Hard Times
A Novel
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected 17 Mar 2026
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- £10.99
Publisher Description
An extraordinary crime novel from a rising star, that follows the ripple effects of a tragic shooting throughout a Chicago community from the view of the teachers, police officers, and students impacted
“A deeply satisfying story with as much, heart, grit and history as the city that it’s set in.” —Xochitl Gonzalez, New York Times bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming
Buddy Mack has been caught in the middle of two worlds at war.
As an English teacher at a South Side, Chicago, high school lauded for its football team, but at risk in every other way, he tries to instill a love of literature. While all of his students face challenges, he’s especially concerned with a trio of boys who test him to no end but are full of promise and heart: Zeke, the football star; Truth, the sweet-talking charmer; and Dontell, Buddy’s most promising student.
At home, his wife, Chrissy, a successful corporate lawyer, is ready to upgrade to a big house on the North Side and start a family, but Buddy’s torn over the implications. And the closest person he has in his life to talk to is Chrissy’s little brother, Curtis, a corrupt Chicago cop.
When the two worlds collide in a shocking moment that rocks the school, Buddy has to choose a side and fight for all he holds dear. Hard Times takes stock of what it means to be there for your people whether you want to or not and unflinchingly confronts the American Dream—a moving, engrossing, and necessary read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Boyd (The Weight) excels with this gritty tale of a corrupt cop, a well-meaning high school teacher, and the violence faced by Black teens on Chicago's South Side. Curtis Thompson is a beat cop who has been promoted to the Drug and Gang Task Force. His brother-in-law, Buddy Mack, teaches high-school English. One of Buddy's students, Terrence "T-Rock" Latimore, gets killed after he's suspected of ratting out drug smuggler Rob Jackson to police officers. Curtis, meanwhile, has been taking hush money from a sergeant who's in league with Rob. After surveilling Rob's house, Curtis and his partner follow two teens when they leave the building, suspecting them of trafficking. After a botched arrest, the teens flee, and Curtis shoots one in the back. Curtis's victim turns out to be Rob's nephew and Buddy's student, Truth Jackson, a basketball prospect who hopes to escape the life of crime Rob has been preparing him for. Truth survives, and Curtis is forced to take a desk job while Internal Affairs investigates the shooting along with Curtis's role in the department's corruption. Boyd's stark realism and fatalistic view of the characters' milieu makes the hopeful ending all the more triumphant. This one hits hard.
