A searing and tender novel about a young Black journalist’s search for answers in the unsolved murder of her great-grandfather in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, decades ago—inspired by the author’s own family history Birmingham, 1929: Robert Lee Harrington, a master carpenter, has just moved to Alabama to pursue a job opportunity, bringing along his pregnant wife and young daughter. Birmingham is in its heyday, known as the “Magic City” for its booming steel industry. But with his beautiful, light-skinned wife and snazzy car, Robert begins to worry that he might be drawing the wrong kind of attention in his new town.    Detroit, 2019: Meghan McKenzie, the youngest reporter at the Detroit Free Press , has grown up hearing family lore about her great-grandfather’s murder—but no one knows what really happened back then. Determined to find answers to her family’s long-buried tragedy, Meghan travels to Birmingham. But as her investigation begins to uncover dark secrets that spider across both the city and time, her life may be in danger.     Inspired by true events, Time’s Undoing is both a passionate tale of one woman’s quest for the truth behind the racially motivated trauma that has haunted her family for generations and, as newfound friends and supporters in Birmingham rally around Meghan’s search, the uplifting story of a community coming together to fight for change. *A finalist for the Agatha Award for Best Historical Mystery* *An Indie Next Pick* *A Left Coast Crime 2024 Lefty Award Nominee for the Best Historical Mystery* *A finalist for the LA Times Book Prize, Mystery/Thriller Category* *An Anthony Award Nominee* *A Sue Feder Memorial Award for Best Historical Mystery Nominee* *A Strand Critics Award Nominee for Best Mystery Novel* *A Hurston Wright Legacy Award Finalist* “Head excels in this great pleasure of a crime novel. She infuses her challenging subject with a finely calibrated balance of vulnerability, care, and empowerment; the effect is galvanizing. . . . Few books feel more timely or needed than this one.” — The Atlantic "Head is wrestling with the sins of the past in this dual timeline crime novel. Head is a veteran mystery writer; Time’s Undoing , inspired by painful family history, is her finest work. After years covering the Black Lives Matter movement, Detroit-based writer Meghan McKenzie has done work she’s proud of, but she’s truly haunted by a story that’s never been told. After a strange incident, she goes south to Alabama to uncover the truth about the nearly century-old murder of her great-grandfather. Though that event is many decades old, in this town where everyone knows and minds everyone else’s business, the wounds feel realistically fresh — so the questions Meghan asks and the secrets she unearths quickly put her in danger. This small-town Southern crime novel is a penetrating page turner." —Boston Globe “Inspired by the true story of the author’s own family, one of 2023’s hottest releases is a dual timeline and dual perspective murder mystery with one foot in 1929 and the other in 2019. . . . Head is a veteran author known for her well-loved Charlie Mack Motown Mystery detective series and this sharply observed stand-alone blending of historical fiction and mystery only burnishes that reputation.” —Oprah Daily “Times Undoing is a harrowing yet beautiful journey into the heart of darkness that beats in the center of the American experience. A tour de force.” —S. A. Cosby, New York Times bestselling author of Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland “The sort of book you don’t want to put down — and you can’t forget once you’re finished.” —Detroit Free Press “Head paints a vibrant picture of present-day Birmingham. . . . She also brings rich detail to the everyday lives of her characters in 1929. Time’s Undoing is an absorbing mystery and a moving lesson in Black history as it plays out in the lives of families through generations.” —Tampa Bay Times “This small-town Southern crime novel is a penetrating page turner.” — Carole V. Bell, The Boston Globe “An outstanding stand-alone novel that excavates one woman’s family history wrapped in racism, violence, and legend. Head smoothly incorporates those themes in the gripping, believable plot of Time’s Undoing .” —South Florida Sun Sentinel “Head . . . brings her gift for strong women protagonists and suspense to this tale about a young, Black, female journalist from Detroit on a dangerous quest. . . . Vivid and affecting . . . This heart-seizing tale even has a touch of the supernatural as it celebrates Black lives.”— Booklist (starred review) “The parallel narratives work with poignancy and righteous rage. So many decades gone, so few inroads made into the racism at the foundation of United States history. Head and her Black colleagues in this genre are lifting up new stories, to everyone's benefit.” —NPR “Depicts the power of friends and community . . . will please the autho