I Don’t Wish You Well

Emill (Wander in the Dark) balances a taut mystery with incisive, socially charged portrayals of small-town prejudice and corruption in this immersive whodunit. In January 2020, Deuce Beales, a closeted Black teen, purportedly killed four beloved Moss Pointe, La., football players in an alleged murder-suicide. Five years later, 18-year-old Pryce Cummings— a Moss Pointe native and closeted Black freshman journalism major at Whitmore University—stumbles upon a social media post proclaiming Deuce’s innocence. Pryce determines to investigate, hoping to turn the lead into a true-crime podcast that might secure him a summer internship and subsequently delay his return to his oppressive, sports-obsessed hometown. Pryce also longs to disrupt the killings’ narrative; Moss Pointe community members leverage the event as a cautionary tale about queer youth, which solidifies Pryce’s decision to keep his sexuality secret from his religious parents and football star younger brother. As Pryce delves deeper into the inquiry, however, his findings suggest that the true killer is still at large. Interview transcripts, news clippings, and online forum posts intersect Pryce’s candid third-person narration, while evocative prose renders a layered, suspenseful telling that mirrors popular investigative media structures. Ages 12–up. (Jan.)