Darktown, Thomas Mullen

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher*

Author: Thomas Mullen
Publisher:
Pages: 384
Format: DRC
ISBN-10: 1501133861
ISBN-13: 9781501133862
Publisher: eBook | Hardcover | Paperback

Responding to orders from on high, the Atlanta Police Department is forced to hire its first black officers, including war veterans Lucius Boggs and Tommy Smith. The newly minted policemen are met with deep hostility by their white peers; they aren’t allowed to arrest white suspects, drive squad cars, or set foot in the police headquarters.
When a black woman who was last seen in a car driven by a white man turns up dead, Boggs and Smith suspect white cops are behind it. Their investigation sets them up against a brutal cop, Dunlow, who has long run the neighbourhood as his own, and his partner, Rakestraw, a young progressive who may or may not be willing to make allies across colour lines. Among shady moonshiner's, duplicitous madams, crooked law men, and the constant restrictions of Jim Crow, Boggs and Smith will risk their new jobs, and their lives, while navigating a dangerous world—a world on the cusp of great change.

There is so much anger in this book it made me feel uncomfortable at times.
There are a lot of similarities between the police officers. Dunlow and Smith are the bad cops. Both are aggressive and don't mind forcing a few words out of people. Dunlow has been trying very hard to get a foot between the real corrupt top of the police force but has been making to many mistakes which adds to the frustration.
Rakestraw and Boggs are the good cops. Bothered by their conscience especially when they get confronted with their partners behaviour. The interaction between the partners and the two groups of cops is very interesting and well written. It was easy to understand both sides of the story and connect to the characters. Though Dunlow and Smith are not really people I can relate too but their thought are easy to follow.
The mystery behind the murder was a pretty interesting puzzle but there where a few to many 'than she told me' without disclosing the said clue in the story. It took a bit to much time to get those clues to really puzzle along. There was a lot of effort put into closing up loose ends even those that did not even need closing that much.

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