# Identify this book, from scant clues **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 11, 2019, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-book-from-scant-clues/827594 "2019-01-11T15:24:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2019, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-book-from-scant-clues/827594/1 "2019-01-11T15:24:10Z")
My wife was reading a book, maybe 5-10 years ago, and left it on a trip, so she never got to finish it. She doesn’t remember the title or the author. She said that the story revolves around a an African-American boy who accidentally shoots and kills his brother. Everyone thinks that it was gang-related, and at the point where she left the book, it hadn’t been revealed yet that he had done it. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-book-from-scant-clues/827594/2 "2019-01-14T13:21:43Z")
Bumping this, for the Monday crowd. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-book-from-scant-clues/827594/3 "2019-01-14T15:09:59Z")
I haven’t read any of these, but here are a few with similar themes I’ve found on Goodreads: [Evening News](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228563.Evening_News) by Marly Swick [Bang](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31420736-bang) by Barry Lyga [Echo](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/953459.Echo) by Kate Morgenroth ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-book-from-scant-clues/827594/4 "2019-01-14T15:21:21Z")
I found a couple more candidates by searching library catalogs for the subject heading “Firearms accidents – fiction” [American Youth](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/358725.American_Youth?from_search=true) by Phil Lamarche [Ghosting](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21558973-ghosting) by Edith Pattou ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-book-from-scant-clues/827594/5 "2019-01-14T15:25:31Z")
Okay, just one more and I’ll shut up. [The Lie](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6366797-the-lie) by Oscar H. Bennett ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-book-from-scant-clues/827594/6 "2019-01-14T16:20:35Z")
Thanks for all the suggestions - I’ll pass them on to my wife. If you have any other candidates, please post back! ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-book-from-scant-clues/827594/7 "2019-01-14T17:04:10Z")
Just got an email from my wife, and she said it was “The Lie” by Oscar H. Bennett! Thanks for your help, **bibliophage**. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-book-from-scant-clues/827594/8 "2019-01-14T17:32:14Z")
Make enough wild guesses and one of them is bound to be right. If only I could erase my first two posts, I could call myself a [sharpshooter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_sharpshooter_fallacy).