Name: Dead Dead Girls
ISBN: 9780593199107

Nekesa Afia

Louise spends her days working at Maggie's Cafe and her nights at the Zodiac, Manhattan's hottest speakeasy. When a girl turns up dead in front of the cafe, Louise is forced to confront something she's been trying to ignore - several local black girls have been murdered over the past few weeks. After Louise's night job gets her arrested, she's given an ultimatum: She can either help solve the case or let a judge make an example of her.

Dead Dead Girls

Sarah Sammis

** spoiler alert **
           As with a few other mysteries I've read this year that were also published this year, Afia's novel addresses police brutality. This one, though, being a mystery by a Black women about Black women, also looks head on at racism, misogyny, and patriarchy. The afterword includes the author's thoughts on writing the book as well as her decision to use a historical setting to comment on today's issues.

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Dead Dead Girls
Nekesa Afia
★★★★☆

I was hypnotized by my desire to solve this murder mystery, and I am delighted to report that this riveting book is a pleasure to read. Afia's debut novel "Dead Dead Girls" looks at Black women's trauma, their sense of identity, and their unapologetic Blackness.

This novel is an explanation of how Black people experience everyday life; that premise alone makes it worth reading. If you consider the book as a tale of Blackness, the entire Harlem mystery is a bonus. Louise, a closeted queer/LGBTQ+, loves dancing, but she also has a secret. Well, perhaps it would not be considered a secret, but to her, it certainly is. Known as "Harlem's Hero," she was kidnapped decades ago and escaped both with herself and with her companions. In the aftermath of the kidnapping, Louise lost far more than she gained, as things did not go according to plan. Many years later, we meet the Louise of today. In a grim twist of fate, murders begin to occur, but now they are aimed at young Black girls who frequent the local nightclub/bar Louise works at/around. An emotional rollercoaster ensues, with stakes, sacrifices, and a need to determine who to trust. I consider "Dead Dead Girls," with its compact chapters and delightful protagonist, one of the most profound debut novels I have read this year.

A few crowded elements were present, such as lengthy character descriptions (did not deliver much payoff), family trauma that was not as well developed as it could have been, and many of the characters exist within these gaps, so we are led to believe they are the killer. But they are too developed to the point that they no longer serve any purpose by the conclusion. I was shocked at how quickly everything went after a significant death; this book ended with such a neat conclusion without much exploration of that trauma that it left a sense of being incomplete. Yet, in spite of this, it was a fantastic debut novel that was well-rounded with such an engaging story.

Shannon Blake

Sarah 

Sam White

"Louise spends her days working at Maggie's Cafe and her nights at the Zodiac, Manhattan's hottest speakeasy. When a girl turns up dead in front of the cafe, Louise is forced to confront something she's been trying to ignore - several local black girls have been murdered over the past few weeks. After Louise's night job gets her arrested, she's given an ultimatum: She can either help solve the case or let a judge make an example of her"--

Dead Dead Girls

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