The Trees by Percival Everett

When a pair of detectives from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation arrive in Money, Mississippi, to investigate a series of brutal murders, they find at each crime scene an unexpected second body: that of a man who resembles Emmett Till. After meeting resistance from the local sheriff, his deputy, the coroner, and a string of racist white townsfolk, the MBI detectives suspect these are killings of retribution. Then they discover eerily similar murders taking place in rapid succession all over the country. The past, it seems, refuses to be buried. The uprising has begun. In this provocative page-turner that takes direct aim at racism and police violence, Percival Everett offers a devastating critique of white supremacy and confronts the legacy of lynching in the United States.

Genre - Historical Fiction; Mystery; Horror

Publication Date - September 21, 2021

Pages - 309

My Thoughts

NPR called this dark social satire and I think that's about right. I have also heard it called horror and while I would agree with that assessment too, this is not a typical horror novel. It seems to me that it is a racial allegory buried in a mystery.

There is plenty of humor in this novel albeit dark. It even takes aim at Trumpism. Under all of that, though, the novel is deadly serious. If you're looking for a theme, here is one: The legacy of lynching in all forms and places and devotes time and space to honoring the dead. And that ending? ! Well, you will have to read it so we can discuss what that is about. I loved 95% of this book. The only thing that keeps me from giving it 5 stars is the fact that I couldn't get over the zombie apocalypse vibe. For that reason, I gave this 4.5 stars.