“I Never Knew You At All” is a poignant novel that includes complex themes including interracial marriage, the disappearance of a young Black teen in the 60s, missed possibilities, and justice denied. The main character, Simone, marries Alex Hartwell, the heir to the Hartwell grocery story chain, after being jilted by Kwame Walker, the man she thought she would spend her life with.

Now she and Alex have a son, Langston. Alex’s grandfather, who raised him after Alex’s parents died when he was four, is retiring as CEO of the business that Alex will take over. We meet them the night of the retirement party, which is held at the posh prep school that Lawrence Hartwell, the grandfather, attended. Both Alex’s father and Alex also attended the boarding school. That night there are hints of Lawrence’s (Larry’s) impending dementia. He slips up and refers to his successor in the business as Leland, Alex’s father’s name. That only serves to reinforce Alex’s feeling that he isn’t up for the job and isn’t ready to lead the company.

We find out that Simone had studied journalism at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. It’s there that she met Kwame Walker, and they fell in love. She was completely blindsided when he ended their yearslong relationship, one that she thought would last forever. She is happy with Alex, and she enjoys the lifestyle that the family money provides, including the money from the trust fund that Alex received as a settlement from his parents’ accident.

But all is not well, both in their marriage and at Hartwell groceries. Larry had made some poor decisions, and Alex hides the truth from Simone. In the meantime, Kwame has distinguished himself with a podcast in which he investigated a terrible injustice to his childhood best friend. His friend, Devon, was framed for a crime by an unscrupulous cop, and Kwame was able to uncover the evidence that got his friend exonerated. Needless to say, his podcast became a success. Now he needs to figure out what to do for season two.

At a journalism event, he talks to an older Black reporter who gives him a tip about a case he always wanted to investigate but was not able to. Half a century before, a Black student at a prestigious prep school disappeared the night before final exams. He was never found, and it was assumed that he drowned in the retention pond by which his shoes were found. He and four other Black students had been given full scholarships to attend the boarding school as part of a push for integration. But they never felt welcomed by the other students, and his best friend, JJ, always felt that Wade’s disappearance was not voluntary, and that he met with violence.

As it turns out, the prep school that Larry and Alex attended is the very same prep school where Wade disappeared, and Larry and Wade attended at the same time. As Kwame investigates Wade’s disappearance, he talks to Simone about it, hoping that she can help him talk to Larry about whether he knows anything. Simone begins her own independent investigation. There’s tension in Simone’s marriage, and she realizes that she still has unresolved feelings for Kwame.

This is not a thriller, in that there is no time when the main characters are in danger because of their investigation. Rather, this is a look into relationships, of all kinds, and the power that race, lies, and money (or lack thereof) can have on such ties. There is the star-crossed love that existed between Kwame and Simone, and the on-the-surface happy marriage Simone now has with Alex. Alex does not deal well with the pressure of providing for his family and not disgracing the family name by allowing the grocery store chain to fail. We see the huge disparity between the extended families of the three, Alex, Simone, and Kwame.

There’s a sense of failed justice in that we know if a white student had disappeared the night before final exams, the investigation would not have ended until something concrete was discovered. But a missing Black boy? Soon after Emmet Till? And one from the deep South whose parents didn’t have the money or connections to demand that the authorities continue to investigate? Those who knew Wade were certain that he would not have suddenly disappeared and would not have gone swimming. But there was no one at the school or in the town who cared.

The writing is excellent and the pacing keeps us reading. We are engrossed in Simone’s life and the decisions she has made and must make now. Alex and Kwame, the two other characters, are very different men. While race is, of course, an important element in the story, much of the tension comes from marital problems that have more to do with trust than color. The authors have created a touching novel that demonstrates how researching the past and uncovering hidden secrets can affect the present. The characters and the events in this thoughtful, provocative novel will stay with readers long after they’ve finished the story.

Read my review of Piazza’s “The Parisian Heist” and “The Sicilian Inheritance.”

This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.