Time’s Undoing

Head’s (Warn Me When It’s Time) latest follows Detroit Free Press journalist Meghan McKenzie as she seeks to uncover a story connecting the Black Lives Matter movement with the 1929 unsolved murder of her great-grandfather Robert Lee Harrington in Birmingham, AL. In Birmingham, Meghan is assisted by Kristen, a white librarian; Monique, the leader of the local BLM chapter; and Darius, a city official who becomes a love interest. However, the closer Meghan gets to solving the mystery, the more threats she encounters. Jade Wheeler’s delivery as three older Southern Black women who are minor characters is on point. These ladies definitely can be found at family cookouts. As Meghan, however, the story gets in the way of her performance. Meghan’s reaction to some threats is implausible, and her relationship with Darius derails the audiobook. In semi-alternating chapters, Ronald Peet’s voicing of Robert, who has the weight of his family and Jim Crow on his shoulders, gives gravitas to the 1929 timeline.