Back Lash

Forty years ago, Sam Acquillo’s father, Andre—a mechanic with a short fuse who sometimes terrorized his family—was beaten to death by two men. Sam thought, ‘Good riddance.’ Now, decades later, the best witness to the still unsolved murder wants to talk to Sam. Knopf has a way with prose and plotting, as well as a knack for creating a range of full-bodied characters, and that combination makes this a true pleasure for mainstream crime-fiction readers. —Booklist, starred review