Reviews

The Rope: A True Story of Murder, Heroism, and the Dawn of the NAACP by Alex Tresniowski

rainbowbookworm's review against another edition

4.0

A remarkable tale about a Black man accused of a heinous murder he could not have committed and the search for truth while the man sits in a jail cell. Tresniowski does a great job weaving together various narrative strands into a cohesive, compelling narrative.

whipsmile's review against another edition

5.0

I'm so glad this book brought my attention to Ida Wells. I did not know who she was before I read this and I will certainly by reading up more on her.

There are a lot of characters and story lines in this one, but the author does a great job keeping things in line and focused for the reader. There are several heroic figures in this story as well as true villains. I got chills and teared up at one point of an act of heroism and fate.

Would highly recommend for fans of true crime, detective stories, and race relations in American history that echoes to today.

_blondebookworm_'s review against another edition

3.0

• mini review •
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The Rope: A True Story of Murder, Heroism, and the Dawn of the NASCP By: Alex Tresiowksi
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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There was just a little too much going on in this story. There were many moving parts that were connected in sense but overwhelming at times. I enjoyed the historical aspects of Ida B Wells and her connection to lynching but it was separate from the murder itself.
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The murder of the young girl was tragic. Finding out the killer was a very long process and took a majority of the book. The details of the murder are graphic and shocking. Many triggers are listed below:
Murder, rape, racism police brutality, severe assaults and explicit, lynching
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Thanks @netgalley for my ARC
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beaglevortex's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

frances_ab's review against another edition

3.0

This could have been two separate books-one a story of the murder of a young girl and a private detective doing the job that should have been done by the police, one a look at the life and development of Ida B Wells, a famous crusader for the rights of African Americans and against lynching. Wells' history and actions were by far the more interesting part of this book, and by about 2/3 of the way through I was skipping over the murder investigation. Additionally, while the PI was definitely working hard to find the true guilty party and by extension to save the man who had been wrongly accused, his tactics were so egregious that I was left feeling quite conflicted about the whole process. There was great history in this book, but I would have preferred more emphasis on Wells and her work, and the development of the NAACP.

lindseycrouch's review against another edition

4.0

I got this book free from NetGalley and overall I liked it. I really liked the background on Ida B. Wells and her anti-lynching work, and I like a true crime story that has a sneaky big impact on history. My only complaint is that it was a little shallow. It talks about a lot of things, and all of them are interesting but it didn't really tackle any of them in a really meaningful way. For example, it says right in the subtitle that it's about the beginnings of the NAACP and that's true, but the NAACP is hardly mentioned and he has to explain in the last chapter why Ida B. Wells and this murder were key in the beginnings of the NAACP, which felt a little sloppy because for being a key element it should have been way more obvious.

artemispenny's review

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

ssaurer's review

dark informative medium-paced

2.5

bob_dw's review against another edition

4.0

The Rope is an interesting true life murder mystery that took place in Asbury Park N.J. in 1910. Racial prejudice leads to the arrest of a black man who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Through the course of the story Tresniowski provides insight into the creation of Asbury Park, the NAACP, and the private detective industry. Through a fairly minor connection, he also provides a short biography of Ida B Wells. The rope is well worth the read even with the slightly clumsy structure.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

fungivibes's review

challenging emotional inspiring medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Violence