Midnight in Memphis: A Novel

It’s 1955 in Memphis and although segregation has ended, tensions are still high in this Southern city. Homicide detective Burdett Vance is on the hunt for a killer who is targeting rich white girls, seemingly in revenge for the decades of lynching violence. Burdett is assigned a trainee, Officer Eustace Johnson, one of the few Black men on the force. It may just be a publicity stunt, but these two men will find they have more in common than they think and it will be Midnight in Memphis soon. They may be the only two in this city who care more about justice than appearances.

Dann has done a fantastic job of bringing 1955 Memphis to life. He includes many real-life characters in this fictional story and showcases what the political and racial climate was at that time. While no one in this story is a private eye, the story reads like that kind of noir, which I love. It’s full of mysterious dames and red herrings, as well as a Chief who isn’t as honest as he’d like you to believe. If you enjoy detective noirs, especially the Southern kind, I highly recommend you read this.