Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darktown | 2016 | Thomas Mullen | Buy |
| 2 | Lightning Men | 2017 | Thomas Mullen | Buy |
| 3 | Temps noirs | 2017 | Thomas Mullen | N/A |
| 4 | Midnight Atlanta | 2020 | Thomas Mullen | Buy |
The Darktown series by Thomas Mullen is set in Atlanta during the late 1940s and early 1950s, a period when the city hired its first Black police officers but gave them almost no real authority. They could not arrest white suspects, could not enter the white police station through the front door, and worked out of a basement.
Starting with Darktown (2016), the series follows officers Lucius Boggs and Tommy Smith as they investigate crimes in Atlanta’s Black neighborhoods. Lightning Men (2017) deepens the story as racial violence escalates, and Midnight Atlanta (2020) pushes the characters toward a reckoning with the forces that have held them back. The French edition, Temps noirs, is also included in the reading order.