I really liked the setting and artist connection in this book. And while I think it is fine to bring up a lot of societal woes, sometimes I read to escape that.

This book wasn't exactly what I expected. The writing is ok although at times confusing, but the mystery seems lost in all the social commentary about race tensions and social commentary.

There are promising ambitions behind Wil Medearis's "Restoration Heights", in which a frustrated artist turns amateur sleuth after an heiress disappears from a gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood. A long-term resident of Bed Stuy, protagonist Reddick spends his days hanging pictures and his off-hours shooting hoops, artistically immobilized by the pressures of late stage capitalism. When he is the last person to see the wealthy Hannah Granger before she vanishes, Reddick finds himself alone in the conviction that Hannah met with foul play. His search for answers forces him to confront the racial and economic disparities turning working class Brooklyn into a playground for the rich.

Medearis has a gift for creating memorable settings and scenes, and he brings to life believable New York characters in Reddick and those he encounters as he investigates Hannah's disappearance. Through these characters, Medearis captures various perspectives on gentrification, providing an of-the-moment slice of life. Unfortunately, the social commentary tends to be repetitive and overwhelms the plot.

This is yet another example. of a book being mislabeled to its detriment. This is not a genre thriller. It's a work of literary fiction that contains a mystery. This story is gritty, at the center is a missing woman. Our main character Reddick, happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, which results in him becoming fixated on finding her. It's a complicated story, about race and class, and the effects of gentrification. There's a lot going on, and the whole time, Reddick is facing his own personal struggles. The writing is strong, invoking vivid imagery of city life, race relations, organized crime, and the inner workings of wealthy families. It's a compelling read that got me thinking about issues I hadn't considered previously.

Late one night in Bedford Stuyvesant, Reddick is approached by a very drunk young woman. Before he can send her home in a car she disappears into one of the apartments in his building. Reddick is an artist whose main source of income is his job as an art handler. The next day Reddick goes to an upper east side townhouse as part of a crew arranging and packing paintings for the wealthy Seward family. In an amazing coincidence, Reddick discovers that the young woman just happens to be the fiancé of Buckley Seward. Buckley seems mildly disturbed that Hannah seems to have disappeared, but the Seward family has no intention of calling the police. Reddick is then approached by one of the Seward’s neighbors who asks Reddick to try to find Hannah. Of course it makes perfect sense for some random neighbor to make this request of a total stranger who has no experience as a detective (and for the stranger to accept the mission).

Reddick runs around in circles trying to find Hannah and peppers his friends with wild speculations about her disappearance. Unfortunately, the stakes in this mystery turned out to be very low, and there was really no pay off at the end. My reaction to the conclusion was “so what”? The book does not have any compelling characters, but it has a lot of discussion about gentrification, real estate deals, racial stereotypes and basketball.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

A young, white artist who resides in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in NY, becomes embroiled in a mystery. He works as an art handler to survive and is the last person to see, Hannah, alive.
Initially, you can not put the book down. Not only it is a commentary on gentrification, race, and class but serves as a quandary that keeps you turning those pages A real estate scam seems to be at the heart of it all.
Unfortunately, the message of the book become muddled and a bit confusing at times,

I picked up this book thinking it was going to be a mystery about a missing young woman. Yes, there was a missing woman and a young man obsessed with finding her after having only spoken to her once for a few minutes during a chance encounter. However, that mystery was completely overshadowed by the controversy over gentrification and racial issues of certain neighborhoods in New York. The main gist of the story is actually about a real estate scam. If you are from New York City or familiar with the problems, then you would probably like this story, which is basically well written. I have never been there, didn’t understand the neighborhood conflicts (or the many pages of basketball!), so I just did not care for it as it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. (2.5 stars)

Reddick is a young white man living in a historical black neighborhood. He is an artist but to pay the rent, works as an art handler. He hangs expensive art in exclusively rich Manhattan. In his free time he likes to play basketball at the local Y. As he goes to put the trash in the dumper, he is aware of a drunk woman standing nearby. Starting to talk to her, she is pulled back into a party at the next building. The drunk woman is Hannah who goes missing. Reddick has just installed art work in the Seward family’s home. Hannah is the fiancée of their son who is upset by not having heard from her. Reddick tells them where he last saw Hannah in an effort to help them find her. They aren’t interested in having the police involved in looking for her. As he leaves the home, he is pulled over by a man who tells him that Mrs. Leland, a “snooty” neighbor wants to see him. Mrs. Leland hires him to investigate Hannah’s disappearance. Why? Will Reddick be able to find Hannah?

The author has written a story that is more than a mystery. There’s the underlying theme of white privilege and racism. It is about how people act within their social and economic standing class. — about protecting their own. The author also includes the demands and problems of creating art. How the author managed to change the mystery into a novel about urban development made me what the author wanted his story to be a mystery or anout real estate growth. It’s a compelling read.

4.5 stars!

This novel kept me consumed from the very beginning! A page-turner addressing social issues in the middle of gentrified Bed-Stuy New York - all wrapped up in a murder mystery that entangles both the city's richest families and the poorest neighborhoods. I highly recommend this book!

A solid debut novel with equal parts activism and mystery. Provides an interesting social commentary on the gentrification of older neighborhoods in New York.

This is a first novel by Wil Medearis. It works well on the psychological and political level but does not really come together as a mystery. I do not understand what is compelling our young hero Reddick to take on the investigation. Yes he is curious, but most of us do not allow our curiosity to drive us like this. Reddick's logical leaps are a bit hard to digest too.

The secondary story lines follow themes of racial and community identity and outline the social changes effected by economic change in neighborhoods. People familiar with the film "Battle for Brooklyn" and in the rhetoric about gentrification will recognize them.

All in all it isn't too bad and we can hope that Mr. Medearis's next novel will build on his experience with this one.

An evenly-paced debut novel that wraps commentary about gentrification, racial bias, and economic gaps around a thrilling, mysterious plot headlined by a likable, complex protagonist.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was well-developed and intriguing. It could have perhaps benefitted from an epilogue, but even in its absence, the book didn't suffer. The action builds steadily and isn't derailed by the quality life-lessons that are explored along the way.

4 stars to this gritty debut novel with heart.

A compelling mystery peppered with a generous amount of social issues and art!

This was a well-crafted debut that really dissected the social issues impacting New York City... Full disclosure I do not live in New York, I have never been to New York, I probably will never go to New York, I live on the other side of the country in good old southern California where we have our own set of issues.... obviously we have a lot of the same social and racial issues, we are also a melting pot, however the LA area is very spread out and from what I can tell NYC is not.... all this is to say if you are a New Yorker or familiar with the area I think this book will resonate with you a bit more than it did me... that’s not to say I did not enjoy the book, I really did, I really enjoyed the characters, I loved how the story was told, I appreciated the discussion of social issues without being preachy, and most of all I really found the mystery complex and compelling.... Wil Medearis has seamlessly woven together a book that will make you both think and feel...

Reddick is a white man living in a mostly black area of Brooklyn... this is where he is most comfortable and he is not a fan of the impending gentrification of the area... he is also a struggling artist currently working as an art handler... if you are like me and had no idea there was such an occupation, he would go to the homes of the very wealthy and hang their priceless artworks... while working in the home of a wealthy family he hears about a missing girl, and soon figures out he might be the last one to have seen her.... but what would the fiancé of such a wealthy man be doing at a party in his Brooklyn apartment building? And even more puzzling why is the fiancé not more concerned? not contacting the police? Reddick is like a dog with a bone, he will stop at nothing to figure out what happened to Hannah...

Reddick was very passionate about social and racial issues and sometimes it clouded his judgment when it came to figuring this mystery out... it also dictated him getting involved in the first place, it was never quite clear why he would care so much about a complete stranger, other than to prove that this wealthy family was up to no good.... fortunately he had many friends in his life to ground him and to bounce ideas off of... I also really liked how he used his art to try to solve the mystery...And as he got deeper into the mystery he learned that things are much more complex than they appear to be... the web of deceit knows no color!

A slow burning mystery full of well-crafted characters and some thought-provoking issues, absolutely recommend!

🎧🎧🎧 I can guarantee that the audiobook narration to this story definitely added to my enjoyment! Angelo Di Loreto has a stellar voice and really brought all these characters to life, Reddick in particular... he really painted a picture of the story with his voice! And extremely well done audio!

🎵🎵🎵 song running through my head! Lyrics to the song really have nothing to do with this book, however this really was the song running through my head, because it is set in Brooklyn

No sleep till,
Brooklyn!
Foot on the pedal
Never ever false metal
Engine running hotter than a boiling kettle
My job ain't a job
It's a damn good time
City to city I'm running my rhymes.
On location
Touring around the nation
Beastie Boys always on vacation
Itchy trigger finger
But a stable turntable
I do what I do best
Because I'm willing and able.
Ain't no faking
Your money I'm taking
Going coast to coast to watch all the girlies shaking.
While you're at the job working nine to five
The Beastie Boys at the Garden
Cold kickin' it live.
No sleep till
Another plane
Another train
Another bottle in the brain
Another girl
Another fight
Another drive all night.
Our manager's crazy
He always smokes dust
He's got his own room at the back of the bus....
Beastie Boys 1986

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uZeXhC6SP2M

*** A huge thank you to Harlequin and Harper Audio for my copy of this book ***

Taut and Edge of your seat reading. You just have to keep reading to find out what's going on. Prepare to be as engrossed as I was. Definitely pick this up if you want to read a well written thriller. Happy reading!

This book was the story of an artist that becomes obsessed with a missing girl after he realizes he talked to her the night before in the alley.

The writing was great, but the story just wasn't everything I had hoped it would be. The main character was annoying, and completely unlikeable. I tried to give him a chance, but I hated him!

This is a touchy one. It's a well written meditation on class and race cloaked in a mystery tail. Reddick, a young white artist, is determined to find Hannah, the privileged daughter of one of his clients, because he believes he was the last person to see her before she disappeared. Reddick is a slacker, for want of a better word, who has not lived up to his abilities but is instead hanging the art of others and playing basketball. His commentary on the gentrification of Bed-Stuy, while specific to some of the cliches of the area, could actually fit many urban communities. You'll find yourself rooting for him in spots and tut-tutting in others. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Recommend for fans of literary mysteries.

As a placeholder my short review said: this is not your typical mystery, but then again that isn't my go to genre so maybe I miss out on what's out there.

What I meant by not typical was the infusion of other social issues: gentrification, white and black, rich and poor. There's this whole part of the book where Reddick, the main character, is justifying who he is and how he fits into this Brooklyn neighborhood. He's white but grew up poor and around other blacks. He's been told his grandfather was half-black so he tells people this, to give himself street cred? The guys aren't buying it either. And Reddick hates how his neighborhood is changing. So many more white people are moving in, and the crux is around this new project called Restoration Heights.

The main story is around this white girl who hit on Reddick one night in his alley while taking out the trash. She was very drunk, and Reddick didn't take it any further, besides the party she was at came back into focus and she went back inside. The next day at his art handling job he finds out that same girl is missing. The way the boyfriend and family reacts is very odd to Reddick. To make things more bizarre the neighbor, also filthy rich, hires Reddick to find out about Hannah and what happened. Then Reddick becomes obsessed!

Despite nearly losing friends, being threatened, and knowing he's going down dangerous roads, he can't stop searching and asking. He asks very uncomfortable questions and does some very awkward things. And some of this is where the book falters. It is odd interviewing. I know the guy is an amateur, his supposed to be an artist, but really it doesn't read well.

Overall there is a lot to like in the book. I got caught up in trying to figure out what happened to Hannah. There's different intricacies and revelations that come up, as you might expect in a mystery/detective type story. But there's so much more. I loved the part about persistent pursuit of your passion, it just might lead you to success. Okay, the book didn't say in those exact words, but it was the sentiment. Hopefully that didn't give anything away.

Restoration Heights is the story of Reddick, an artist turned amateur detective in Brooklyn. While the central mystery of this story is somewhat interesting, this is more the story of gentrification in modern day Brooklyn.

As someone who lives in a neighborhood of Brooklyn that still has some of it's original charm - despite the shadows of high-rises, I understand the anger and frustration.

This is a good read - for someone looking for a mystery and who doesn't quite understand the corporate greed surrounding New York and it's true New Yorkers.

Thanks to NetGalley and it's publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Part social commentary, part mystery. Restoration Heights tells the story of Reddick, a rough neck artist, who spends his days as an art mover. When a wealthy socialite goes missing, Reddick feels compelled to find her. Rather than being a happy read, it's an insightful story about social classes in America.

Restoration Heights follows Reddick’s search for Hannah. Reddick is an artist living in a New York neighborhood. Hannah is a girl that goes missing and Reddick is the last person to see her. The book is an interesting peek into the world of art and real estate in New York City. The author provides an intense narrative on the art community and the emotional dialogue on race, privilege, and gentrification were very illuminating. I enjoyed this book. I loved the character development and writing style. Some parts could have been simplified and less wordy, but overall I really liked this book and would recommend it. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this book in exchange for an honest review.