This book was interesting from the start, as the crime was particularly brutal and committed in a place of worship. Sam, a black man has been accused of killing Jessie, a white woman in a Southern town in a place of worship. The racial tension introduced in the beginning of the book made the story very gripping as I thought the story would continue into the justice system. I liked that Zach, the lawyer called to help Sam in his case, knew he had to do his best work with this case as his professional reputation was in tatters due to a past mistake.

However, the story then fell a bit flat for me. Rather than follow Zach into his trial we followed Addie (who is supposed to be Zach's investigator but he constantly says he doesn't need her) randomly into a cold case murder that happened to be connected to Sam's case. The rest of the story felt a bit more rushed to me, the characters were quite two dimensional and towards the end it felt very predictable.

Wow - a debut author hits it out of the park with this mystery. I love legal thrillers and this one really had a couple stories within the story that added to the fun. I loved the setting too - down south where sadly racial tensions and injustices still exist. The set up was a small town where a black man was found in a church at night hovering over a dead white woman (the daughter of the big shot of the town, of course!), killed by the church altar cross, but he swears he didn't do it. Now if that isn't a story waiting to be told . . .

Enter Zach, the attorney who has gotten himself into a bit of trouble and is now scratching his way out, and Addie, his private investigator/partner who are hired by the boy's grandfather to defend him.

This was such a great novel that kept me reading til late at night because I had to know who did what to whom. I can't wait to see Caroline Cleveland writes next because it is a sure buy for me.

Thank you to Net Galley, Caroline Cleveland and Union Square & Co Publishing for the advanced copy that kept me up too late.

✰ 2.75 stars ✰

“That’s what she wanted me to believe. But not now. Now I knew better— knew what had to be done. That’s the thing with a secret this old.

You’re not keeping it anymore. It keeps you.”

In the Southern town of Walterboro, South Carolina, that still holds on to its racial hatred and discrimination, the last thing Zach Stander, a once respectable and highly sought-after attorney now struggling to land a respectable case, would want to take on is the high profile case of Sam Jenkins, a Black man accused of bludgeoning to death a white woman with an altar cross in a rural church on Cicada Road. 'Having gone down in flames himself in the past, Zach couldn’t help but hear a small voice inside urging him to turn and run.' But, as Zach and his girlfriend, private detective Addie Stone investigate deeper into the facts of that fateful night, they discover that there perhaps may be a deeper connection to this case - one that ties into the past of a pair of gruesome murders that brings long-buried secrets to light and one that someone would do anything to keep hidden - no matter what it takes.

“This was about something older and deeper, and if Zach had not fully appreciated the magnitude of what he would have to overcome to save Sam, he felt its full force now.”

It gripped me from the start; even though it does seem like a rather generic murder, the opening passage along with Sam's reserved pleas for help and the foreboding menace that seemed to creep into the crevices as Zach became more invested into the case, intrigued me - 'this wasn’t a murder case—it was a powder keg rolling through a wall of fire.' I wanted to see how Zach would piece it together, what clues would be brought forth that would shed light on the case. I wanted to know how he would figure out his innocence, what lingering darkness led to Sam's involvement in the murder, who would want to frame him, how big a part would racism play in convicting him of this crime? 😥 'Maybe nothing, but you never know when something that seems insignificant can be the tiny piece of the puzzle that pulls the bigger parts together—or that the solicitor uses to pull them apart.' And for a while, I did think it was going to be like that; but, in the effort to make history collide with Zach's case, the plot took an unfortunate turn. While I didn't mind the contrived way in which the past was forced to converge with the present, in order for it to make sense, I wanted more on the trial aspect. I wanted to see Zach shine as a lawyer, rather than unexpectedly taking a back seat as Addie was pushed forward as she put her detective hat on. 🙍🏻‍♀️

I would have liked to see Zach shine as he regained his composure as a lawyer, rather than seeing Addie's pursuit of past murders. The story quickly shifted trajectory and made the plot move at a speedier pace and a less believable one. As we neared the ending, I felt the writing also became a bit weaker, because the writer was literally pushing the evidence right into our faces! I would have liked it if it had been more subtle - don't make such a point to point it out! 😩 It made the sudden twists less interesting and more forced upon me. It was bad enough that we got such a glaring clue in the killer's perspective that hinted at their lingering involvement in the couple's lives that put me on guard to suspect any new character that entered the scene. 🙎🏻‍♀️

“I’m the one who pushed you to take this on. And for the right reasons. There will always be good and bad, right and wrong on both sides, and racists come in all colors.

But justice is worth standing up for.”

What I do appreciate is the underlying message of how hatred and discrimination and the fear of being accepted is still so very prevalent - regardless of the time or who it may be. How anger and hate is fueled and stored up, waiting just for the right moment to strike, regardless of who it may hurt or what pain they would be inflicting on others. And yet, still keeping in time, that even those who are bigoted and racist are susceptible to change - that one should never lose hope for a better and more understanding future. 🙏🏻🙏🏻 'I guess some people are exactly what you think they are, and others surprise you.' And as the author is someone who has had experience in legal matters, I appreciated how authentic she kept the legal jargon - how the details portrayed the little nuances and ticks that a lawyer employs - the subtle movements and reflections that they undertake when dealing with a client or confronting a witness. 'It’s funny, though, how your mind can play tricks when you try to remember details.' It was further accompanied with sharp, crisp, factual dialogue for their investigation that was heightened by the palpable excitement the two of them would have upon the discovery of a key witness or clue. 👍🏻👍🏻

Despite its flaws, I liked how the author wanted to keep the story on a personal level, as well. Zach and Addie were both likeable characters; not ones without their faults, they still wanted the best for one another and hoped that they could make a life together. Even as their relationship is put to the test, their honesty and trust in one another never wavered. Addie was a confident force to be reckoned with, who saw the strong potential that Zach was capable of. Even as Zach is still nurturing the haunts of his childhood, he wanted Addie to give him a chance. And I respected how Addie approached the matter in a believable way. How she gave Zach space and still, an ultimatum that allowed both of them to grow individually because of it. 🥺 'Some people are born knowing who their families are. The rest of us have to find them.' With this delicate balance to the more dirty and gritty side of their investigation, the author managed to keep the story on a lighter tone that made me root for these two to not only survive the dangers they were encountering, but to survive as a couple, too. ❤️‍🩹

*Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.