Another hit of Lauren Francis-Sharma. 60 pages in and I knew that this was a 5/5 for me. The plot for Casualties of Truth is rocking. It will keep you reading. I'm not a consumer of thrillers, but the mix between historical fiction and thriller hit the spot. The plot goes back and forth between present day and the past.

I wept. I know very little about South African history, so reading some of the details of atrocities - particularly ones related to the plot - made me teary eyed. Francis-Sharma does a fantastic job of mixing history into the plot. Turns out that she was actually drawing from her own experiences, as she went to South African during the same period of time that Prudence went.

I enjoyed the comparison and reflection between the African American experience and the experience between Black/Coloured South Africans in South Africa. I think the interactions between Prudence and other Black South African characters were a great example of how marginalised characters in one place can still be privileged in another place regardless of skin colour. However the interactions between Prudence and White South Africans show that the end of the day, to White people ya still 'beneath' them. The exploration of race and identity was truly fascinating.

The characters' choices throughout the novel blowed me at times. However I was on the edge of my seat for it all. Casualties of Truth is a short, compact book that packs a powerful punch.