The Hanging of Ruben Ashford

This book may bring tears to our eyes; it will heal you. - Michael Salcman, Shades & Graces: New Poems Josie and Nell stare hard into "Baltimore's divide." There, as Nell says, we see how deeply that divide "ran through the human heart." In Lauren Small's gripping new novel, we cannot help but see how deeply it still does - Madeleine Mysko, Stone Harbor Bound Is hope a liability? A luxury? A refuge of the naive? The nature of hope - and its cost - is one of the questions underlying this smart and provocative murdery mystery. - Will Schwarz, president, Maryland Lynching Memorial Project Baltimore in 1918 emerges from Lauren Small's talented pen with her exquisiste use of language. With deep relationships that bridge social conventions, The Hanging of Ruben Ashford is filled with poignmant revelations that will resonate long after the last page has been read. - M.K. Graff, The Nora Tierney English Mystery Series