Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2022 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2022/01/readers-advisory-announce-2022-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

The novel surprised me in the best possible way. This was my first time reading the author, so I didn’t have any pre-set expectations. Karla’s writing style is incredibly authentic. She drew me in the life of the characters, even if I was well into the book when the full list of characters revealed itself.

Focused on the pain and struggles of a black, poor family in the 20th century Harlem neighbourhood, the novel made me feel emotional and sometimes angry. It’s a story about resilience and the lengths to which a widowed mother must go to protect her children (a boy and a girl), well into their adult lives.

With no fault of their own, the family troubles seem to be brought upon by society, segregation and lack of resources. From rape and sexual abuse, to mental health issues and criminality in the poor black neighbourhood of New York – the book has it all. The story’s authenticity is also enhanced by links to real events picked from the mass-media of the time (which is the plot and twist of the book best left to be discovered).

The writing style is so genuine, that I had to remind myself that the author is my contemporary. An enjoyable novel, easy to read but not necessarily with the easiest of topics.

Gone Missing in Harlem by Karla F. C. Holloway is her highly anticipated second novel, from her In Harlem series. This book is set against the backdrop of the real and infamous Charles Lindbergh  kidnapping and murder case of the 1930s. In Gone Missing in Harlem, the child in question is a baby girl called Chloe. Unlike the Lindbergh case, however Chloe's disappearance doesn't garner as much attention. It's left to the Weldon Haynie Thomas, the city’s first Black policeman to investigate the disappearance.

As with many Black families in the United States, the Mosbys moved to Harlem from the South as part of the Great Migration in order to get a better life. This better life is shattered by the confrontation Lilah Mosby has with her wealthy white employers the Thayers following the rape of her daughter Selma by their son, Edward Thayer Jr.

Rape is a common occurrence for Black domestic staff, by their white employers. This isn't dwelled on in a laboured manner, but rather matter of fact - which is truly appreciated. The sexual exploitation of women in literature can often be quite gratuitous but here it was more a case a blink and you'll miss it affair.

Gone Missing in Harlem provides social commentary on how people react to crimes when taking into account race and class. It explored how these factors would determine the public response to a missing child. One can garner sympathy whilst the other will lead to judgement and finger pointing, as assumptions are made about one's circumstances.

The book is beautifully written, and if you are a fan of the crime mystery novel, this will be a great addition to your book collection. It does use archaic terms eg perambulator and goodly which is in keeping with the times it is set in. I enjoyed the book and would give it a solid 4/5.

***Thank you Netgalley and Northwestern University Press for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

We do what we know. And what we know and what we been through means sometimes we got to be hard. The kind of ease you missing don't always come when we need it to.

I don't read a lot of mystery. In fact, it's one of my lesser read genres. I am always intrigued by stories that take place in the Harlem of yesteryear (not this new gentrified Harlem by I digress). When I saw this book cover the simplicity of it intrigued me, and the synopsis ultimately made me take a chance on it.

This book is set in 1930s Harlem where Delilah and Iredell Mosby fled to from Sedalia, Alabama in search of opportunity and a better life. Before they could get settled into their tenement, the flu pandemic that followed the First Cold War hits closer to home that they could have imagined and the family is left reeling from the devastation. Percy "Junebug" Mosby embraces the street life in Harlem until an unmentionable crime occurs, his sister Selma is left trying to find her place in her Mother's grieving heart, and Delilah tries to uplift her station in society by grooming Selma for the elite societies of Harlem that could help her navigate the kind of life Delilah envisions for her. After landing her dream job on Manhattan's Upper East Side working for the illustrious Thayer family...all was well...until baby Chloe went missing. The fatherless baby her daughter Selma gave birth to that had threatened to take away all their hopes and dreams. The missing baby left Harlem wondering why colored babies that went missing didn't get the same attention as the Lindbergh baby that went missing. The city's first colored officer, Weldon Thomas, decides to take on the case but this case has much more to it than what meets the eye. Weldon is tasked with finding out what a real estate magnate and a colored baby have to do with one another and the lengths family will go to protect one another and it's secrets.

If you are looking for a fast paced mystery....this isn't the one. This story moves at a slow pace and it envelopes you in layers. With the turn of each page, we delve further and further into the life of the Mosby family. The catalyst for their initial departure, and all the struggles in between after they reached "the promised land". The author is an academic. She is the James. B. Duke Professor Emerita of English and Law at Duke University, where her research and teaching have included African American literary and cultural studies, bioethics, gender, and law. I don't normally mention author credentials in my reviews but for this one I felt it necessary because the her academic background was evident in the writing of this story and her knowledge of the history of Harlem and the Harlem Renaissance. This is one of the most well developed storylines you will ever read and she tackled so many issues relevant to the black experience inside of this mystery. Black upward mobility, the weight of black womanhood, colorism, corporal punishment, love, loss, grief, sexuality, the necessity of black policing of black demographics. This book was a masterpiece and I will most definitely be reading more work by this author in the future. After further research I realized, this book is the second book in her #Harlembooks series and the follow up to A Death In Harlem. I will be checking that one out as well. It read as a standalone and even if you don't plan on reading the first installment, it's still enjoyable.

You don't have to be a mystery buff to enjoy this novel. If you are a lover of History or historical fiction, this one will be right up your alley. Don't think you can figure this novel out either, nothing is as it seems. Happy Reading!

“[Harlem women] made city rules to take the place of country freedoms, like when the street lamps came on, you best be in this house; and if you can’t hear when I call, you too far away; and don’t let your daddy get here to the table before you in here to clean up and get ready to sit down together to have supper like a family should.”

The Mosby family runs from trouble in the South, only to find more struggles in Harlem. Lilah Mosby is widowed, her son Percy works for a criminal and then her young daughter Selma becomes pregnant. The most recent blow to the family comes when Selma’s newborn daughter Chloe is kidnapped from her carriage, shortly after the Lindbergh baby was kidnapped and killed. This is the second book in the author’s series about Harlem in the 1930s. It is not necessary to read the first book before reading this one, although both books share a character - Officer Weldon Thomas, Harlem’s first colored policeman. Weldon continues to pursue the case of Chloe’s disappearance, even after the police department has given up on it. This book is more family drama than mystery, but Weldon did get to do some police work.

I like this series because the characters are well developed and the plots are interesting and touching without being overly sentimental. However, what I like most are the descriptions of life in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance and the various social strata. I do think the book was often over written and it was really annoying that the author kept switching between DeLilah and Lilah for the character’s name.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Karla F.C. Holloway's Gone Missing in Harlem moves at a deliberative pace. The lives of its characters are challenging, and Holloway's pacing creates a sense of dread much more effective than emotionally laden writing could produce. The characters are faced with the problem of how to make choices when they too often have no choice in what happens to them.

Like many Black families at the time the Mosby family moves north—flees, really. In their case, this move is spurred by threatened white violence. That early "choice/not-a-choice" lands them in Harlem, where they do well for a time. However, with a death (not a choice) and a threat against one of its members (another not-a-choice), the family is split apart. Set during the Influenza pandemic and at the time of the Lindbergh kidnapping the novel makes clear the disparate values placed on the lives of wealthy and poor, white and Black, without becoming heavy-handed. When the Mosby daughter finds herself pregnant as the result of rape (most certainly not a choice), the choices become even more difficult. How to protect the baby when its father's family would prefer that it disappear? How to maintain any sense of love and connectedness when circumstances make such things an unattainable luxury?

When the baby, Chloe, is kidnapped, one more character enters the story: Weldon Thomas, New York City's first Black policeman. He knows Chloe's kidnapping will not receive the publicity and active response that resulted from the Lindbergh kidnapping. When the case starts to fade (not-a-choice) without any real investigation, he takes it upon himself (choice) to discover what's happened to Chloe and whether she is still alive.

Gone Missing in Harlem is a wonderful period piece, true to its time and well-researched. It also offers a compelling narrative that pulls readers in gradually until the book becomes un-put-down-able. I was attracted to this title because I enjoy reading historical mysteries, but this novel is much more than a genre piece and will provide rewarding reading for anyone who appreciates character-driven fiction.

I received a free electronic review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

This book had my emotions all over the place, when I thought I’d get a moment to breathe and move away from the pain we were right back in another situation. Family struggles and hard times they decide to move to Harlem and begin again.

Unfortunately more struggles arise as they begin living in there apartment, and they learn that not many things changed from the ways of the south. This could be a ripped from the headline story. If you enjoy seeing what can grown from some struggles this is definitely the book for you.

Enjoyable mystery with a great twist at the end-might be a little heavy in the backstory, but all in all enjoyable.

The Mosby family has certainly seen a lot of struggle, judgment, and hard times. While Iradell is away at war, Lilah tends to their unborn baby and awaits his return. Once the war is over, they start their life straight away in the Carolinas and get into a rhythm and hum of working hard. After an instance occurs with their son and the man paying their wages, they decide to pursue the dream of moving to Harlem and begin a new chapter.

Unfortunately more struggles arise as they begin living in a tenement, and learn that not many things changed from the ways of racial discrimination they encountered in the south. Still, Lilah works hard for a family in Manhattan has a baby girl named Selman, and provides for her family as things come to pass that interrupt their family union. While working for this family, Selma becomes pregnant with a little girl. The story of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping is raging through all the newspapers with detectives scurrying to find the kidnapper, however, when Selma's own baby, Chloe ends up missing, the fanfare for the Lindbergh baby isn't there for her own.

This story is a juxtaposition of two worlds that don't collide often enough. One of wealth and power from a racial divide and those that suffer because of it. Lilah and Selma's stories broke my heart and gripped my soul. It's a book about suffering, sure, but also one of perseverance and the pursuit of happiness through that struggle. An excellent read.

A unique, lyrical book with stories woven together from different characters and times like pieces of a quilt coming together

The timeline for this book jumps around, from the days when Lilah was at home, waiting for Iredell to return home from the War all the way up to the present day, where her young son is a married man. Whilst frustrating, at times, I found this to be a great way for the story to unfold, and to understand each of the associated characters. It also created great scope for character development.

The story itself focusses on the Mosby family, throughout the years, and the various challenges they have to overcome, not least the colour of their skin in a society that still regards them as inferior. As such, Holloway does a fantastic job of evoking the overarching thoughts, feelings and prejudices of the time, and the sorrows families involved in The great Migration must have felt.

At times, I found the description of certain aspects rather long-winded; minor characters and their streams of consciousness were tedious and I felt didn’t add anything to the book. That said, some other aspects were brilliant – focusing on a family heirloom that was once gifted to a grandmother by the man who had owned her really brings home the stark realities for these families as they fought to find their place in a new world, that hadn’t yet fully changed.

The concept behind this story is brilliant, a comparison between how the law and media reacts to similar cases, different only in class and, of course, the ever-prevalent issue of colour. Very moving and a compelling read.