There Used to Be People Here by Kennedy Cole is a science fiction horror novel that combines an investigation into a mysterious death with a disturbing portrait of racism in 1970s Mississippi. I found myself torn between admiration for Cole’s portrayal of a Black detective navigating a community that seems determined to make his life miserable and frustration with the decisions that detective makes once the investigation takes an increasingly bizarre turn. The novel has some compelling ideas about what it means to exist as an outsider in a hostile society, but its characters’ behavior made it difficult for me to remain invested in the story.
Set in Wenton, Mississippi, the novel begins when a man enters the bathroom of a local gay bar and never returns. His body is discovered on the floor, facing the wall, and nobody seems to have an explanation for what happened to him. Samuel Barkley, the town’s only Black detective, takes the case alongside Harvey, a temporary partner whose presence complicates an already uncomfortable working life. As Samuel investigates, the case leads him toward a supposed plane crash and a cover-up that reveals something far stranger than an ordinary murder. Whatever has arrived in Wenton is not human, and it seems to have no intention of leaving.
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