Nicole Glover

Freedom comes at a cost... Hetty and Benjy have another death on their hands: Raimond Duval, a victim of one of the many fires consuming Philadelphia. His death is officially declared an accident, but Hetty and Benjy smell something more than just ash in the air. Their investigations point to a powerful Fire Company, known to let homes in the Black community burn to the ground, but before they can investigate further, Raimond's son, Valentine, is also found dead. It quickly becomes clear that there is something more here, something that connects Raimond and Valentine to the recent fires plaguing the city, and Hetty and Benjy have never been the kind to step aside. But this feels larger than the cases that have come before and now their lives hang in the balance. After all, even the most powerful magic can't hold back the ghosts of the past.

Meet Hetty Rhodes, a former conductor on the Underground Railroad who now uses her magic to solve crimes in her community in a post-Civil War world. As an escaped slave, Hetty Rhodes helped dozens of people find their own freedom north using her wits and her magic. Now that the Civil War is over, Hetty and her husband, Benjy, still fight for their people by solving the murders and mysteries that the white authorities won't touch. When they discover one of their friends brutally murdered in an alley, Hetty and Benjy mourn his loss by setting off to find answers. But the mystery of his death soon brings up more questions, more secrets, more hurt. To solve his death, they will have to not only face the ugly truths about the world but the ones about each other. Perfect for fans of Victor LaValle and Zen Cho, The Conductors is a compelling debut by a fresh voice in fantasy fiction that will leave you longing for more.