Thanks to Ecco Books for the free copy of this book.

In 1991 Los Angeles, a black teenage girl was shot by a Korean shop owner who believed she was shoplifting. 30 years later, in 2019, the tensions that fueled the LA riots are rising again with the death of a black boy at the hands of the police. In the wake of this, the two families from the 1991 shooting are brought unexpectedly, violently, back together.

YOUR HOUSE WILL PAY is based on a real-life murder. Cha takes the basics of that story and weaves a complex, painful story of two families bound together through intergenerational violence.

While we do see the point of view of the families on both sides of the murder, it's not a "let's hear both sides" sort of story. It's all so much more complicated than that, and Cha very clearly lays out how people can be complicated and multifaceted and contradictory in their actions. The book also shows how systemic racism affects both the black and Korean communities, who has the luxury of staying removed from the story, and who pays the price. It's deeply layered while also being a completely gripping read.