Dillard’s Promise by Gilbert Leslie: A Beautiful Thought-Provoking Mystery

Time to snuggle up with an insightful mystery book and a mug of your favorite warm drink to keep you cozy this winter! Dillard’s Promise is everything you could hope for in a book, with a plotline spanning generations, a gripping murder mystery, and characters that you will love to read. Let’s dive right into the spoiler-free plot and my thoughts on this book.

Spoiler Free Plot of Dillard’s Promise

It’s 1975, and tensions are rising among the black and the white populations of the township of Lafayette, Virginia. The future of black children could just change for the better with the Supreme Court’s radical order, but instead conflicts slowly escalate into a string of heartless murders of four white people. 

Fast forward a few decades and it’s 2010. Houston Jenkin’s life might just be on the brink of changing forever with his mother’s confounding deathbed confession. That, and the fact that he could somehow be connected to the cold-blooded murders that happened thirty-five years ago.

Would Houston be able to uncover the secrets about his lineage and fight against the prejudices black people have to face? What was the vow Dillard made to his wife and how will it affect his children?

Read Dillard’s Promise to find out!

My Thoughts on Dillard’s Promise

Dillard’s Promise offers more than your regular mystery book. With its intriguing plotline, excellent character development, and a thought-provoking glimpse into the racist history of Lafayette, readers will enjoy every aspect of the book.

The plot spans roughly three generations of a family and I loved how the author structured the plot across several timelines. The only downside to this was that I had to struggle through the names and the lineages, and I even mapped out tiny family trees for the characters to wrap my head around it, but it was all worth it in the end. 

I also loved how relatable all the characters were. I could feel the most for the kind Florence, who as a single black mother had to face the brunt of racism, even in her household. Moreover, I also liked how Sabrina acted as the steady rock in the face of the storm Houston had to face. Overall, the author really did a great job creating three-dimensional characters, each with haunting pasts or noble incentives to drive them to action.

I loved Gilbert Leslie’s simple writing style. He can transport you through time into fiction within a few words – straight into the historical world where being born black was probably no worse than being a criminal.

Dillard’s Promise is a cautionary tale that speaks for the justice of the underrepresented, a timeless piece of fiction and a mystery that will make you completely hooked.

An’ there ain’t no doubt ’bout it, boy — bein’ recist is evil. it’s an evil full with bein’ ig-rant, selfish, an’ a coward. Only cowards cain’t admit people that are diff’rent suffer ’cause of that difference. It’s selfish an’ evil that make you wanna hold on to that. Just ’cause it makes you feel ’bout you bein’ you. It’s makin’ a deal witht he devil, allowin’ racist notions into yer heart, boy.

Content Warnings

• Explicit content including some violence and a rape scene
• Heavy Cursing
• Suitable for mature audiences

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