"Juju assassins, alternate history, a gritty New York crime story. in a word: awesome" --N.K. Jemisin, New York Times bestselling author of The Fifth Season "Beware this magnificent beguilement of a novel: once begun, Alaya Dawn Johnson's Trouble the Saints won't let you go." --Kelly Link, New York Times bestselling author of Get In Trouble "A knotty, painful, gorgeously told historical fantasy in which nobody's hands are clean, nobody escapes the consequences of their own actions and the past will not stay buried" - NPR, Best Books of 2020 "Beautiful prose and an omnipresent sense of regret build an intense, dark mood throughout the whole book. Johnson explores the intersection of race, violence and personal identity in this powerful, passionate story." -- Bookpage, " Science Fiction & Fantasy: August 2020" "Johnson's secret history is a nuanced portrait of racism in all of its poisonous flavors, brutally overt and unsuccessfully covert. In musical prose, she also offers passionate and painful depictions of the love expressed in romance and friendship and the sacrifices such love can demand.

A sad, lovely, and blood-soaked song of a book." -- Kirkus Reviews , starred review "Literary firecracker" -- Publishers Weekly "If you wanted a heavily character-driven narrative, laced with mysticism, this is for you.Demanding of attention and a reader with intention, this story carries a girth that will satisfy literary and historical fiction readers alike." -- Goodreads "Expect a multidimensional approach to the context of the early 1940s, complete with World War II, being non-white in America, and misogyny, and how its characters imperfectly wade through it as they hurt, heal, protect, and betray. A wonderfully deep read for the forlorn New Yorker's heart." -- Black Nerd Problems.