Book Review: Rainbow Black by Maggie Thrash

{Thanks to the publisher for providing a complimentary review copy.}

A queer coming of age love story set against the backdrop of the Satanic Panic.

Need I say more?

I myself was all in at this point!

Just in case…

Lacey Bond is the younger of two sisters raised on a small New Hampshire farm by hippie parents who run a daycare out of their converted barn. In 1990, when Lacey is 13-years-old, their relatively normal existence is upended when her parents are arrested, accused of ritualistic abuse, and become embroiled in a high profile legal case.

Rainbow Black is first and foremost a deranged (and I mean this in the most loving way), queer, coming of age story spanning decades, but there’s really a lot going on here and much to appreciate: murder, mystery, love, trauma, resilience and reinvention. It takes a close look at freedom, justice, and systems that do more harm than good. The narrative is dual timeline told in hindsight until the last of three parts when we reconnect with Lacey as an adult. Unique and weird, though not so out there most readers will be unable to connect. I found this an irresistible page turner full of idiosyncratic characters.