Fervent, NY is “a hamlet with only twelve homes and a post office the size of a tool shed.” It has gossip enough for a city though, lots of it surrounding Ella and James White, newly back in Fervent after being cleared of the murder of a local. Some neighbors testified against them in the trial, including Sylvia Upshaw, who’s one of many who wish that the Whites would have the decency to live somewhere else, even just till bad feelings are less fresh (“Why in the hell are they back in Fervent, Lord Jesus?”). But Syl has more reason to want the Whites gone than most. She’s Black, like most residents of the hamlet, and she never liked it that racist James White and his doing-nothing-about-it wife, who are both white, adopted a Black child. While the Whites were doing their time, Sylvia let loose a secret that led indirectly to terrible grief for them. What if they know it was her? She’s in agony, and soon has more reason to fear, as a killer is on the loose in the area, with Black people his stated target. Syl and readers are plunged into a terrifying ordeal that has the pages flying by. This is the rare novel that’s equally character- and plot-driven (“Isn’t this some shit straight off the soaps?” says one character, accurately), and fans of the Lambda Literary Award and Los Angeles Times Book Prize (among other accolades) winning Winslow will not be disappointed. Newcomers, especially those who’ve enjoyed S.A. Cosby’s work, should also get this on their TBR.—Henrietta Thornton
