If I Should Die Book

Grace F. Edwards died last week, and when I was reading her obituary in the New York Times, it mentioned that she had begun writing a mystery series when she got older that was groundbreaking in the way that it captured the lives of everyday people living in Harlem and their relationships not just with society at large, but with the police. So I decided to give this book a try.

The book takes place in the late 1990s, in Harlem, when the crack epidemic is in full force. Mali Anderson is a former cop who is pursuing a Ph.D. in social work, and has spent her entire life in Harlem. Her father is a well-known jazz musician and she lives with him and her nephew Alvin, who was orphaned when Mali's sister and her husband died in a climbing accident in Europe.

Mali left the police force when she filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against a fellow officer. One day when she is walking to pick up Alvin from choir practice, she happens upon what seems to be an attempted child abduction. She manages to scare away the kidnapper, but realizes that the choir director is lying in the street dead, after he was shot while also trying to foil the kidnapping. Her instincts from years of being a police officer kick in, and she starts to try and find out what is going on. Some of her old department contacts are assigned to investigate, but they don't seem to be following procedure as she knows it. When a former colleague reaches out, and they become romantically involved, she is able to learn a bit more.

But as other murders happen, and an attempt on the life of Mali's dear friend happens, it seems there is a whole lot more going on than originally seemed to be the case. Things start to get really dangerous, really quick.

The murder mystery is interesting, but the best part of this book is the historical information about Harlem and its people, as well as its depiction of families and family life. If you didn't know they were black, you would be appalled at some of the things that they have to endure. But since you know that they are, it just reinforces the fact that though they lives lives similar to everyone else, there is an undercurrent of fear, prejudice, and the feeling that society sees them as the "other."

I liked this book and plan to continue with the series.