Time’s Undoing by Cheryl A. Head

Genre: Crime Fiction, Historical
Release: February 28, 2023
Format: Print, Digital, and Audio

A searing and tender novel about a young Black journalist’s search for answers in the unsolved murder of her great-grandfather in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, decades ago—inspired by the author’s own family history

Birmingham, 1929: Robert Lee Harrington, a master carpenter, has just moved to Alabama to pursue a job opportunity, bringing along his pregnant wife and young daughter. Birmingham is in its heyday, known as the “Magic City” for its booming steel industry, and while Robert and his family find much to enjoy in the city’s busy markets and vibrant nightlife, it’s also a stronghold for the Klan. And with his beautiful, light-skinned wife and snazzy car, Robert begins to worry that he might be drawing the wrong kind of attention.

2019: Meghan McKenzie, the youngest reporter at the Detroit Free Press, has grown up hearing family lore about her great-grandfather’s murder—but no one knows the full story of what really happened back then, and his body was never found. Determined to find answers to her family’s long-buried tragedy and spurred by the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement, Meghan travels to Birmingham. But as her investigation begins to uncover dark secrets that spider across both the city and time, her life may be in danger.

Inspired by true events, Time’s Undoing is both a passionate tale of one woman’s quest for the truth behind the racially motivated trauma that has haunted her family for generations and, as newfound friends and supporters in Birmingham rally around Meghan’s search, the uplifting story of a community coming together to fight for change.

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Dru’s Short Musing:
The present and past converge in a well-written mystery that I could not put down until all was said and done.

WOW, that is all I can say about this book that harkens back to the Jim Crow era of racial injustice and present day where that thought continues to exist and IT SHOULD NOT. Venturing down to Alabama, Meghan with her reporter’s instinct is determined to uncover the truth behind her great-grandfather’s murder. What transpires during her search for answers puts her in harm’s way, but still she persists. This deeply motivated and heart-wrenching drama kept me engrossed from beginning to end. I also liked how the author staged the narrative with two points of view which worked cohesively by focusing on what was happening at that time which would lead to the climatic and explosive conclusion. Bravo for telling this story.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.