History Lessons

★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10

304 pages

What’s it about?

Daphne Ouverture is an assistant professor specializing in French colonialism at a prestigious university. She is just beginning her career, and so she spends her time giving lectures, grading papers, and going on awful dates. When another young professor sends her a strange text message in French, she ignores it until she discovers he has been murdered that same night. She is slowly drawn into the mystery- and so are we.

What did it make me think about?

Well, I was mainly wondering what would happen next.

Should I read it?

Daphne Ouverture is such a character! She is black, smart, and has a colorful group of friends and family that surrounds her. Like many mysteries, you do need to suspend your disbelief a little, but I thoroughly enjoyed not just Daphne but the whole cast of this book. Zoe Wallbrook has a perspective, but that did not hinder my enjoyment of the book, and it was an interesting and different take than a white man would have written. Who doesn't appreciate a new point of view in the mystery category? Additionally, there is even a hint of romance and a touch of humor to keep things interesting. I am hoping Daphne and friends will be back, and I, for one, will read the next book.

A passage I marked

"But any good historian worth their salt would tell you that secrets didn't want to be buried."