Lyrics of a Blackbird - Softcover

"Harlem’s fabled 1920s ‘Renaissance’ provides the dynamic backdrop for Persia Walker’s entertaining debut novel. A murder mystery set among the black bourgeoisie, it is also the heady tale of a bygone era.... What distinguishes this novel is Walker’s attention to the workings and characters of the times, from the club stars to the numbers runners, to prickly class issues between Strivers’ Row residents and their working-class neighbors. A Harlem native, Walker understands this community and its history, crating a compelling family intrigue and a full, vibrant portrait of that storied era when Harlem’s pulse was the rhythm of black America." --The Boston Globe

"As much a story of lies, deceit and murder as it is a commentary on race and class, Harlem Redux is filled with colorful characters." --The Chicago Tribune

“This intriguing page-turner, convincingly set in the heady era of 1920s’ Harlem, is atmospheric and smart and will keep readers guessing until the very end.” --Tananarive Due, author of The Living Blood and The Black Rose

“A rich, thoroughly enjoyable tale of greed and deceit, passion and betrayal. With her elegant prose, Walker does an amazing job of recreating Harlem during the Renaissance of the 1920s. I loved her characters, their complexity and depth, the struggles they faced and their all too human responses. Walker kept me guessing right to the very end.” --April Christofferson, author of The Protocol and Clinical Trial

“Exotic locales, an odd supporting cast, worthy subplots, and a baffling set of clues .... At the center of this carefully constructed tale of murder, deception, and betrayal is a twisty whodunit. Walker slyly turns and teases readers with her shrewdly rendered characters .... It’s entertaining to watch the various pieces of Walker’s puzzle come together.” --Publisher’s Weekly

"Harlem Redux proves [Walker] more than capable of offering a penetrating dissection of the black upper crust." --The Washington Post

“Walker vividly captures the unique rhythms of Harlem while plotting a convoluted tale of internecine feuds and deadly retribution.” --The St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Sexy.” --The New York Daily News“Good historical fun ... with some impeccable scenery.” --Kirkus Reviews

It is 1926, the heart of the Roaring Twenties, and Harlem is the place to be. Years after dropping out of Harlem society, David McKay, a handsome lawyer from a prominent Strivers' Row family, returns home, devastated by the news of his sister's suicide. Burdened by a secret of his own, he dares to stay in Harlem to seek answers about Lilian's death.

He rediscovers the world of the Harlem Renaissance, a place of suffocating class strictures, seductive patrons, and aristocratic civil rights leaders. His inquiry takes him from the wealthy salons of its powerbrokers to the crowded tenements of its poor. He uncovers old loves and festering hatreds. The deeper he probes, the closer he comes to unleashing forces that could reveal his own crippling secret - one that could destroy or redeem him.

This gripping 1920s murder mystery, taut and lyrical, combining elements of the suspense and hard-boiled genres, evokes the mystique of Harlem's most fascinating era. Absorbing and powerful, Harlem Redux combines incisive comment on race and class with a tragic tale of unrequited love.