Scorched earth Book

I greatly admire this book. Robbins transcends the mystery genre with language as sweet and rich as a mint julep on a starry night.

A child is born to a black man and a white women in a small Virginia town. The child dies, and is buried in the Baptist church cemetery. But the elders insist on unearthing the child, because only whites are allowed in their cemetery. The night after the child is exhumed and moved to the black cemetery, the church burns down. The father of the child, a black man, is arrested for the crime, and claims he is innocent.

Nate, a heart-bruised lawyer returns to his home town to defend this man accused of burning down a church. When a charred body is found in the rubble, Nate finds himself with a murder case on his hands. As Nate peels back layers of history, grudges and racism, he encounters his ex-wife (with whom he is still in love), a corrupt prosecutor, a psychologically tortured priest, and a sheriff with a huge reason to see this black man put to death.

It's not your grandmother's crime novel. Sit beneath a magnolia tree, and enjoy.