Lightning Men

Starred review from July 24, 2017
Set in 1950, Mullen’s outstanding sequel to 2016’s Darktown showcases the difficulties of effectively policing the mean streets of Atlanta when some cops belong to the Ku Klux Klan. Denny Rakestraw, who’s not a Klan member, is distrusted by his fellow officers for his suspected role in the disappearance of his former partner. Denny’s problems increase when his Klansman brother-in-law, Dale Simpkins, gets involved in a plot to stop the influx of African-Americans into his neighborhood. The personal and the professional also intersect for Lucius Boggs, one of the city’s first black officers. They are not only not allowed to arrest whites but are “barely even supposed to interact with white people,” which proves troublesome when Lucius and another black cop, Tommy Smith, start to investigate a moonshine smuggling ring that turns out to include some white men. Meanwhile, the release from prison of the father of Lucius’s fiancée’s child creates personal complications for Lucius. Mullen again brilliantly combines a suspenseful plot with a searing look at a racist South. Agent: Susan Golomb, Writers House.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's deliberate narration matches the slow-burning fuse that runs through this historical procedural. The setting is 1950s Atlanta, where a third of the police force is believed to be Klan members and vigilante "justice" is dispensed with impunity. Into the middle of this is thrown a team of "Negro" officers, an experiment in policing--though they cannot arrest whites, patrol white neighborhoods, or drive patrol cars. Abdul-Mateen's portrayal of these police officers, although methodical and controlled, hints at suppressed rage. His narration builds the tension all the way to the surprising ending. Listeners may be so absorbed by the plot and performance that they may be unaware they're hearing a well-researched history lesson. R.W.S. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine