Praise for Casualties of Truth:An NPR Best Book of 2025Winner of the Independent Publishers IPPY Award for Literary Fiction in SilverA 2025 Women’s National Book Association Great Group Reads pickNominated for the Dublin Literary AwardLonglisted for the Carol Shields Prize for FictionA New York Public Library Book of the Day“The atrocities of South Africa’s apartheid refuse to stay buried for Prudence, one half of a Black power couple in Washington who, by all outward appearances, leads a charmed life. Jumping between 1996 Johannesburg and modern-day D.C., Francis-Sharma weaves together a tale of dual reckonings for both an individual woman and an entire country.”—New York Times Book Review, Paperback Row“Piercing and provocative . . . [Unsettles] simple notions of public and private justice, retribution, harm, and healing . . . The novel is underpinned by fierce and intelligent engagement with thorny questions, but it is also fueled by artful suspense . . . [Francis-Sharma] pushes her characters to the edge, where they must confront the moral costs of their darkest desires.”—Nadia Owusu, Boston Globe“A gripping tale of restitution and lingering trauma.”—People, “Book of the Week”“Tense, timely . . . A brutal history lesson in the guise of a thriller. The novel is taut and deftly plotted . . . The potential for violence lurks beneath even the most innocuous surfaces, keeping Prudence (and the reader) perpetually on edge . . . A tale of dual reckonings, of a woman and a country both forced to face their histories and the harrowing violence that has shaped them.”—Violet Kupersmith, New York Times Book Review“I’ve admired Lauren Francis-Sharma’s work for years”—R.O. Kwon, Electric Literature, 48 Books by Women of Color to Read in 2025“Stunning . . . a gripping, thought-provoking novel that asks unflinching questions about justice, power, and reconciliation . . . It confronts the violence and systemic injustice of the era while forcing readers to consider universal questions: When is violence justified? Can vengeance bring healing? What does justice truly mean? . . . Francis-Sharma weaves a powerful story of survival, secrecy, and moral reckoning.”—Women’s National Book Association“Riveting . . . A gripping story which is difficult to put down and brings forgotten histories vividly to life.”—Syma Mohammed, San Francisco Chronicle“Thrillingly perceptive, Casualties of Truth is a reminder that no matter how much time passes, we can’t escape actions of our own or our country’s past.”—Booklist (starred review)“Fast-paced, engaging and surprising . . . The big questions it raises will stay open well after it closes.”—Bookpage“Thrilling . . . Moving forward from gross human rights violations is easier said than done when it’s personal. Prudence now stands on a taut line of suspense to shield her husband from the truth about her past, protect her son, and heal her own inner turmoil.”—WBUR“I could not put this down! Once again, Francis-Sharma’s phenomenal prose delivers; here, with exquisite suspense in a revenge story chocked full of thorny characters. This is an unforgiving tale of cat-and-mouse begging us to confront just how far we’d go to take control in a society hell-bent on minimizing our pain. These pages set loose the raging, wicked what-ifs we keep deeply and shamefully hidden inside our basements.”—Xochitl Gonzalez, author of Olga Dies Dreaming and Anita de Monte Laughs Last“Clever, provocative, and deeply felt. Casualties of Truth takes a clear and unflinching look at a complex system of oppression and delivers a vividly told and unforgettable story.”—Karin Slaughter, New York Times- and #1 internationally bestselling author“With laser-sharp prose and a keen eye for psychology, Casualties of Truth gives us a story of vengeance, justice, and the mutations of memory . . . This is a world in which no one is perfect, no one is at peace, and nothing can truly be forgotten. As riveting as it is important.”—Rebecca Makkai, author of I Have Some Questions for You“Casualties of Truth is a page-turner so engrossing that you never get distracted by the exceptional grace of its storytelling. Tense yet character-driven, Lauren Francis-Sharma has created a brilliant rumination on how we use the malleable clay of memory to sculpt our understanding of ourselves and the world.”—Mat Johnson, author of Pym and Invisible Things“At once riveting, ferocious, and deeply unsettling, Casualties of Truth is a necessary read. Lauren Francis-Sharma is a magician of a writer who masterfully blends a page-turning murder mystery-thriller with a powerful exploration of the liminal space between resilience and violence, memory and history, and vengeance and justice. I loved this book.”—Angie Kim, New York Times-bestselling author of Happiness Falls and Miracle Creek“Casualties of Truth is an astonishing novel that simmers with the hot heat of decades of death, injustice, and vengeance. Lauren Francis-Sharma’s characters are pitch perfect in their depth and her story is an unflinching study of the horrors of the South African Apartheid state. Brava!”—Wanda M. Morris, award-winning author of All Her Little Secrets, Anywhere You Run, and What You Leave Behind“Like the jacaranda’s fragrance and beauty, Casualties of Truth lures you in with exquisite writing and the delicate construction of fascinating characters. And then, like El Tunche, it devours you with truths about and insights into all the shades of humanity. Sheer brilliance.”—Deon Meyer, internationally bestselling author of The Dark FloodPraise for Book of the Little Axe:Fiction nominee for the 2021 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award“Offers fascinating characters across the broad sweep of the American continent at a time of great tumult, warring colonial powers, the spread of slavery, and expansion West. This is a compelling saga of family bonds, ambitions, and desires, all subject to the vagaries of powerful historical forces.”—Booklist (starred review)“[A] satisfying and perceptive transnational family saga . . . In this masterly epic, the pleasure lies in piecing everything together.”—Publishers Weekly“A persuasively researched account so richly evocative of a relatively obscure corner of history as to make it seem almost phantasmagorical.”—Kirkus Reviews“Book of the Little Axe is epic in ambition and scope, a sweeping tale that illuminates pivotal historical periods in Trinidad and North America, and the links between them. This is also the story of a young man’s coming of age and a mother’s secrets and a family’s love in the face of violence. Lauren Francis-Sharma brings her characters and their tangled histories to life with tremendous precision and sensitivity. This is the work of a major voice, a brilliant talent.”—Laura van den Berg, award winning author of The Third Hotel“They say the past is a foreign country but forget to mention that it’s also wild. Book of the Little Axe reminds us. Ranging from Trinidad to the mountainous West, Lauren Francis-Sharma has woven an emotional, immediate, ambitious story of love and belonging. Rather than retell a story of first contact between native people and newcomers to the new world, Francis-Sharma has produced a deeply moving novel about the ways in which all of us have always been connected.”—David Treuer, author of The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee“Book of the Little Axe is an epic novel that recreates the hybrid history of Native and African peoples during the era of American exploration and expansion. Lauren Francis-Sharma’s care for her characters and skill with her subject shine through every page.”—Laila Lalami, author of The Other Americans“A shimmering epic that forges new paths into the old territory of the American West. Brilliant and unforgettable. Book of the Little Axe is an astonishing journey.”—Debra Magpie Earling, author of Perma Red“Lauren Francis-Sharma has written one of those thrilling novels—so valuable and welcome—that adds (or better say restores) another strand to our national narrative. We’re all the richer for Book of the Little Axe.”—Peter Ho Davies, author of The Fortunes“From her gripping first sentence, Lauren Francis-Sharma draws her reader into her intoxicating tale of intrigue, love, conflict, and power struggle at a pivotal time in the histories of Trinidad and the western United States. Her research is meticulous, her prose seductive, her characters mesmerizing. Book of the Little Axe shines a bright light on the little-known connections between the Caribbean and the United States. Readers will find it almost impossible to put this book down.”—Elizabeth Nunez, author of Prospero’s Daughter and Even in Paradise“Francis-Sharma’s prose shines in this epic and propulsive historical novel that is set in Trinidad and the American West, and follows the life of Rosa Rendón, who is talented, bright, and fierce.”—Millions, “Most Anticipated: the Great First-Half 2020 Book Preview”“I recommend this book every chance I get . . . The sheer scope of the story, the unforgettable characters and the gorgeous prose makes this a must-read . . . I absolutely loved it.”—Ayanna Lloyd Banwo, BustlePraise for ’Til the Well Runs Dry:Black Caucus of the American Library Association 2015 Honor Book in Fiction“As universally touching as it is original.”—New York Times“Lauren Francis-Sharma turns the family drama on its ear with this lush, elegant epic.”—Essence Magazine“A saga ripe with heartbreak and joy . . . Francis-Sharma delivers a rich and satisfying debut on the ties of family, love, and culture.”―Kirkus Reviews
