2024 Anthony Award for Best Hardcover Novel (nominee)
2024 Lefty Award for Best Historical Mystery Novel (nominee)
2024 Macavity Award for Best Historical Novel (nominee)
2023 Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel (nominee)
2023 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller (nominee)
A searing and tender novel about a young Black journalist’s search for answers in the unsolved murder of her great-grandfather in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, decades ago—inspired by the author’s own family history
Birmingham, 1929: Robert Lee Harrington, a master carpenter, has just moved to Alabama to pursue a job opportunity, bringing along his pregnant wife and young daughter. Birmingham is in its heyday, known as the “Magic City” for its booming steel industry, and while Robert and his family find much to enjoy in the city’s busy markets and vibrant nightlife, it’s also a stronghold for the Klan. And with his beautiful, light-skinned wife and snazzy car, Robert begins to worry that he might be drawing the wrong kind of attention.
2019: Meghan McKenzie, the youngest reporter at the Detroit Free Press, has grown up hearing family lore about her great-grandfather’s murder—but no one knows the full story of what really happened back then, and his body was never found. Determined to find answers to her family’s long-buried tragedy and spurred by the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement, Meghan travels to Birmingham. But as her investigation begins to uncover dark secrets that spider across both the city and time, her life may be in danger.
Inspired by true events, Time’s Undoing is both a passionate tale of one woman’s quest for the truth behind the racially motivated trauma that has haunted her family for generations and, as newfound friends and supporters in Birmingham rally around Meghan’s search, the uplifting story of a community coming together to fight for change.
Genre: Mystery
Birmingham, 1929: Robert Lee Harrington, a master carpenter, has just moved to Alabama to pursue a job opportunity, bringing along his pregnant wife and young daughter. Birmingham is in its heyday, known as the “Magic City” for its booming steel industry, and while Robert and his family find much to enjoy in the city’s busy markets and vibrant nightlife, it’s also a stronghold for the Klan. And with his beautiful, light-skinned wife and snazzy car, Robert begins to worry that he might be drawing the wrong kind of attention.
2019: Meghan McKenzie, the youngest reporter at the Detroit Free Press, has grown up hearing family lore about her great-grandfather’s murder—but no one knows the full story of what really happened back then, and his body was never found. Determined to find answers to her family’s long-buried tragedy and spurred by the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement, Meghan travels to Birmingham. But as her investigation begins to uncover dark secrets that spider across both the city and time, her life may be in danger.
Inspired by true events, Time’s Undoing is both a passionate tale of one woman’s quest for the truth behind the racially motivated trauma that has haunted her family for generations and, as newfound friends and supporters in Birmingham rally around Meghan’s search, the uplifting story of a community coming together to fight for change.
Genre: Mystery
Praise for this book
"Cheryl Head's Time's Undoing is a poignant tale of one family's generational trauma and the strength and bravery of one woman's quest to uncover her history, her truth, and to finally find healing for her family. This is a story told in the most eloquent and gut-wrenching of ways, leaving me completely undone." - Yasmin Angoe
"Cheryl Head's Time's Undoing is truly mesmerizing. What a first-rate melding of painful past and hopeful future told by a master storyteller who gives readers a visceral look at the human cost of hate and fear and both heart and wings to redemptive peace. You won't be able to put it down. I couldn't." - Tracy Clark
"A captivating and rich narrative of history and murder. Laden with echoes of the long-standing racial bias between Black people and law enforcement, the dual timeline of this suspense-filled story tells of one woman's entanglement and reckoning with it. Immersive. Impassioned. Time's Undoing will have readers hooked from page one. Highly recommended." - Abby Collette
"Times Undoing is a harrowing yet beautiful journey into the heart of darkness that beats in the center of the American Experience. A tour de force." - S A Cosby
"Head's novel provides not only an in-depth, fascinating portrait of a journalist in pursuit of a story, but also stands as a searing indictment of America's racist legacy, from today's BLM movement to the struggles of Black men and women a hundred years earlier. A suspenseful, immersive read that you won't be able to put down." - Fiona Davis
"Time's Undoing is time well spent - a heartbreaking dual timeline tale about the murder of a Black man in 1929 Birmingham and his great-granddaughter's dogged attempts to find out what happened 90 years later. Cheryl Head uses her own grandfather's murder at the hands of the local police to craft an unforgettable novel that's a compelling mix of historical family drama, well-plotted mystery, and searing social commentary." - Kellye Garrett
"Cheryl A. Head weaves a compelling, important tale of institutional racism and long-delayed justice in Time's Undoing. In Head's capable hands, this story of an intrepid reporter with a personal mission becomes both a chronicle of a devastatingly unjust past and a tale of a community working together to find a better way forward. An emotional portrait of the painful legacy of racism in America--and a reminder of how much work we still need to do to build a better future." - Kristin Harmel
"In Time's Undoing, Cheryl Head establishes herself as a literary star. The clarity of her storytelling unravels the hard truths of racism against Black people in this nation, and how the fight against such injustices is a constant, intentional choice. A must-read novel that is sure to be embraced by a wide audience." - Naomi Hirahara
"Cheryl A. Head's novel, Time's Undoing, is a searing and utterly disturbing look at life for the ancestors, and what it meant to be Black and stay alive in the Jim Crow south. But it is also a hopeful and endearing story of love, loss and the protection of our most precious commodity -- a family's history. This book will resonate with anyone who's ever looked at an old family photograph or listened to a story passed down through the generations and wondered, what if?" - Wanda M Morris
"Cheryl Head's storytelling skills are on full display in this enjoyable and piercing novel about one young woman's courageous search for answers about her family's past. Time's Undoing is a poignant meditation on how the legacies of both trauma - and triumph - shape our lives. Head's efforts to excavate the past in the pages of this novel is a painful reckoning with racism, but ultimately a hopeful exercise in understanding resilience, grace and the importance of history to tell us who we are and who we might become, as individuals and as a country. Pull up a chair book clubs because there's lots to discuss!" - Christine Pride
"Time's Undoing is a novel both timeless and timely, exploring the complicated connections between a young Black journalist embroiled in the Black Lives Matter movement who decides to investigate a long-standing family mystery: the unsolved murder of her great-grandfather in segregated Alabama decades ago. Cheryl A. Head writes a sensitive and searing tale based on personal family history, which is sure to linger long in the memory." - Kate Quinn
"Powerful, timely, emotional and loaded with intensity, Cheryl Head's Time's Undoing uses fiction to do what novels do best - shine a light on society while telling a page-turning story. In Meghan McKenzie, Head has created a fully-realized protagonist who guides readers through a haunting tale that is based on true events. Urgent, riveting, and heartfelt - I was immersed from page one." - Alex Segura
"Time's Undoing is a deeply absorbing and intricately-woven story of racial injustice and the healing power of truth. It confronts the issue of police brutality on the epic scale of decades and generations whilst preserving the intimate, human detail that gives the novel its heart." - Eleanor Shearer
"Cheryl Head's Time's Undoing is truly mesmerizing. What a first-rate melding of painful past and hopeful future told by a master storyteller who gives readers a visceral look at the human cost of hate and fear and both heart and wings to redemptive peace. You won't be able to put it down. I couldn't." - Tracy Clark
"A captivating and rich narrative of history and murder. Laden with echoes of the long-standing racial bias between Black people and law enforcement, the dual timeline of this suspense-filled story tells of one woman's entanglement and reckoning with it. Immersive. Impassioned. Time's Undoing will have readers hooked from page one. Highly recommended." - Abby Collette
"Times Undoing is a harrowing yet beautiful journey into the heart of darkness that beats in the center of the American Experience. A tour de force." - S A Cosby
"Head's novel provides not only an in-depth, fascinating portrait of a journalist in pursuit of a story, but also stands as a searing indictment of America's racist legacy, from today's BLM movement to the struggles of Black men and women a hundred years earlier. A suspenseful, immersive read that you won't be able to put down." - Fiona Davis
"Time's Undoing is time well spent - a heartbreaking dual timeline tale about the murder of a Black man in 1929 Birmingham and his great-granddaughter's dogged attempts to find out what happened 90 years later. Cheryl Head uses her own grandfather's murder at the hands of the local police to craft an unforgettable novel that's a compelling mix of historical family drama, well-plotted mystery, and searing social commentary." - Kellye Garrett
"Cheryl A. Head weaves a compelling, important tale of institutional racism and long-delayed justice in Time's Undoing. In Head's capable hands, this story of an intrepid reporter with a personal mission becomes both a chronicle of a devastatingly unjust past and a tale of a community working together to find a better way forward. An emotional portrait of the painful legacy of racism in America--and a reminder of how much work we still need to do to build a better future." - Kristin Harmel
"In Time's Undoing, Cheryl Head establishes herself as a literary star. The clarity of her storytelling unravels the hard truths of racism against Black people in this nation, and how the fight against such injustices is a constant, intentional choice. A must-read novel that is sure to be embraced by a wide audience." - Naomi Hirahara
"Cheryl A. Head's novel, Time's Undoing, is a searing and utterly disturbing look at life for the ancestors, and what it meant to be Black and stay alive in the Jim Crow south. But it is also a hopeful and endearing story of love, loss and the protection of our most precious commodity -- a family's history. This book will resonate with anyone who's ever looked at an old family photograph or listened to a story passed down through the generations and wondered, what if?" - Wanda M Morris
"Cheryl Head's storytelling skills are on full display in this enjoyable and piercing novel about one young woman's courageous search for answers about her family's past. Time's Undoing is a poignant meditation on how the legacies of both trauma - and triumph - shape our lives. Head's efforts to excavate the past in the pages of this novel is a painful reckoning with racism, but ultimately a hopeful exercise in understanding resilience, grace and the importance of history to tell us who we are and who we might become, as individuals and as a country. Pull up a chair book clubs because there's lots to discuss!" - Christine Pride
"Time's Undoing is a novel both timeless and timely, exploring the complicated connections between a young Black journalist embroiled in the Black Lives Matter movement who decides to investigate a long-standing family mystery: the unsolved murder of her great-grandfather in segregated Alabama decades ago. Cheryl A. Head writes a sensitive and searing tale based on personal family history, which is sure to linger long in the memory." - Kate Quinn
"Powerful, timely, emotional and loaded with intensity, Cheryl Head's Time's Undoing uses fiction to do what novels do best - shine a light on society while telling a page-turning story. In Meghan McKenzie, Head has created a fully-realized protagonist who guides readers through a haunting tale that is based on true events. Urgent, riveting, and heartfelt - I was immersed from page one." - Alex Segura
"Time's Undoing is a deeply absorbing and intricately-woven story of racial injustice and the healing power of truth. It confronts the issue of police brutality on the epic scale of decades and generations whilst preserving the intimate, human detail that gives the novel its heart." - Eleanor Shearer
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