
The Occidental Book of the Dead
The Literary Crime Masterpiece of 2026
T. Geronimo Johnson(Author)
Abacus (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 29. September 2026
Book
Hardback
672 pages
978-0-349-14919-6 (ISBN)
Description
The Wire meets Colson Whitehead in this audacious, darkly funny and dazzlingly innovative literary crime masterpiece about a black police officer in Atlanta, Georgia - and the fatal shooting of a suspect
'Johnson asks big questions about identity, corruption and American ideals'
TIME, Most Anticipated Books of 2026
George Washington Jonson has been in the Atlanta police force for a decade, patrolling the streets he grew up on and managing to build relationships within the force - especially with Tucker, the veteran police officer and self-described 'redneck' who taught Jonson the ropes.
Now it's 2005 and Jonson himself is tasked with training hot-headed rookie recruits. One night out on patrol with his trainee, Utner, a split-second confrontation with a white teenager takes a violent turn and Utner shoots the teenager dead. As the resulting furore mounts to a fever pitch, it threatens to expose the complex nest of lies that seethes beneath the entire city, and order must be restored.
So far, so Hollywood.
But then a dizzying somersault in the novel's structure upends the narrative and begins an even darker, more complicated and provocative story about racism, power and corruption - building to an unforgettable portrait of a nation divided.
'Johnson asks big questions about identity, corruption and American ideals'
TIME, Most Anticipated Books of 2026
George Washington Jonson has been in the Atlanta police force for a decade, patrolling the streets he grew up on and managing to build relationships within the force - especially with Tucker, the veteran police officer and self-described 'redneck' who taught Jonson the ropes.
Now it's 2005 and Jonson himself is tasked with training hot-headed rookie recruits. One night out on patrol with his trainee, Utner, a split-second confrontation with a white teenager takes a violent turn and Utner shoots the teenager dead. As the resulting furore mounts to a fever pitch, it threatens to expose the complex nest of lies that seethes beneath the entire city, and order must be restored.
So far, so Hollywood.
But then a dizzying somersault in the novel's structure upends the narrative and begins an even darker, more complicated and provocative story about racism, power and corruption - building to an unforgettable portrait of a nation divided.
Reviews / Votes
In T. Geronimo Johnson's Atlanta, racial tensions percolate and the system rarely bends to demands for justice. In his latest novel, the author of Welcome to Braggsville, a National Book Award finalist, explores the moral calculus of a Black cop who's implicated in the killing of a white teenager. In a narrative that unfolds over two decades, Johnson asks big questions about identity, corruption, and American ideals * TIME, Most Anticipated Books of 2026 *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-349-14919-6 (9780349149196)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
approx. 09/2026
Abacus
€16.08
Not yet available
Person
Born and raised in the American South, T. Geronimo Johnson is the bestselling author of Welcome to Braggsville, longlisted for the National Book Award and Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence; and Hold It 'Til It Hurts, a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award. He won the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence and the William Saroyan International Prize, received his M.F.A. from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he taught writing, and has held Stegner and Iowa Arts fellowships.