In the Shadow of a Protest by Y. S. Leonard is a good mystery that is also incredibly relevant. Destiny is a responsible, smart young woman who recently started a great job at an accounting agency. When she goes to a BLM protest with her best friend Ashley, the protesters get attacked. Everything goes sideways and the murderer takes their opportunity. I liked the balanced way that the police are represented in this book. They're not all bad or all good. Not only does the book deal with the issues of police brutality, it gives us a bit of a window into what it's like for people from different points of view. I was given an arc of the book and while there were some small inconsistencies within the story, I anticipate them being fixed before the final release.

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
This is a clever debut well written in a stylish clipped difficult to describe but nevertheless enjoyable quirky writing style. A topical read with several mentions of characters removing masks, but Black Lives Matter plays a much bigger part. Atmospheric engaging from start to finish at times poignant and sad with excellent characters who leap from the page. So if it's so good why only four stars, it's because of the for me disappointing ending, I cannot say more without spoiling it for my fellow readers, but can only hope there is a follow book to put things right.
Engaging enjoyable.

Y. S. Leonard Gives us a timely thriller set against the backdrop of the BLM Movement during the latest racial justice wave this past year. Overt Political tensions make for a compelling mystery setting and I really enjoyed the novel. Can we have a follow up please?

A murder mystery that could have been ripped from today's headlines. A young woman is murdered during a black lives matter protest, and the detectives tasked to find her killer uncovers another world that no one was expecting. It took me through all types of twists and turns that kept me on my toes throughout the entire book. I'm hoping there will be more books from this author. They did such a great job.