LIGHTNING MEN

"A brilliant blending of crime, mystery and American history. Terrific entertainment." - Stephen King. Atlanta 1950. Officer Denny Rakestraw and 'Negro Officers' Lucius Boggs and Tommy Smith face the Klan, gangs and family warfare in a rapidly changing Atlanta. Black families including Smith's sister and brother-in-law are moving into Rake's formerly all-white neighbourhood, leading his brother-in-law, a proud Klansman, to launch a scheme to 'save' their streets. When those efforts leave a man dead, Rake is forced to choose between loyalty to family or the law. Meanwhile, Boggs has outraged his preacher father by courting a domestic whose dangerous ex-boyfriend is then released from prison. As Boggs, Smith, and their all-black precinct contend with violent drug dealers fighting for turf in new territory, their personal dramas draw them closer to the fires that threaten to consume Atlanta once again. One city is on the brink of huge and violent change. Three cops who cross colour lines, and a city full of secrets. Sunday Times - "Violent, compassionate and brilliant." 374pp, paperback.