Smoke Kings

"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

In the vein of Get Out and Razorblade Tears, four grieving friends exact justice for their murdered comrade by tracking down descendants of ancestors who committed long-ago crimes of hate, and charge them with reparations.

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 a man turns up dead; the brother of the leader of a hate group who is now hot on their tail as is Mason, a jaded lawman with some disturbingly racist views of his own.

As the 4 vigilantes fight to thwart their ruthless pursuers, they’re forced to accept an age-old truth: "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."

Smoke Kings is an extraordinary debut crime novel offering a feast of noir fiction, probing social commentary, and a diverse and unforgettable cast of characters. It is a novel that asks us to consider what would happen if reparations were finally charged and exacted.