A surprising, though sometimes frustrating, collection that uses genre fiction to confront the impact of Obama’s presidency...
In this collection of stories edited by Phillips (Orange County Noir, 2010, etc.) and inspired by the racist backlash to Barack Obama’s presidency, 15 writers grapple with—and parody—white America’s fear of the 44th president.
The collection is a mashup of genre fiction, ranging from spy thrillers to noir mysteries to science fiction. Some of the stories take place in dystopian futures suffering the effects of racial backlash. Danny Gardner’s “Brother’s Keeper” flashes forward to a time when America has endured rule by several Trumps. The country’s environmental policies have forced millions into space, children are forced to attend Trump Academy, and undocumented immigrants are punished with death. The story follows a black teen as he attempts to verify an urban legend: that there was once a black president from a forgotten land known as Chicago. Walter Mosley’s “A Different Frame of Reference” takes place in the contemporary American South, exploring a secret society of white supremacists hellbent on undermining President Obama’s administration by planting news stories and enforcing racial fear in their communities. The story takes place in the claustrophobic mind of a gleefully racist narrator only for the reader’s assumptions to be turned on their heads. In perhaps the most delightful entry, Kate Flora’s “Michelle in Hot Water” reimagines the former first lady as a secret agent working to take down shadowy Russian interests. These stories are engaging, but they sometimes sink into didacticism, using genre fiction as a way to make points about white America’s fear of black political power. The lessons are welcome, but they are often too on-the-nose to be effective. The stories are at their best when they forego lecturing and rely on narrative and satire to imagine the consequences of white supremacist politics on American society.
A surprising, though sometimes frustrating, collection that uses genre fiction to confront the impact of Obama’s presidency on the white American psyche.Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-941110-59-1
Page Count: 324
Publisher: Three Rooms Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
More of a western than a mystery, like most of Joe’s adventures, and all the better for the open physical clashes that...
Wyoming Game and Fish Warden Joe Pickett (Free Fire, 2007, etc.), once again at the governor’s behest, stalks the wraithlike figure who’s targeting elk hunters for death.
Frank Urman was taken down by a single rifle shot, field-dressed, beheaded and hung upside-down to bleed out. (You won’t believe where his head eventually turns up.) The poker chip found near his body confirms that he’s the third victim of the Wolverine, a killer whose animus against hunters is evidently being whipped up by anti-hunting activist Klamath Moore. The potential effects on the state’s hunting revenues are so calamitous that Governor Spencer Rulon pulls out all the stops, and Pickett is forced to work directly with Wyoming Game and Fish Director Randy Pope, the boss who fired him from his regular job in Saddlestring District. Three more victims will die in rapid succession before Joe is given a more congenial colleague: Nate Romanowski, the outlaw falconer who pledged to protect Joe’s family before he was taken into federal custody. As usual in this acclaimed series, the mystery is slight and its solution eminently guessable long before it’s confirmed by testimony from an unlikely source. But the people and scenes and enduring conflicts that lead up to that solution will stick with you for a long time.
More of a western than a mystery, like most of Joe’s adventures, and all the better for the open physical clashes that periodically release the tension between the scheming adversaries.Pub Date: May 20, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-399-15488-1
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2008
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.
Too much free time leads a New Hampshire bookseller into yet another case of murder.
Now that Tricia Miles has Pixie Poe and Mr. Everett practically running her bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, she finds herself at loose ends. Her wealthy sister, Angelica, who in the guise of Nigela Ricita has invested heavily in making Stoneham a bookish tourist attraction, is entering the amateur competition for the Great Booktown Bake-Off. So Tricia, who’s recently taken up baking as a hobby, decides to join her and spends a lot of time looking for the perfect cupcake recipe. A visit to another bookstore leaves Tricia witnessing a nasty argument between owner Joyce Widman and next-door neighbor Vera Olson over the trimming of tree branches that hang over Joyce’s yard—also overheard by new town police officer Cindy Pearson. After Tricia accepts Joyce’s offer of some produce from her garden, they find Vera skewered by a pitchfork, and when Police Chief Grant Baker arrives, Joyce is his obvious suspect. Ever since Tricia moved to Stoneham, the homicide rate has skyrocketed (Poisoned Pages, 2018, etc.), and her history with Baker is fraught. She’s also become suspicious about the activities at Pets-A-Plenty, the animal shelter where Vera was a dedicated volunteer. Tricia’s offered her expertise to the board, but president Toby Kingston has been less than welcoming. With nothing but baking on her calendar, Tricia has plenty of time to investigate both the murder and her vague suspicions about the shelter. Plenty of small-town friendships and rivalries emerge in her quest for the truth.
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0272-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
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