Witnesses for the Dead: Stories

The stories in this collection are inspired by Darnella Frazier’s actions in recording George Floyd’s murder. They feature characters who observe a crime, then take the initiative to see that the guilty are punished, and the victim receives justice. Usually the stories feature ordinary people who witness the crime in the course of their daily lives. Editors Haywood and Phillips are two of the authors included in the collection. In Haywood’s “On Gossamer Wings,” the police have to determine if a jumper’s death was murder or suicide. Phillips’s story, “Spiders and Fly,” confronts police corruption. Alex Segura’s series character, sports reporter Pete Fernandez, fails to get a basketball story, but witnesses a hit-and-run in “Post-Game.” There are other stories that stand out, by authors Sarah M. Chen, Pamela Samuels Young, Cara Black, and Darrell James.