Cue the lit match and the cool walk-away. This heist novel centers on Jada Williams, a Black woman whose student loans are literally following her–and a bunch of other Black folks–in the form of LA’s debt police, a new unit of cops decked out in turquoise who keep running their mouths about crystals. Author and unparalleled wit Kashana Cauley zeroes in on what it feels like to be stalked by debt in a capitalist system in this knock-out novel. This book made me mad in all the right ways.
The Payback by Kashana Cauley, (List Price: $27.99, Atria Books, 9781668075531, July 2025)
Reviewed by Julia Paganelli Marin, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas