffer because of it. Lilah and Selma's stories broke my heart and gripped my soul. It's a book about suffering, sure, but also one of perseverance and the pursuit of happiness through that struggle. An excellent read.
The Mosby family has certainly seen a lot of struggle, judgment, and hard times. While Iradell is away at war, Lilah tends to their unborn baby and awaits his return. Once the war is over, they start their life straight away in the Carolinas and get into a rhythm and hum of working hard. After an instance occurs with their son and the man paying their wages, they decide to pursue the dream of moving to Harlem and begin a new chapter.
Unfortunately more struggles arise as they begin living in a tenement, and learn that not many things changed from the ways of racial discrimination they encountered in the south. Still, Lilah works hard for a family in Manhattan has a baby girl named Selman, and provides for her family as things come to pass that interrupt their family union. While working for this family, Selma becomes pregnant with a little girl. The story of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping is raging through all the newspapers with detectives scurrying to find the kidnapper, however, when Selma's own baby, Chloe ends up missing, the fanfare for the Lindbergh baby isn't there for her own.
This story is a juxtaposition of two worlds that don't collide often enough. One of wealth and power from a racial divide and those that suffer because of it. Lilah and Selma's stories broke my heart and gripped my soul. It's a book about suffering, sure, but also one of perseverance and the pursuit of happiness through that struggle. An excellent read.
March 17, 2021
Karla F.C. Holloway's Gone Missing in Harlem moves at a deliberative pace. The lives of its characters are challenging, and Holloway's pacing creates a sense of dread much more effective than emotionally laden writing could produce. The characters are faced with the problem of how to make choices when they too often have no choice in what happens to them.
Like many Black families at the time the Mosby family moves north—flees, really. In their case, this move is spurred by threatened white violence. That early "choice/not-a-choice" lands them in Harlem, where they do well for a time. However, with a death (not a choice) and a threat against one of its members (another not-a-choice), the family is split apart. Set during the Influenza pandemic and at the time of the Lindbergh kidnapping the novel makes clear the disparate values placed on the lives of wealthy and poor, white and Black, without becoming heavy-handed. When the Mosby daughter finds herself pregnant as the result of rape (most certainly not a choice), the choices become even more difficult. How to protect the baby when its father's family would prefer that it disappear? How to maintain any sense of love and connectedness when circumstances make such things an unattainable luxury?
When the baby, Chloe, is kidnapped, one more character enters the story: Weldon Thomas, New York City's first Black policeman. He knows Chloe's kidnapping will not receive the publicity and active response that resulted from the Lindbergh kidnapping. When the case starts to fade (not-a-choice) without any real investigation, he takes it upon himself (choice) to discover what's happened to Chloe and whether she is still alive.
Gone Missing in Harlem is a wonderful period piece, true to its time and well-researched. It also offers a compelling narrative that pulls readers in gradually until the book becomes un-put-down-able. I was attracted to this title because I enjoy reading historical mysteries, but this novel is much more than a genre piece and will provide rewarding reading for anyone who appreciates character-driven fiction.
I received a free electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
Like many Black families at the time the Mosby family moves north—flees, really. In their case, this move is spurred by threatened white violence. That early "choice/not-a-choice" lands them in Harlem, where they do well for a time. However, with a death (not a choice) and a threat against one of its members (another not-a-choice), the family is split apart. Set during the Influenza pandemic and at the time of the Lindbergh kidnapping the novel makes clear the disparate values placed on the lives of wealthy and poor, white and Black, without becoming heavy-handed. When the Mosby daughter finds herself pregnant as the result of rape (most certainly not a choice), the choices become even more difficult. How to protect the baby when its father's family would prefer that it disappear? How to maintain any sense of love and connectedness when circumstances make such things an unattainable luxury?
When the baby, Chloe, is kidnapped, one more character enters the story: Weldon Thomas, New York City's first Black policeman. He knows Chloe's kidnapping will not receive the publicity and active response that resulted from the Lindbergh kidnapping. When the case starts to fade (not-a-choice) without any real investigation, he takes it upon himself (choice) to discover what's happened to Chloe and whether she is still alive.
Gone Missing in Harlem is a wonderful period piece, true to its time and well-researched. It also offers a compelling narrative that pulls readers in gradually until the book becomes un-put-down-able. I was attracted to this title because I enjoy reading historical mysteries, but this novel is much more than a genre piece and will provide rewarding reading for anyone who appreciates character-driven fiction.
I received a free electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
July 26, 2021
More like 4.5 but a very good read!
January 29, 2022
ABANDONED because of boredom. I listened audibly and enjoyed the beginning. But then I got lost in the story line as it changed characters. Perhaps would be better read visually. Perhaps I’ll give it another try later.
July 21, 2021
It starts out rather slow, so much so that I wasn’t sure I was going to finish it. It did gather steam about a quarter of the way through and as it turns out I ended up loving it. Lots of twists and turns to this one.
April 24, 2021
Gone Missing in Harlem by Karla F. C. Holloway is her highly anticipated second novel, from her In Harlem series. This book is set against the backdrop of the real and infamous Charles Lindbergh kidnapping and murder case of the 1930s. In Gone Missing in Harlem, the child in question is a baby girl called Chloe. Unlike the Lindbergh case, however Chloe's disappearance doesn't garner as much attention. It's left to the Weldon Haynie Thomas, the city’s first Black policeman to investigate the disappearance.
As with many Black families in the United States, the Mosbys moved to Harlem from the South as part of the Great Migration in order to get a better life. This better life is shattered by the confrontation Lilah Mosby has with her wealthy white employers the Thayers following the rape of her daughter Selma by their son, Edward Thayer Jr.
Rape is a common occurrence for Black domestic staff, by their white employers. This isn't dwelled on in a laboured manner, but rather matter of fact - which is truly appreciated. The sexual exploitation of women in literature can often be quite gratuitous but here it was more a case a blink and you'll miss it affair.
Gone Missing in Harlem provides social commentary on how people react to crimes when taking into account race and class. It explored how these factors would determine the public response to a missing child. One can garner sympathy whilst the other will lead to judgement and finger pointing, as assumptions are made about one's circumstances.
The book is beautifully written, and if you are a fan of the crime mystery novel, this will be a great addition to your book collection. It does use archaic terms eg perambulator and goodly which is in keeping with the times it is set in. I enjoyed the book and would give it a solid 4/5.
***Thank you Netgalley and Northwestern University Press for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Check out www.elaineadupoku.com for other book reviews.
As with many Black families in the United States, the Mosbys moved to Harlem from the South as part of the Great Migration in order to get a better life. This better life is shattered by the confrontation Lilah Mosby has with her wealthy white employers the Thayers following the rape of her daughter Selma by their son, Edward Thayer Jr.
Rape is a common occurrence for Black domestic staff, by their white employers. This isn't dwelled on in a laboured manner, but rather matter of fact - which is truly appreciated. The sexual exploitation of women in literature can often be quite gratuitous but here it was more a case a blink and you'll miss it affair.
Gone Missing in Harlem provides social commentary on how people react to crimes when taking into account race and class. It explored how these factors would determine the public response to a missing child. One can garner sympathy whilst the other will lead to judgement and finger pointing, as assumptions are made about one's circumstances.
The book is beautifully written, and if you are a fan of the crime mystery novel, this will be a great addition to your book collection. It does use archaic terms eg perambulator and goodly which is in keeping with the times it is set in. I enjoyed the book and would give it a solid 4/5.
***Thank you Netgalley and Northwestern University Press for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Check out www.elaineadupoku.com for other book reviews.
September 14, 2021
The enjoyment a reader takes from this book may depend on how she approaches the book. Is it a mystery or crime novel? Is it a depiction of Harlem life and southern life in the early 1930s? Is it the struggle of a woman, the protagonist DeLilah Mosby, forced to make choices to protect her family?
The story is all these. The story opens with the discovery of a baby is missing from a stroller only after a few minutes of the mother buying something in a grocery store. On the news, and in everyone’s mind, is the tragic kidnapping and death of Charles Lindberg’s 20-month-old son.
A reader who enjoys a description of the era may enjoy the backstories of DeLilah, her husband, son, and daughter Selma, who is the mother of the missing baby Chloe. The description captures the people in fully fleshed out scenes.
A reader interested in flawed characters will be delighted meeting the cast in this book.
But for people who are looking for action, or more engagement from the first “colored” police officer in New York, who does not appear substantively until more than half-way through the book, this book may be a struggle.
While I found the ending satisfying and plausible, I felt the weight of description and backstory weighed this book down, so much so, I almost gave up.
Thus, the reader needs to approach this book with the right attitude, otherwise I would recommend skipping it.
FB. The reader's enjoyment will depend on her preferred balance of description (captures the times well), character (flaws abound), and pace (slow). While I found the ending satisfying and plausible, I felt the weight of description and backstory weighed down this book as a mystery. It is more a drama with a mystery garnish.
The story is all these. The story opens with the discovery of a baby is missing from a stroller only after a few minutes of the mother buying something in a grocery store. On the news, and in everyone’s mind, is the tragic kidnapping and death of Charles Lindberg’s 20-month-old son.
A reader who enjoys a description of the era may enjoy the backstories of DeLilah, her husband, son, and daughter Selma, who is the mother of the missing baby Chloe. The description captures the people in fully fleshed out scenes.
A reader interested in flawed characters will be delighted meeting the cast in this book.
But for people who are looking for action, or more engagement from the first “colored” police officer in New York, who does not appear substantively until more than half-way through the book, this book may be a struggle.
While I found the ending satisfying and plausible, I felt the weight of description and backstory weighed this book down, so much so, I almost gave up.
Thus, the reader needs to approach this book with the right attitude, otherwise I would recommend skipping it.
FB. The reader's enjoyment will depend on her preferred balance of description (captures the times well), character (flaws abound), and pace (slow). While I found the ending satisfying and plausible, I felt the weight of description and backstory weighed down this book as a mystery. It is more a drama with a mystery garnish.
June 5, 2021
I found Prof. Holloway's first book, A Death in Harlem, by sheer happenstance, browsing through mystery shelves. I'm not ashamed to say the cover induced me to take a closer look, but instead of reading the first page, as I usually do, for some reason I started in the center. It wouldn't have mattered. I knew I was going to take it home and read it for the story, then read it again for the rhythm and cadence of the phrasing, and then read it again to understand what was happening to me as I stepped back in time to a place I never would have experienced if it weren't for this amazing work. Every time I read this book, I'm cheering Officer Thomas on as he carefully weaves the delicate threads of his case into its denouement. So, of course I eagerly awaited this second title, and was not in the least disappointed. I swear Holloway must be a time traveler because only primary experiences can create the smells, the sounds, and the feelings of the pulse and place that will forever stay with you once you've read her books. I am but an interloper, looking in from the outside, but I will always be grateful for that opportunity.
October 4, 2021
Truly wonderful. It's a bit slow to get into, and the style of writing is different that what I'm used to reading. But, once one gets into it, this many-layered, complex story of the black experience in 1920s and 30s Harlem is fascinating. It brings in class (upper class black, working class black, poor black, upper class white, and middle class white), race (intraracial striving, interracial black v. white), gender (be forewarned there is violence against women), and the complexities of trying to make it as an immigrant in a new city.
The author masterfully weaves in implications of the Lindbergh (white) baby kidnapping on the Harlem (black) baby kidnapping, and all that is and is not done for one vs. the other. On top of that, there is family. The extremes one will go for one's beloved family.
It's a relatively short read at 200 pages, and what seems like a mystery, or even a novella on life in Harlem, is much, much more. Highly recommend.
The author masterfully weaves in implications of the Lindbergh (white) baby kidnapping on the Harlem (black) baby kidnapping, and all that is and is not done for one vs. the other. On top of that, there is family. The extremes one will go for one's beloved family.
It's a relatively short read at 200 pages, and what seems like a mystery, or even a novella on life in Harlem, is much, much more. Highly recommend.
June 5, 2025
Part two of the Weldon Haynie Thomas series.
This book was set in 1936 Harlem - Note: the timeline confused me but the author explained why she changed a key historical fact) – where the mixed race infant of a Black 14 year old girl who was r@ped by the privileged, twisted adult son heir to a large corporation disappears. The family at the center of the novel fled the south when their six year son inadvertently challenged a whitemale and the book realistically and empathetically described their journey (as well the paths and horrors encountered by Black women and girls working in the homes of white people), and delves into the world of upper middle class Black people.
As in her first novel, the author pays excellent attention to the lives of Black residents of Harlem in the 1930’s, the indignities suffered, the striving attempted, the families and neighborhoods and community they create.
This book was set in 1936 Harlem - Note: the timeline confused me but the author explained why she changed a key historical fact) – where the mixed race infant of a Black 14 year old girl who was r@ped by the privileged, twisted adult son heir to a large corporation disappears. The family at the center of the novel fled the south when their six year son inadvertently challenged a whitemale and the book realistically and empathetically described their journey (as well the paths and horrors encountered by Black women and girls working in the homes of white people), and delves into the world of upper middle class Black people.
As in her first novel, the author pays excellent attention to the lives of Black residents of Harlem in the 1930’s, the indignities suffered, the striving attempted, the families and neighborhoods and community they create.
April 13, 2022
DeLilah does her best to make a home for her daughter, but Selma’s childhood is cut short when a brutal rape leaves her pregnant. After her baby is kidnapped, the city’s first ‘colored policeman’, Weldon Haynie Thomas, vows that this kidnapping will not end like the Lindbergh case. Gone Missing in Harlem touches upon many things, including African American soldiers coming home from WWI, the Great Migration north, and the world of 1930’s Harlem. I was blown away by this novel - yes, it's historical, African American literary fiction and a mystery, but it's ultimately a novel about the lengths a mother will go to protect her family. I had the pleasure of interviewing the well-known scholar Karla F.C. Holloway about this beautiful novel: https://newbooksnetwork.com/gone-miss...
September 22, 2022
After a dragged on start of the book ( I almost stopped reading) it turns into an excellent story, set against the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby. The chorus of women is brilliant. The setting, Harlem in the 30’s is a good background for the story.
What was distracting was long-winded descriptions and streams of consciousness by some characters that had not contributed to the story. Tighter editing would have been good.
What was distracting was long-winded descriptions and streams of consciousness by some characters that had not contributed to the story. Tighter editing would have been good.
July 21, 2021
Part historical fiction, part mystery but all the way a page turner. It kept me guessing to the end, and I especially loved the generations of mothers and daughters in this story that make it very much like literary fiction at its best. Highly recommend!
July 27, 2021
This is the second Harlem mystery that Ms. Holloway has written. She makes the little known history of Harlem come alive with a very taunt plot twisting mystery.
Her prose are engrossing and lyrical with building tension.
Her prose are engrossing and lyrical with building tension.
February 18, 2024
An outstanding book - dressed as a mystery but more, it seems to me, a telling of life in Harlem pre WWII. Ms. Holloway's use of language - idioms and vernacular - helped to paint a vivid portrait of a world that was new to me.
July 29, 2021
What a crafty and beautifully executed mystery! But it's also historical fiction, I learned so much about 1920s 1930s Harlem. Like her first novel, the mystery is buried in elegant, lush prose, beautifully composed scenes but the characters here are deeper, more subtly composed, and provocative. So far, two great novels by this writer, can't wait for the next one!
March 14, 2022
A perfect book for bookclubs. The mothers are the story's focus, and even though it's a mystery and historical fiction, it has the feel and weight of literature. Will read the author's first novel; but this one is really one I'd recommend highly. Page turner!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews