Smoke Kings, Jahmal Mayfield
Smoke Kings, Jahmal Mayfield
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

Smoke Kings
A Novel

Author: Jahmal Mayfield

Narrator: Terrence Kidd

Unabridged: 10 hr 53 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/16/2024


Synopsis

Nate Evers, a young black political activist, struggles with rage as his people are still being killed in the streets sixty-two years after Emmett Till. When his little cousin is murdered, Nate shuns the graffiti murals, candlelight vigils, and Twitter hashtags that are commonplace after these senseless deaths. Instead, he leads three grief-stricken friends on a mission of retribution, kidnapping the descendants of long-ago perpetrators of hate crimes, confronting the targets with their racist lineages, and forcing them to pay reparations to a community fund. For three of the group members, the results mean justice; for Nate—pure revenge.

Not all targets go quietly into the night, though, and Nate and his friends' world spirals out of control when they confront the wrong man. Now the leader of a white supremacist group is hot on their tail as is a jaded lawman with some disturbingly racist views of his own. As the four vigilantes fight to thwart their ruthless pursuers, they're forced to accept an age-old truth: "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."

Smoke Kings is a powerful and propulsive novel with a diverse and unforgettable cast of characters. Like Steph Cha's Your House Will Pay it explores decades of racial tensions through a fictional landscape where the line between justice and revenge is blurred.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Raven on February 24, 2024

If you prefer your crime fiction with a hard edge and which encourages you to take a good, long look at the most marginalised and persecuted members of society, then Smoke Kings is definitely the book for you. Taking its inspiration from the writings of African American sociologist W. E. B. Dubois, I......more

Goodreads review by Michael on January 29, 2024

I was gifted an ARC of this book a month or so ago. I am always ready to support a fellow author, especially a debut author. So it went on my TBR pile and I felt guilty for not getting to it until I finally made my way to it. And found that it's really good. The premise is jarring. Ethically compromi......more

Goodreads review by Stephen on February 16, 2024

I actually finished this in about 5 days. Had a hard time putting it down. Finding the perfect words to review this is impossible as Mayfield is masterful at descriptions and that made it intimidating for me to review. By the book’s end, the four main characters are well defined, compassionately and......more

Goodreads review by Merrill on February 12, 2024

Holy moley. This was so good. If yesterday hadn’t been Super Bowl Sunday I’m pretty sure I would have finished it in just one day. This is the kind of book you’ll be thinking on for a while. No clear cut good guys or bad guys. Well developed characters that you can really feel for. Plus a storyline......more

Goodreads review by Tom on September 26, 2023

Damn! Jahmal Mayfield can write. He is unafraid. The plot will have people talking (arguing?) late into the night. And the ending? Mmm boy.......more