The Hanging of Ruben Ashford (PB) (2022)

At the heart of Lauren Small's soaring new novel is a murder mystery set in Baltimore in 1918, and the love of two remarkable women. Psychologist Josie Berenson defends a young Black man who has confessed to murder while her partner, Dr. Nell Winters confronts an influenza epidemic that rapidly kills thousands. Their search for justice and healing is complicated by a city riven by race, at a time when loving a member of your own sex is a crime. The path forward, they discover, is fraught with difficulty, but still offers reasons for hope. Delivered by a master story-teller, The Hanging of Ruben Ashford reveals fault lines in a great American city that still reverberate today.