Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Long Way Home | 2013 | Cheryl A. Head | Buy |
| 2 | Time’s Undoing | 2023 | Cheryl A. Head | Buy |
Cheryl A. Head’s standalone novels bookend her mystery series. Long Way Home (2013) was her debut, and Time’s Undoing (2023) follows a Detroit journalist who investigates the murder of her great-grandfather in 1929 Birmingham, Alabama, uncovering a story buried by decades of racial violence.
Time’s Undoing splits its narrative between the present-day investigation and the 1929 timeline. The journalist pieces together what happened to her ancestor while confronting the systemic racism that kept the truth hidden. Head drew on real history to build the novel’s setting and atmosphere.
The ten-year gap between these two standalones reflects Head’s focus on her Charlie Mack Motown Mystery series during the intervening years. Readers who enjoyed the Detroit setting and social awareness of those mysteries will find Time’s Undoing continues those themes in a different format.