{"product_id":"smoke-kings-isbn-9781685891114","title":"Smoke Kings","description":"\u003cb\u003e A \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003eThe Best Crime Novels of the Year\u003cbr\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003eNotable Book of the Year\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“As everything goes up in flames, Mayfield leans all the way into the discomfort zone\" - Sarah Weinman, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A fresh and fierce new voice to crime  fiction.\u003ci\u003e..\u003c\/i\u003ea stunning book that takes the reader on an  intense and harrowing  journey that is truly unforgettable. Consider me a  big fan.\"\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e— Don Winslow\u003ci\u003e, New York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Cartel, The Force \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eCity on Fire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Jahmal  Mayfield roars to the top of the writer-to-watch list with this  sizzling debut. \u003ci\u003eSmoke Kings\u003c\/i\u003e is straight fire. Every page simmers with an  undercurrent of rage, each line a hard dose of smoldering truth. I  can't wait to see what Mayfield does next.\" \u003ci\u003e- \u003c\/i\u003eEli Cranor, Edgar Award Winning Novelist of \u003ci\u003eDon't Know Tough\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the vein of \u003ci\u003eGet Out\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eRazorblade Tears\u003c\/i\u003e, a feast of noir fiction and probing social commentary that asks us to consider what would happen if reparations were finally charged and exacted.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNate 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNot all targets go quietly into the night, though, and Nate and his friends' world spirals out of control when they confront the wrong man. Now the leader of a white supremacist group is hot on their tail as is a jaded lawman with some disturbingly racist views of his own.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs 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.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSmoke Kings\u003c\/i\u003e is a powerful and propulsive novel with a diverse and unforgettable cast of characters. Like Steph Cha’s \u003ci\u003eYour House Will Pay\u003c\/i\u003e it explores decades of racial tensions through a fictional landscape where the line between justice and revenge is blurred.\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e The Best Crime Novels of the Year (So Far)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Reivew \u003c\/i\u003e9 Books We Recommend This Week\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e ELLE Magazine's\u003c\/i\u003e The Best Mystery and Thriller Books of 2024\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA T\u003ci\u003ehe Times\u003c\/i\u003e Best Thrillers for February 2024\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eMystery Tribune \u003c\/i\u003e32 Best Crime, Mystery and Thriller Books: February 2024 \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn \u003ci\u003eApple\u003c\/i\u003e Debut Pick February\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn \u003ci\u003eAmazon\u003c\/i\u003e Editors Best of Month in Mystery, Thriller \u0026amp; Suspense\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eCrimeReads\u003c\/i\u003e Most Anticipated Crime Fiction of 2024\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eKirkus\u003c\/i\u003e Most Anticipated Books of 2024\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Can there ever be restitution for the harm done to generations of Black people in America? Jahmal Mayfield, in his debut novel, takes this question to a provocative extreme.\" - \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Fearless writers like Mayfield are a good sign that the truth will remain… A THRILLING LOOK AT VIGILANTE JUSTICE”\u003c\/i\u003e—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e The Washington Post\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Provocative… Mayfield examines the issue of prejudice and justice from all sides… (a) chilling debut thriller.” — \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eLA Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"At once a blistering thriller and a probing look at pervasive societal fractures in the U.S., \u003ci\u003eSmoke Kings \u003c\/i\u003eannounces itself as one of the most electrifying novels of this year.\" - \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eToronto Star\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A debut novel boiling over with intensity and ingenuity...This sharp book balances nuance with exhilaration, and doubt with anger, warding off platitudes in its search for a deeper, knottier truth.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eELLE Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Jahmal Mayfield delivers a bold, provocative and at times uncomfortable debut that sharply looks at race, loyalty and the consequences of revenge in the action-packed \u003ci\u003eSmoke Kings\u003c\/i\u003e.\" \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e- South Florida SunSentinel\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eA fresh take on current events and history, mixed with social commentary. It’s a fast-paced story of twisted altruism that is not only entertaining but also thought-provoking.\" - \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Christian Science Monitor\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Smoke Kings\u003c\/i\u003e holds its nerve to the very bitter end, proving that race has some way to run as a theme in contemporary thrillers.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In Mayfield’s self-assured \u0026amp; righteously furious debut...tough, muscular prose infuses the novel with a beautiful darkness as the characters struggle in ways that will hopefully have the reader thinking too.\" — \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCrimeReads\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[A] powerful debut... This is an excoriating account of open wounds in US race relations.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMonocle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[A] powerful debut...propulsive narrative, lucid prose, breakneck pacing, and confident handling of controversial subject matter make him \u003cb\u003ea writer to watch.\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003cb\u003e— Publishers Weekly, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eSTARRED Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A bravura debut ... A provocative, page-turning treatment of racism in America ... rarely captured as powerfully or affectingly as it is here.\" \u003cb\u003e— \u003ci\u003eKirkus,\u003c\/i\u003e STARRED Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A compelling and exciting debut\" \u003cb\u003e— FirstClue\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“As this gut-clenching story concludes there is an incendiary convergence that will leave readers gasping. And that isn’t all, Mayfield closes the book with an ending that had such a twist I had to double check to make sure I hadn’t put on my underwear backwards. This book is that good.\" - \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eDayton Daily News\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[A] promising debut... The plot accelerates, shifting from the initial pointed framing of the racial and historical contexts towards increasingly fierce action... Mayfield's not a writer interested in making things seem simpler than they are, and that is essential to the power of this memorable novel.\" — \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Irish Times\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Jahmal Mayfield's \u003ci\u003eSmoke Kings\u003c\/i\u003e brings a fresh and fierce new voice to crime fiction. \u003ci\u003eSmoke Kings\u003c\/i\u003e is a stunning book that takes the reader on an intense and harrowing journey that is truly unforgettable. Consider me a big fan.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e— Don Winslow\u003ci\u003e, New York Times Bestselling author\u003c\/i\u003e of\u003ci\u003e City on Fire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Fearless, soulful, and timely. \u003ci\u003eSmoke Kings\u003c\/i\u003e is a gripping revenge thriller and sly social commentary all rolled into one. Everyone needs to read this book!” \u003cb\u003e— Steve Hamilton, Edgar Award-winning and \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eThe Second Life of Nick Mason\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“With this searing debut, Jahmal Mayfield ups the ante on the vigilante novel. But beyond the heartbreak and righteous fury, SMOKE KINGS holds up a mirror to America’s soul — and you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t flinch at what is reflected back. I can’t wait to read what Jahmal writes next.” - \u003cb\u003eDuane Swierczynski, author of \u003ci\u003eCalifornia Bear\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“As tightly plotted as the best thriller, the true power of \u003ci\u003eSmoke Kings\u003c\/i\u003e lies in its pointed, nuanced rage. Rage at an America that steadfastly refuses to acknowledge - much less address - the brutal treatment of its earliest Black inhabitants, and how that refusal and its attendant violence echoes throughout the centuries to right now, today, this moment. With Mayfield’s fearless, incandescent prose, I was hooked from page one.” \u003cb\u003e— Keith Rosson, author of \u003ci\u003eFever House\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"To say\u003ci\u003e Smoke Kings \u003c\/i\u003eis insightful and topical are understatements. To say this searing novel could have been written fifty years ago or twenty years from now says a lot about our country and the deft storytelling of Jahmal Mayfield.\" -- \u003cb\u003eGary Phillips, author of \u003ci\u003eOne-Shot Harry\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Jahmal Mayfield roars to the top of the writer-to-watch list with this sizzling debut. Smoke Kings is straight fire. Every page simmers with an undercurrent of rage, each line a hard dose of smoldering truth. I can't wait to see what Mayfield does next.\" \u003ci\u003e- \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eEli Cranor, Edgar Award Winning Novelist of \u003ci\u003eDon't Know Tough\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eJahmal Mayfield  was born in Virginia but currently resides in New Jersey. In addition to writing crime fiction, he serves as the director of a nonprofit program that provides employment support to people with disabilities. SMOKE KINGS was inspired by Kimberly Jones’ passionate viral video, “\u003ci\u003eHow can we win?\u003c\/i\u003e”","brand":"Melville House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46303206277349,"sku":"NP9781685891114","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781685891114.jpg?v=1767736811","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/smoke-kings-isbn-9781685891114","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}