DONALD LEVIN
Detroit, 1963. Follow four fictional Detroiters whose lives intersect when a shocking act of police violence—the real-life 1963 murder of Cynthia Scott, a Black woman, by a white policeman—inflames the city.
Amp Hamilton, a young Black aspiring Motown musician, witnesses the killing. Hannah Posner, a fiery civil rights attorney battles racism and police corruption in her search for justice. David Buchalter, a drifting, unsettled warehouse worker, searches for meaning at the beginning of a decade of social upheaval. And Denny Rankin, an ex-cop private investigator, probes into the death of a small-time con artist that draws him deep into Detroit’s criminal underworld.
The World As It Is brings these characters together as it recreates the era in rich historical detail, with civil rights, organized crime, Motown, Black nationalism, and the Kennedy assassination all pressing in on the story.
Critical praise for The World As It Is:
“When it comes to writing crime fiction, you need to hit the target dead center with as much storytelling force as possible. Donald Levin—not unlike Detroit legends Elmore Leonard and Loren Estleman—always hits the bullseye. This new one is further proof of this.” —Stephen Mack Jones, author of the August Snow thrillers.
“An unflinching, immersive, and incendiary portrait of injustice. Measured and haunting, this is a story that lingers long after the final page.” —The Prairies Book Review
“Levin has masterfully recreated 1963 Detroit, grounding the novel in real historical events. The city is very vivid and tangible, and its complexity which includes division by race and corruption as well as its music, activism and hope, is fully realized. ‘The World As It Is’ is not a novel the world can easily ignore.” —The Historical Fiction Company
"A masterpiece of layered historical literary crime." —Reader Views
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The newest novel by the award-winning author of Savage City, The Arsenal of Deceit, and The Ghosts of Detroit.
Book 4 in The Detroit Quartet.