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Reviewed by Cecelia Hopkins for Readers' Favorite
The Black Queen by Jumata Emil commences with a confrontation between Nova Albright and Tinsley McArthur over the homecoming queen campaign. Tinsley feels it is unfair because the school has introduced “quotas” and attempts to perpetuate white privilege by bribing Nova to withdraw. Ironically, it is Tinsley who withdraws from the race and spends homecoming drunk at the beach pity party. She is filmed spewing vitriolic threats against the winning girl and is the most obvious suspect when Nova is killed. Although they have opposite points of view, Tinsley and Duchess join forces to locate the real killer. The investigation causes them to question their social relationships, and some of the secrets that come to light make them squirm uncomfortably.
The Black Queen by Jumata Emil was a compelling thriller with a genuine social message. I enjoyed the argument between Nova and Tinsley because each displayed a strong character, trading insults without getting overwrought and giving as they received. The author cleverly deflected my suspicions, so my guesses included almost every character in the story. One clever sentence Nova uttered toward the beginning turned out to be a resounding clue, but I didn’t realize it until near the end. Racism, sexism, and classism were solidly represented and rebuked by the narrative. I wanted to like the parents, but the systemic selfishness and prejudice they represented were ugly. Some of the younger generation replicated the ignorant behavior, while others learned to move beyond it. The book contrasted tokenism and appeasement with genuine human relationships as it delivered a mind-boggling murder mystery story.
