Three-Fifths

(Paperback)

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NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE CHICAGO TRIBUNENAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2020 BY THE GUARDIAN UK

Pittsburgh, 1995. The son of a black father hes never known and a white mother he sometimes wishes he didnt, 22-year-old Bobby Saraceno is passing for white. Raised by his bigoted maternal grandfather, Bobby has hidden his truth from everyone, even his best friend and fellow comic-book geek, Aaron, who has just returned home from prison a hardened racist.

Bobbys disparate worlds collide when his and Aarons reunion is interrupted by a confrontation where Bobby witnesses Aaron assault a young black man with a brick. Fearing for his safety and his freedom, Bobby must keep his secret from Aaron and conceal his unwitting involvement in the hate crime from the police. But Bobbys delicate house of cards crumbles when his father enters his life after more than 20 years.

Reviews

Outstanding Praise for THREE-FIFTHS LONG-LISTED FOR THE DAGGER AWARD NOMINATED FOR THE EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL NOMINATED FOR THE STRAND CRITICS AWARD FOR BEST DEBUT NOVEL NOMINATED FOR THE ANTHONY AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL NOMINATED FOR THE LEFTY AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL Named one of The Best Books of the Year by The Chicago Tribune "Vercher deftly explores identity and the ethics of accountability in this debut. Fans of realistic social issue narratives will be immersed in the moral dilemmas of this timely novel."Library Journal (Starred Review) "Vercher builds strong, multifaceted characters with bold strokes, using the tools of noir to present what is finally a full-blown tragedy.Bill Ott, Booklist (Starred Review) "One of the best books of the week."New York Post A sad, swift tale bearing rueful observations about color and class as urgent now as 24 years ago.Kirkus Reviews "John Vercher has such love and compassion for his characters in Three-Fifths that I couldn't help but be sucked into their lives from the very first pages. It's so incredibly suspenseful that I was continually surprised by the story and deeply moved by the time I turned the last page."Attica Locke, award-winning author of PLEASANTVILLE, THE CUTTING SEASON and BLACK WATER RISING "A brilliant page turner. John Vercher is a gifted new voice in the crime fiction genre; I cant wait to see what he does next."Sujata Massey, author of THE WIDOWS OF MALABAR HILL "John Vercher has achieved what few others have: he has swung open a door that others either knew was there and feared what was behind it, or acknowledged what was there and falsely nullified its deceptions and dangers. This is a crime story that masterfully, beautifully, ingeniously reveals the duplicity of racial psychology and the far-reaching violence it spawns on the American landscape."Stephen Mack Jones, author of the AUGUST SNOW thriller series "Feverishly entertaining. Resoundingly important. A book treading this kind of ground should not be able to move this fast. THREE-FIFTHS is an honest, fearless page-burner. Vercher is a writer to watch."David Joy, author of THE LINE THAT HELD US "In THREE-FIFTHS, John Vercher uses an explosive act of violence to tell a very harrowing, very relevant story about race, but also family and friendship and masculinityand all the dangers that come with those things. Keep your eye on Vercherany writer who comes out of the gate this strong is bound for great things."Rob Hart, author of THE WAREHOUSE and the ASH MCKENNA crime series "An incredibly timely narrative that packs a violent, heartbreaking punch. Vercher is now on the map."Criminal Element "If a book can be both difficult to read and impossible to put down, its this book. You should read books that challenge you. This is such a book."BookRiot " Readers must not only read THREE-FIFTHS, they must share THREE-FIFTHS, and above all, we must talk about THREE-FIFTHS."BOLO Books "[A] searingly unforgettable story of secrets, identity, violence, and obsession. The book is short, but the effect on the reader will be long."Neil Nyren, BookTrib "A complex narrative with far-reaching societal calamities prevail in this riveting and gripping drama consumed by flaw and emotionally driven characters festering along the racial divide."Dru's Book Musings

Author Bio

John Vercher is a writer currently living in the Philadelphia area with his wife and two sons. He holds a Bachelors in English from the University of Pittsburgh and an MFA in Creative Writing from the Mountainview Master of Fine Arts program. His fiction has appeared on Akashic Books Mondays are Murder and Fri-SciFi. and he is a contributing writer for Cognoscenti, the thoughts and opinions page of WBUR Boston. Two of his essays published there on race, identity, and parenting were picked up by NPR, and he has appeared on WBURs Weekend Edition. His non-fiction has also appeared in Entropy Magazine. You can find him on his website www.johnvercherauthor.com and on Twitter at @jverch75.