Book Recommendation – Kiss of Salvation

I would like to recommend “Kiss of Salvation” by Waights Taylor, Jr. to all my followers and friends. A hard-boiled detective mystery set in 1947 Birmingham, “Kiss of Salvation” is the story of Detective Joe McGrath’s quest for the killer of an African-American prostitute.  Taylor, a native of Birmingham, does an excellent job of putting the reader in the scenes as the white detective searches for the truth amid the racism and class consciousness of a pre-civil rights Southern city, no matter where it may lead him.

From the book description:

“I’m pretty sure the victim is a prostitute, and the MO looks just like the murder last month,” Joe McGrath said. “The victim was garroted, and the body was arranged like an X. Whoever is killing these women is leaving a calling card behind.”

1947 Birmingham, Alabama, cloaks many mysteries under its segregated shroud: glittering social soirées, secret sexual parties, a Machiavellian civic leader, and multiple murders of black prostitutes in dark alleys. Racist police chief, Big Bob Watson, reluctantly assigns Homicide Detective Joe McGrath to the case. The black community stonewalls the investigation. Joe teams up with Sam Rucker, the city’s only black private eye. Working across the racial boundaries of the day, they take us step-by-step to the city’s heart of darkness in search of an elusive vicious killer.

 

I had the privilege of reviewing Taylor’s manuscript and commenting on police policies and procedures. Taylor also meticulously researched other aspects of the civic and criminal justice systems in the 1940’s South.  The result is a story that will keep you turning the pages until the end.

 

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