Welcome Back, Booklovers! It's been a couple of months since I read a suspense novel and A Spy in the Struggle peaked my interest. I actually won and arc in a BookishFirst giveaway but the way the mail has been set up it still has not arrived so I was able to get an e-arc from Kensington Books in exchange for review.
Yolanda Vance takes a job with the FBI after she refuses to shred some compromising paperwork and the law firm she works for gets indicted. While newly working for the FBI, Yolanda is sent to infiltrate Red, Black, and Green! (RBG), a political organization in Holloway, California for Black and environmental justice. A major corporation has been exploiting the community however the FBI insists this group is the real problem. As she gets further involved she starts to see that the world isn't quite as black and white as she thought.
The first half was slower and there was a lot of set up for the plot. I felt the second half did a better job intertwining Yolanda's backstory with current events which made for a stronger and faster paced read.
Yolanda is one of those Black people who believe that if you want better, you do better. She adopted that mantra after growing up with a mother who often dropped everything to chase after men which left them in worse situations then they started with. At a young age Yolanda learned time and time again that her mother was unreliable at best and damaging at worst. Even in present day when Yolanda reaches out to her mother during her time of need she only gets some hippie reply back instead of the assistance she needs.
Her very narrow view of Black people based off her experiences in small town Georgia and her cheating preacher father and her experiences in a rough neighborhood in Detroit that she worked hard academically to get out of. Being with this group is the first time she's been part of a Black community since she was a child and initially she holds some preconceived notions about the people particularly the teens in the group. In her mind racism can't stop you from working hard and making a name for yourself.
While a murder happens and there's a mystery surrounding how this member of the community was killed it's not a key focus. However it is the catalyst that causes Yolanda to open her eyes to the mysterious deaths and FBI coverups. She finally starts to question her superiors and if she's doing the right thing.
There is a romance in this book between Yolanda and one of the members Jimmy however I wasn't really invested in their relationship. He was her opposite in that he grew up with Black nationalist parents.I didn't quite buy the emotional connection fully but I appreciated when Yolanda and Jimmy were open with each other about how past experiences left them jilted.
I felt this book shed a light on types like her who are educated about so many things but ignore the plight of their people and easily buy into propaganda. Yolanda may know the law but she is oblivious to how the law is actually applied to Black people until it starts to directly affect her.
Enjoyed the review.
ReplyDelete