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Smoke Kings
Smoke Kings | Jahmal Mayfield
3 posts | 3 read | 1 to read
"A fresh and fierce new voice to crime fiction...a stunning book that takes the reader on an intense and harrowing journey that is truly unforgettable. Consider me a big fan." Don Winslow, New York Times bestselling author of The Cartel, The Force and City on Fire "Jahmal Mayfield roars to the top of the writer-to-watch list with this sizzling debut. Smoke Kings is straight fire. Every page simmers with an undercurrent of rage, each line a hard dose of smoldering truth. I can't wait to see what Mayfield does next." - Eli Cranor, Edgar Award Winning Novelist of Don't Know Tough In the vein of Get Out and Razorblade Tears, a feast of noir fiction and probing social commentary that asks us to consider what would happen if reparations were finally charged and exacted. Nate Evers, a young black political activist, struggles with rage as his people are still being killed in the streets 62 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 3 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 3 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 4 vigilantes fight to thwart their ruthless pursuers, theyre 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 Chas Your House Will Pay it explores decades of racial tensions through a fictional landscape where the line between justice and revenge is blurred.
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Hooked_on_books
Smoke Kings | Jahmal Mayfield
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Pickpick

This was a tough read and hard for me to review. After a close, violent tragedy, a group of people decide to get revenge in an unusual way. There were fascinating bits to this, and the writing is good, but it was a little hard to get into and gets so dark it was hard to continue. It also has a bleak ending. It‘s a worthy book, but it would be impossible to say I “liked” it.

dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 3mo
43 likes1 comment
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Decalino
Smoke Kings | Jahmal Mayfield
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Pickpick

In this tense and compelling thriller, a group of friends set out to enact retribution for past injustices after the murder of 17-year-old Darius by a group of White assailants. A thought-provoking concept makes it worth reading, although info-dump dialogue and two-dimensional secondary characters were a bit distracting at times. Thematically similar to The Trees by Percival Everett, but told in a more conventional style. A low pick for me.

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Floresj
Smoke Kings | Jahmal Mayfield
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Pickpick

There‘s a lot to like in this book- a plot that moves, interesting characters, and plenty of choices that cause more and intense drama. The first 1/2 is a 5, but the last bit felt like the ending pushed too hard at being intense. Good, crazy read.