The Black Queen by Jumata Emill
Nova Albright was going to be the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High—but now she’s dead. Murdered on coronation night. Fans of One of Us Is Lying and The Other Black Girl will love this unputdownable thriller.
Nova Albright, the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High, is dead. Murdered the night of her coronation, her body found the next morning in the old slave cemetery she spent her weekends rehabilitating.
Tinsley McArthur was supposed to be queen. Not only is she beautiful, wealthy, and white, it’s her legacy—her grandmother, her mother, and even her sister wore the crown before her. Everyone in Lovett knows Tinsley would do anything to carry on the McArthur tradition.
No one is more certain of that than Duchess Simmons, Nova’s best friend. Duchess’s father is the first Black police captain in Lovett. For Duchess, Nova’s crown was more than just a win for Nova. It was a win for all the Black kids. Now her best friend is dead, and her father won’t face the fact that the main suspect is right in front of him. Duchess is convinced that Tinsley killed Nova—and that Tinsley is privileged enough to think she can get away with it. But Duchess’s father seems to be doing what he always does: fall behind the blue line. Which means that the white girl is going to walk.
Duchess is determined to prove Tinsley’s guilt. And to do that, she’ll have to get close to her.
But Tinsley has an agenda, too.
Everyone loved Nova. And sometimes, love is exactly what gets you killed.
I finally got around to reading The Black Queen and I’m really glad I picked it up.
I was surprised by how much I liked this one. The author did a good job with giving you a lot of suspects. Some of the stuff was super obvoious, but not everything. I really liked both Duchess and Tinsley. I liked seeing the growth in Tinsley and how they started to become sort of friends. Not only did the book talk a lot about racism, it also talked about how to learn to do better. Most of the families in this are either toxic or broken. I did like the focus on family and friendship though. I wish we would have gotten to know Nova more before she was killed. But I guess that was sort of the point. Even her own best friend didn’t know much about her. There were a lot of secrets.
I gave this book 5 stars.
Have you read this? Is it on your TBR?
