What I'm Reading: Lake of Darkness

This review went live on Booklist Online recently

Lake of Darkness.

Kenemore, Scott (author).
May 2020. 264p. Skyhorse/Talos, $15.99 (9781945863509); e-book (9781945863516). First published May 15, 2020 (Booklist Online).

In an alternate history Chicago, during the First World War and right in the midst of the Great Migration, African American police officer, Joe “Flip” Flippity is asked by the mayor to investigate the grusesome murder of black twin, children. Flip, armed with both his city hall connections and his race, is able to penetrate deep into the secrets of both the city's most powerful men and the dark underbelly of Chicago’s vice districts, uncovering more than he could have imagined possible, because there is no way it could be possible, could it? Kenemore [Zombie, Ohio] combines strong world building, a compelling procedural mystery, and a great cast of characters, with just the right amount of a believable, angry, and long standing supernatural monster lurking just off the shores of Lake MIchigan to create an entertaining page turner. The additional questions the novel poses about the interplay between race, class, and power, give this speculative story a depth that will draw in readers who might normally shy away from a genre blend. A great suggestion for fans of hard boiled, Chicago based mysteries like the Cass Raines series by Tracy Clark or cosmic procedural series like Carter & Lovecraft by Jonathan Howard.

Further Appeal: I am going to be completely honest, I was slightly uncomfortable about reviewing this book. It is an excellent supernatural, historical horror hybrid that takes the Black experience during the Great Migration and the power voids in Chicago, both racial and class based, between police and politicians vs the residents of the Black community and lays them out very honestly and graphically.  NO punches are pulled here at all.

The writing is very good, the story compelling, the alternative history steeped in plenty of reality but still existing as a well built world of its own. And the implicit bias and racism that it lays bare is thought provoking. But, and this is a big but, it is written by a white dude from the suburbs.

Let me go on the record as saying,  I do not think everyone has to write characters only based on their personal experience [I still think Cabin at the End of the World by Tremblay- a straight white guy- is a better book because the family who could save the world is 2 gay guys and their adopted Chinese daughter; that fact makes the book better and I talk about that in my review], and this novel is better and more interesting with the racial angles, but I would  be lying if I wasn't slightly uncomfortable writing my review in late April and even more so posting it now.

I want to lay that out here, but I do not want it to detract from this story. I think it is a compelling read for procedural fans, historical fiction readers, and horror fans. The Lovecraftian angle and the insidious evil forces underpinning it all were thought provoking and compelling.

I think this is a book with wide appeal that will draw in new readers to the horror genre. It is not exploitative and it might be a good gateway book to titles about the Black experience or Lovecraftian Horror.

I hope you add it to your collections and then suggest other Lovecraft inspired titles by marginalized people [more options below].

Three Words That Describe This Book: historical, cosmic, race/class/power issues

Readalikes: I mention in the review above. The first, The Cass Raines series is an award winning series featuring a Black Chicago PI and it is steeped in the place-- Chicago. The other is a cosmic procedural series.

But there are a few other titles I would also suggest. Click on the titles for more info:

• The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle-- a retelling of a classic Lovecraft story that uses a Black protagonist which Lovecraft himself would have HATED, and yet, this novella is widely hailed as one of the best Lovecraft retellings ever written. 
• Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
• Anything by Caitlin Kiernan, literally anything.
• Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke-- one of the best historical mysteries out there and it features a story line about race and power. For readers who are looking for less fantasy and more mystery.