Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons, Penguin Group Genres: Contempory, Crime, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Southern, suspense
Format: ARC, eBook
Two horrific and shocking crimes, a community torn and the realization that you might not really know the people in your life.
Talk about a thought-provoking book. Whew!
Toya Gardner, a black artist from Atlanta has come home to North Carolina to complete her thesis. She is staying with her grandmother, Vess, while she is in town. She decides to use her artistic skills to protest a confederate statue in town. Not everyone will be pleased with her actions.
Local deputies will find a man asleep in his car believing that he is just passing through. He happens to be a ranking Klan member who has a notebook full of names that if revealed with affect the whole community. One deputy will question what he sees, not everyone will be pleased with his actions.
This is a powerhouse of a book that starts slowly as readers are introduced to characters and situations that will propel the book through to the ending. David Joy writes gritty and raw books and with Those We Thought We Knew he has written a thought provoking book full of mystery and social commentary.
How well do you know people in your lives? You have grown up with people, broken bread with them, attended religious services, parties, befriended them, known their families, and loved them. Generations have lived in this town. Families have tight bonds and connections that go back for years. Do you really know your neighbors, your friends, your family members? How well do you know yourself?
This book would make a great book club selection as there is a lot of food for thought in this book. It is beautifully written, thought provoking, and compelling. Readers may feel uneasy reading this book as it deals with very relevant issues. Generational trauma and generational racism are shown in this book. There are those in town who view the confederate statue and confederate flag as a symbol of their southern roots and southern pride. There are those who view the confederate statue as a symbol of oppression, suffering, racism, and a painful connection to slavery and the civil war.
The characters are fully fleshed out and I thought David Joy did a great job providing readers with many things to ponder. I loved the part where Vess discusses that just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it is not there.
David Joy is a gifted writer and storyteller. He has such beautiful passages that I found myself going back and reading. He has created atmosphere, tension, and unease beautifully in this book. He depicts loss, grief, anger, love, ignorance, and pain beautifully. I love books that evoke feelings and are thought provoking and this book was both. It will have readers not only reading the book but taking a hard look at their own thoughts as we read about the thoughts and actions of the characters.
The mystery of the crimes committed and the investigation that ensues was gripping and had me doing my own detective work while reading. After the halfway mark, I had my sights set on one character and learned I was right at the end.
Well written, thought provoking, raw, and timely.
*This book does depict racism, the Klan, and murder
4.5 stars
#ThoseWeThoughtWeKnew #NetGalley #DavidJoy #PenguinGroup
Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.