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The Man Who Turned Both Cheeks

A Novel

About The Book

Jamaica is the picturesque background for this explosive novel about love, fear, and intolerance, the second in Gillian Royes’s mystery series featuring charming and charismatic bartender-turned-detective Shad.

With the arrival of Joseph, estranged son of Eric, the bar’s owner, hopes for the village’s future come alive but are soon to be threatened. Janna, who has returned to the island, falls for Joseph’s good looks and charm, but she isn’t the only one with an eye for this mysterious man.

As questions about Joseph’s sexuality arise, Shad struggles with protecting the survival of his beloved birthplace amid the deeply ingrained culture of intolerance that surrounds him. What it means to be a man and a father raises questions within Shad’s own home, as his longtime love, Beth, pressures him to make a commitment.

In a land where religion is strong, but life is cheap and violence is often the answer, what will it take for Shad to protect Eric and his family? In this truth-telling sequel to The Goat Woman of Largo Bay, the village must confront its own darkness or lose a bright future.

About The Author

Photograph by Migdalia Brathwaite

Gillian Royes is the creator of the Shad series, detective novels that take place on the North Coast of Jamaica. The first in the series is The Goat Woman of Largo Bay, followed by The Man Who Turned Both Cheeks, The Sea Grape Tree, and The Rhythm of the August Rain. Prior to that she authored two nonfiction works entitled Business Is Good and Sexcess: The New Gender Rules at Work. She has also ventured into scriptwriting with Preciosa, a film directed by Peter Sagnia, as well as a play called How to Be an Immigrant. A native of Jamaica, Gillian pursued her higher education in the United States, obtaining a doctorate from Emory University. She currently lives in Atlanta and on the island of St. Croix, where she lectures at the University of the Virgin Islands. Find out more at GillianRoyes.com.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Atria Books (December 4, 2012)
  • Length: 464 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781451627442

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Raves and Reviews

“Royes’s strong sequel to her fiction debut, 2011’s The Goat Woman of Largo Bay, deepens the character of Shad Meyers . . . . in this sensitive, thought-provoking novel.” – Publishers Weekly

"Royes is brilliant in bringing Jamaican sun and sea, people and places to life."

– Kirkus Review

"Royes' Jamaica is lush, stormy and stronger than the rum punch cocktails that Shad pours over ice."

– Associated Press

Praise for Gillian Royes's The Goat Woman of Largo Bay:

"Strong characters and vivid descriptive passages." —Kirkus Reviews

"The writing in The Goat Woman of Largo Bay is poetic at times and the plotting of the story is more literary in its approach but still leads to a tense climax that will have the reader engrossed to the end." —New York Journal of Books

“A first class detective story . . . . impossible to put down.” – Pearl Cleage, author of Just Wanna Testify

"Gillian Royes weaves beautiful story." —Dr. Marta Moreno Vega, author of When the Spirits Dance Mambo

"An irresistable character is born in The Goat Woman of Largo Bay and Royes wonderfully blends suspense and the soul of the island in this smart debut." —Jamaican.com

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More books from this author: Gillian Royes

More books in this series: A Shadrack Myers Mystery