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Rainbow Black

A Novel

by Maggie Thrash

Narrator Hope Newhouse

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Length 12 hours 53 minutes

Language English

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Bookseller recommendation

“The setting: 1980s New Hampshire, a society roiled by suppressed memories. The characters: two young teens, parents convicted of child abuse arising from these memories. Maggie Thrash does not shy away in this compelling story.”
— Willard Williams • Balin Books

Bookseller recommendation

“A weird, and yet utterly compelling, look at the consequences of a child getting caught in the American 'justice' system. Thrash captures both the uncertainty and impulsiveness of a young teen who has both utterly lost her way and has been put in a situation where she needs to make life-changing decisions. Excellent on audio, as the narrator expertly captures the entire range of emotions that our main character goes through. I'll be thinking about this one for quite a while. ”
— Melissa • Watermark Books

Bookseller recommendation

“Rainbow Black is so many things; a mystery set at the height of the 80/90s Satanic Panic, a queer coming-of-age love story, 400 pages of injustice and resilience. We start our story with Lacey Bond, a thirteen-year-old burgeoning lesbian with hippie parents that run a daycare in the woods of New Hampshire and an older sister that outshines her in every way. Lacey's problems are pretty typical - excluding her mother's obvious drug addiction - until her parents are arrested on charges of over 30 counts of child abuse and occult activity. Lacey and her older sister Eclair have to endure months of classmates testifying to the abuse, court-ordered therapy and national media coverage, all without any real support. After a violent crime sends Lacey running, we're thrown into the future where she lives with her partner in Montreal, having found community, stability and comfort - but no real closure, and a past that is rapidly catching up to her. At once wild, darkly hilarious, and harrowing, Rainbow Black is the story of relationships forged through trauma and reinvention in the face of tremendous loss. Packed with extraordinary detail and tension, this is not a book you'll want to put down.”
— Emma • Quail Ridge Books

Summary
About the author

“I've loved Maggie Thrash's work for years, and Rainbow Black is going to set so many new hearts aflame—murder, intrigue, queer love, dark humor AND satanic panic? Welcome to the Maggie Thrash Fan Club, world!”—Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow

For readers of Donna Tartt and Ottessa Moshfegh comes a brilliant, deliriously entertaining novel from the acclaimed author of Honor Girl. Rainbow Black is part murder mystery, part gay international fugitive love story—set against the ’90s Satanic Panic and spanning 20 years in the life of a young woman pulled into its undertow.

Lacey Bond is a 13-year-old girl in New Hampshire growing up in the tranquility of her hippie parents’ rural daycare center.

Then the Satanic Panic hits. It’s the summer of 1990 when Lacey ’s parents are handcuffed, flung into the county jail, and faced with a torrent of jaw-dropping accusations as part of a mass hysteria sweeping the nation. When a horrific murder brings Lacey to the breaking point, she makes a ruthless choice that will haunt her for decades.

As an adult, Lacey mimes a normal life as the law clerk of an illustrious judge. She has a beautiful girlfriend, a measure of security, and the world has mostly forgotten about her. But after a tiny misstep spirals into an uncontrolled legal disaster, the hysteria threatens to begin all over again.

Rainbow Black is an addictive, searing, high-octane triumph, an imaginative tour de force about one woman’s tireless desire to be free.

Fiction LGBTQIA+ Fiction Fiction - Literary

Maggie Thrash is the author of the critically acclaimed graphic memoirs Honor Girl (a Los Angeles Times Book Prize nominee) and Lost Soul, Be At Peace, as well as two novels for young adults. Rainbow Black is her adult debut. Born and raised in Atlanta, she lives in New Hampshire.