Roman’s father is in a coma after someone ran him off the road, and it’s clear from the recent vandalism of his father’s work vans that this is no accident, so Roman returns home for the first time in years. His sister, Neveah, is taking care of the family’s business, a crematorium, at the cost of having any kind of life. His brother Dante is hiding from reality in a fog of drugs and booze. It quickly becomes clear that part of what Dante is trying not to think about is the debt he owes the Black Baron Boys gang.
Roman needs to bail out his brother, keep their sister in the dark if possible, and make sure his family is safe. He brings to bear his skills at making money (both legal and illegal), but that’s not enough. Luckily Roman has a friend who specializes in violence and chaos, and who may be able to help him find a solution to the whole mess.
Throughout the novel, the question of what happened to the siblings’ mother decades ago, when she simply disappeared after work, hangs over all of them. Did their father kill her and then cremate her body, as many suspect? Or is she still out in the world somewhere, living a secret life?
Cosby is one of my favorite contemporary crime writers, and this is one of his best books.