The Bottom Line: Five stars for this deeply engrossing, serious-as-a-heart-attack murder mystery that has profound things to say about social justice, loyalty and the human condition.
Karen E. Osborne’s chilling new novel opens at the headquarters of a local not-for-profit organization 45 minutes North of New York City. If you’re the kind of reader who warns characters about the dangers of dark basements, prepare to get started in the very first chapter. Aria, the organization’s 50-year-old CEO, heads downstairs to find an elderly volunteer named Emerson. Shortly after discovering that the lights won’t switch on, she’s confronted by an intruder who utters, “You’re a dead woman.” Emerson is soon found stabbed and shot.
It’s an engaging setup by Osborne, who first captivated us with the brilliant romantic thriller Tangled Lies. Here, Osborne creates tension by shifting between multiple timelines across the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 2020s. Written from the perspective of Aria as well as Emerson, the story moves between New York state, Vietnam, Thailand and elsewhere. Across locales, Osborne’s ability to evoke visceral locations is breathtaking (“A cloud of cigarette smoke enveloped them. Dim lights created a haze. A cacophony of voices, laughter, and soul music playing from a jukebox greeted them. On the dance floor, Thai women and girls sporting Afro wigs moved to the music, some with men and others alone, looking for someone to buy them drinks”).
As a murder mystery, Justice for Emerson is quite satisfying. Naturally, Aria, having found Emerson alone, will be a suspect. And while she finds her back increasingly up against the wall, it’s up to her to find the truth that the police might miss – or simply not look into. That goes double for potentially related connections with other crimes across timelines.
But considering the depth of characterization and world-building, the book is far more than a typical crime novel. Osborne explores the plight of Black soldiers during the Vietnam War, emphasizing feelings of betrayal and questioning who they are fighting for in a country that oppresses them. In the contemporary timeline, themes of identity, loyalty and morality are pervasive as Aria discovers painful truths about those who are allegedly working to feed the poor and homeless. Complete with references to Toni Morrison, MLK and Aretha Franklin, there are simply no empty calories in Justice for Emerson.
