This timely thriller won’t just have you scared for the characters, but for our society, as well.
Sydney Green returns to live with her mother in their historically Black neighborhood in Brooklyn. However, the neighborhood is undergoing rapid gentrification, and several of their life-long friends and neighbors have suddenly disappeared and wealthy white people are taking their places. Sydney is asking a lot of questions and draws dangerous attention to herself as she struggles to hold on to her mother’s home. She is befriended by one of those people — Theo — who is living with his wealthy, now ex-girlfriend, who has his own secrets and demons.
This book is absolutely suspenseful. It’s hard to know whether or not we can trust Sydney’s interpretation of events, given some mental health background that is alluded to throughout the book. Theo’s character is a bit strange and maybe the least believable part of the book (outside of parts of the ending,) but the straighter talk about race between Sydney and Theo is refreshing in a no-one-ever-talks-about-anything-of-real-substance-in-a-thriller kind of way. Yes, the ending is really fast, but it was building to that finish the whole time, so it didn’t seem completely out of place.
But this book is so much more than just another hard-to-put-down psychological thriller. It’s also an incredibly strong social commentary on the United States, racism, and this country’s continued economic prosperity relying on the history of slavery. Saying too much on this gives away key plot points, but I learned a lot about some of the history of this country. And while some of it sounds like a big conspiracy theory, the timeliness of this book in relation to the current protests against police racism and brutality makes a good case for much of the information that is included. This book is worth reading just to give you a different perspective on your world.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the Book Club Girl of William Morrow in exchange for my honest review. It did not influence my opinion.