Real Rating: 4.5* of five
How do you cope with stress? What kind of stress do you need to cope with? What happens when you can no longer cope, and your coping mechanism is what slides you the next step down your ladder? Are you made of the stuff that helps you hang on? Or is this the moment your life changes trajectory? Will it be up...or down?

Don't choose dull, ordinary challenges for your debut novel, kids. Take a lesson from Author Rob Franklin. Get in there and scrape the bones, break 'em open, pry out the marrow. Don't tell me another Hamptons-rich-druggie story, Fitzgerald owns "West Egg" already, and that snowy white "Less than Zero" guy wiped up the corners. Making your bottoming-out addict Black in this milieu feels revolutionary!

Unless you know what PG means, and who starred in which season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Young Mr. Smith isn't a unicorn, but he understands from the inside the burden and the unfairness of being a race man. He's got the money, the education, and the training to function in the top tier of the New York business world. Yet it costs him much more to claim his place there because he's Black...and gay.

It all comes to a head and begins to fry his brain as the novel opens with his arrest for cocaine possession in the Hamptons. A thing that wouldn't register for a white person, but despite his gigantic privilege among Black people, he's just another Black man among the really privileged. Awaiting his court appearance leaves young Mr. Smith a lot of time to process his stressors and figure out how to deal with New York life. We're along with him as the death...murder...of his bestie Elle absorbs a lot of his energy. If I had a complaint to air about the story, it's that the murder eats a lot of attention, and results in a lot of self-reflection, growth, and healing...but the resolution is so rushed it feels perfunctory.

I didn't get mad about it, though, because I felt it was all part of the voyage of discovery young Davey Smith was taking in front of me. I'm here for a young gay man discovering how much the world expects from you simply to have the things others just...get. I'm totally immersed in a story where someone privileged suddenly confronts the reality that privilege can be yanked away like any other "gift" from society. It's happened to me so I know how genuine his feeling of being forcibly unmoored really is.

I was never a party-party boy, so found Davey's interest in the nightlife uninteresting. It is just dull to me. I was ultimately able to enjoy the reflections on his loud, annoying, "fun" times because I don't and didn't like them at his age. I found myself thinking "no wonder I never liked that stuff!" a lot of the time. It made the read much more rewarding to me after I got past my own impatience with such an unserious, uninteresting "lifestyle" as clubbing.

In the end I was drawn into learning from the life Davey Snith led after I read this: “Identity was neither destiny nor salvation but a kind of animal trap, useful only if one was deft enough to claim the bait without tripping the door to the cage.” It's a pithy dose of home truth so it gave me a full and complete way into the club I'd pay money to stay out of in the flesh.

That half-star gone is my pound of flesh for being made to work so hard.
NB Links to definitions are in the blogged VERSION of the review.

This book is about Smith, a well-off, well-educated queer young Black man living in NYC. He parties too much, gets arrested for cocaine possession and has to deal with the fallout from that, all while reeling from the death of his beloved roommate Elle, the daughter of a famous soul singer. I can not relate to the wealth or the partying lifestyle, so I had a hard time enjoying this one. It was very well written though.

An intriguing character driven novel about a young man's descent into and return from the other side of privilege after the death of his friend. Smith is black, gay and part of the New York social scene but it all falls apart when he's arrest with cocaine. He goes in search of. answers not only about his friend but also himself. It will remind some of Bret Easton Ellis (mostly because of the party scene) but it stands on its own. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A writer to watch.

This was such a beautifully written debut that I will have to revisit it again and again. *The Great Black Hope* was nothing like I expected, but it was everything I needed. The plot and character development were excellent. What I particularly enjoyed about this novel is that, while it certainly had a plot, the story was driven by the characters. It offered a glimpse into Davey Smith's life and how he navigates the loss he is experiencing and the troubles he finds himself in.

I do agree with other reviews that the murder of Elle should have been a more central part of the plot. When the final reveal occurs regarding who the murderer is, it feels anti-climactic. But it didn't take away from the overall story. If you are looking for a book that explores themes of redemption, familial expectations, loss, and self-discovery/healing, this debut is for you.

First thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the e-ARC and the opportunity to review this book. This book was not what I thought it would be, based on the premise, which I thought was very intriguing and eye-catching, I thought this would be more of a mystery/thriller book. It is not. I would say this is more of a contemporary, which isn't necessarily bad, but still not what I expected. Also, I did not find Smith interesting nor could I get into the writing style. Maybe this was a case of great book, wrong person, but overall I don't think I would or could recommend this book.

Rob Franklin’s writing is stunning—at times it feels like reading song lyrics set to prose.
In Great Black Hope, we follow David Smith Jr., a young, Black, gay man entrenched in the elite social circles of New York City. When his best friend and roommate dies suddenly and he’s arrested for cocaine possession, the glamorous, fast-paced life he’s been coasting through takes a nosedive.

What follows is not a whodunnit, but a sharp, emotionally layered character study. Forced into sobriety at the urging of his lawyer, Smith begins the slow, painful work of unraveling who he is beneath the privilege, the parties, and the persona. Franklin offers a vivid window into the NYC social scene—one glittering with wealth and excess but hollow at its core.

This isn’t a murder mystery (though I half-expected it to be), but rather an intimate look at identity, grief, and self-reckoning. Franklin excels at putting us inside Smith’s conflicted mind, making his struggle feel raw and real.

A captivating debut—and one that makes me eager to read whatever Franklin writes next.

A very character based story where I am usually more into plot but it was a great debut. I loved the ambiance of the city and the mystery behind the story.

Read this for the NYC party scene atmosphere and mid 20s angst , didn’t connect with the characters but it was a well written debut that kept me going. Thanks to NetGalley and Summit Books for an advanced copy for an honest review.

This book was a challenge to get into. I found myself needing to rely on immersive reading — just to stay grounded in the story. The author’s descriptions were incredibly rich and deeply creative, especially in how the main character viewed the world. But at times, that depth became overwhelming and hard to follow. It felt like the narrative drifted into a poetic stream of consciousness, which made it easy to get lost.

I really wanted to like this. There were moments where I caught the deeper meaning and appreciated the emotional weight behind the words. But just as often, I felt like the story jumped around too much, and I had to refocus just to figure out what was happening. It wasn’t a terrible read by any means—but it might just be that this author’s style isn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC of this book. 📖

A mix of a New York nightlife novel and tale of American race, kind of milkshake of Brett Easton Ellis and Paul Beatty. Smith a young black and gay child of privilege is arrested for cocaine possession at the start of the novel, and we see how the mysterious death of his friend and roommate Ellie led him to this point. The book follows him through nightclubs as he tries to stay clean and find the truth of his friends death. Franklin is an impressive writer and every couple of pages he unloads a prose fastball which knocks the reader backwards. He is added himself to my list of writers to follow for sure.

At the onset of the novel, Smith is arrested for cocaine possession after a night of partying in the Hamptons. We soon learn that though Smith has always been drawn to the peril and possibilities of a decadent nightlife, the somewhat mysterious death of his best friend and roommate, Elle, has intensified his reliance on this sort of escape. While the arrest sets the story into motion, the book resists the tropes you might expect and offers instead a commentary on societal compression and a character study of a cerebral young man attempting to understand his own desires and motivations. Perfect for fans of Sally Rooney and Raven Leilani, I found this book meandering, but intoxicating.

This is a brilliant debut novel! This book will have you thinking about these characters long after you finish it. I feel privileged and honored to have been able to read this.

4⭐️ The writing in this book is phenomenal! The sights, sounds, smells of NYC are written so well it brings you right into the nightlife!

Davey “Smith” is a young, black, gay, college graduate from a very successful family, that sinks into trouble with a possession arrest and job loss. When his best friend Elle is found dead his life takes a downward spiral he finds it hard to recover from.
The characters of Smith, his friends and family are interesting and well developed. The city of NY is a character itself.

I wish the story of Elle’s murder would have been featured more in the plot. The finding of the killer was very anticlimactic. I think I was expecting more of a mystery/thriller. This book is very character driven and the main focus is Smith’s struggle and journey of downfall and redemption, his family’s expectations and dreams for him. Great debut novel!

Thank you NetGalley and S&S/Summit Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rob Franklin is a poetic and creative story teller. The pacing took some getting used to, as the writing is highly reflective and descriptive. At times the plot took a backseat. Highly fleshed out characters and researched time period made that worth while.

I love a character driven mystery novel so this was right up my alley! Such a great mix of the two generes with diversity and wonderful writing.

This one wasn't for me. The premise was enticing and I was looking forward to reading this but I found the verbose, meandering style bogged down the pace to such a degree that I really couldn't get into the character. Others obviously liked it, so it is obviously me.

Thanks to NetGalley and S&S/Summit Books for an advanced reader copy.

Thank you Summit Books for my gifted copy!

Great Black Hope was depth and pure poetry. I thought this would be a faster paced thriller, but it was a brilliant character study on being a Black man in the small and privileged world of the Elite. I truly would have taken a highlighter to nearly every passage in this book, because I found it all so jarring, raw and thought provoking - truly my favorite kind of book. Rob Franklin is a voice to continue to watch out for, because wow.

I just finished this glorious book and I am thrilled that I get the chance to tell everyone I know to read this book. It is an extraordinary achievement. Beautifully written, thoughtful, insightful, harrowing, and a joy to live within its pages.

Every character is carefully constructed and described - their lives and foibles leap off the page. In the middle section of the book, I felt a bit unmoored - a bit lost - but then, I realized its purpose and was thrilled by the result. The last third comes sweeping in and it all comes together in an extraordinary way.

I am being very careful about not giving away too much, because every new development in the story thrilled and excited me -- and I hope it does that for all the readers yet to pick up this book.

Rob Franklin is an extraordinary talent and I look forward to reading whatever he writes next. Highly recommend.

As someone obsessed with diagramming sentences, I can confidently say that Rob Franklin's "Great Black Hope" is a literary marvel. The author, a poet, crafts sentences of Proustian length and beauty. I found myself highlighting passages again and again. And the semicolon usage? Masterful.

Beyond the stunning prose, the narrative itself is a compelling read with a nice, twisty plot. The setting is mostly New York's nightlife, making the book an updated modern-day "Bright Lights, Big City." We follow Smith, a queer Black Stanford graduate, as his life unravels after a cocaine possession arrest and he begins a mandated recovery program with some hilarious useless zoom therapy and dutiful drug testing. At the same time, Smith is dealing with the gut-punch of the unexplained death of his beloved roommate. An investigation is on-going: was the cause of death drugs or murder? Elle, who happens to be the daughter of a legendary soul signer. So the tabloids are unrelenting covering the unfolding drama. Race, class, media, drugs, and justice—the book deals with all these hot topics deftly and vividly.

I’m not sure that this one was for me. I understand why folks enjoyed it so much and I can appreciate it as a work of literature but I couldn’t get through it.