I adored Promise Boys by Nick Brooks and so you know I had to read Up in Smoke. This contemporary kept me on my toes. I read this one in ONE day! Keep reading this book review of Up in Smoke for my full thoughts.
Summary
After Cooper King is pressured by big brother figure Jason to go on a looting spree during a local march, the unthinkable gunshots ring in the air and someone ends up dead. After Cooper flees, the news shows four teens in ski masks near the scene of the murder—Cooper and his friends. Cooper fears the cops will come knocking at his door, and the pressure only mounts when a suspect is taken into custody – Jason.
Monique, Jason’s sister and Cooper’s longtime crush, is willing to go any length to clear her brother’s name. Even if she needs to go into the belly of the beast and confront the killer herself. When she teams up with Cooper, they fall down the investigation rabbit hole and start to fall for each other. But little does Monique know that within this web of deception, Cooper is shrouding the truth that he was there when the shots went off. If the pair fail to uncover the real murderer, Jason will get locked up for a crime he didn’t commit—and drag down Cooper with him.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Up in Smoke is one of those books I read in both audio and physical form. Based on the amazing audiobook of Promise Boys, Up in Smoke doesn’t disappoint. With two narrators, the narration makes the poetry sections come alive! Up in Smoke is a fast paced mystery. I couldn’t stop listening as Cooper and Monique have to not only figure out their own feelings, but also solve the crime to absolve her brother. I also loved how Up in Smoke explores what we can do with these feelings of rage within this dysfunctional system.
(Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links. For more information you can look at the Policy page. If you’re uncomfortable with that, know you can look up the book on any of the sites below to avoid the link)
There’s layers of lies and secrets. Up in Smoke is about unraveling the secrets. It’s an avalanche of choices which ends up in disaster. But can Cooper and Monique save Jason and their budding feelings? Up in Smoke is the perfect book if you want a gripping mystery. Like with Brooks’s debut, the twists will get you! Find Up in Smoke on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.