When starting Eriq La Salle’s Laws of Solomon, I expected a high-stakes thriller, yes. But I never expected it to carry such an emotional weight.
A Thriller with Unexpected Emotional Weight
At first glance, this seems like the kind of book that promises relentless action, danger around every corner, and a protagonist whose past is drenched in blood. And while all of those elements are certainly present, Eriq La Salle’s novel turned out to be so much more than a story about violence, survival, and revenge. At its heart, Laws of Solomon is a deeply human story about trauma, redemption, compassion, and the unexpected ways in which one person can become the reason another chooses to keep going.
Meet Solomon
The story follows Solomon, a former child soldier in Africa who eventually becomes a feared hitman for the underground bosses of New York. Over the years, he has earned several terrifying nicknames, including “the Black Reaper,” “the Darkness,” and “the Winter Ghost.” He has survived far too many battles to count and carries scars from nearly all of them—some visible on his body, others buried much deeper.
After leaving the life of a killer behind and starting work at a botanical garden, he tries to make the most of his peaceful days. There is something particularly poignant about seeing a man whose entire life has been shaped by violence surrounded by plants, flowers, and the quiet rhythm of nature. It feels almost like an attempt at rebirth: after spending most of his life taking the lives of others, he is now helping things grow.
Unfortunately, those peaceful days come to an end after a gunfight at the botanical garden targeting an eight-year-old boy named Gaby.
Solomon then makes a decision that changes everything: he vows to protect Gaby and ensure his safety no matter what it takes. And that decision forces him to confront everything he has spent years trying to leave behind.
Eriq La Salle as an Author
I always knew Eriq La Salle as a great actor, but this was my first meeting with the amazing author that he is. His prose flows effortlessly and carries a lot of emotions without being overwhelming, and that in itself is enough to keep the pages turning.
One of the things I appreciated most about Laws of Solomon is how naturally its emotional depth develops. La Salle doesn’t have to constantly tell us how his characters are feeling. Instead, their emotions emerge through their actions, their histories, and the relationships they form. There is a restraint to his writing that makes the more emotional moments hit even harder.
A dual timeline that works
The story is structured on dual timelines, and each flashback is so masterfully connected to the events of the present day that Solomon’s every action and every decision is thoroughly explained and even justified.
The flashbacks aren’t simply there to provide background information about Solomon. Instead, each one gradually reveals another piece of the puzzle, allowing us to understand not only what Solomon has done, but also why he became the person he is.
While the cat-and-mouse chase of the present day keeps the tension building, the flashbacks reveal tragic realities. One of such realities is how the child soldiers of Africa are made, how they are snatched from their families after unimaginable amounts of torture and bloodshed, and forced into a life of violence.
This is then followed by the reality of hopeless people who are trapped between saving their families and a world of infinite darkness and violence brought on by the underground bosses that everyone fears.
These sections give Solomon’s story a much deeper context and make it increasingly difficult to look at him simply as a killer. His past is horrifying, but it also shows how many of the choices that shaped his life were made in circumstances where there were no truly good choices available.
A Killer with a tender heart
Eriq La Salle does an incredible job of bringing out the deeply human emotions of a man like Solomon, who earns his living by ending others’ lives, and showing that although life pushed him into darkness, he still managed to keep some parts of his heart tender.
Solomon is not an uncomplicated hero, and I think that is precisely what makes him so compelling. His past cannot simply be erased, nor can the terrible things he has done be forgotten. Yet there is clearly a part of him that has always resisted becoming completely consumed by the darkness around him.
His decision to protect Gaby brings that contradiction to the surface. The same man who has spent his life being feared becomes someone’s protector. The man who knows exactly how to take a life finds himself fighting to preserve one.
And that makes his journey toward redemption all the more meaningful.
Gaby, A ray of sunshine
Gaby, on the other hand, is the epitome of a ray of sunshine in human form.
Not only that, but his courage in the face of everything he faces at the very young age of just eight is nothing short of admirable. His unconditional faith in Solomon and in the goodness in him shows the purity of a child’s soul, but also his unexpected maturity, which lets him see behind the walls and intimidating front that Solomon puts up.
Their relationship quickly became one of my favorite parts of the book.
Gaby sees something in Solomon that the rest of the world doesn’t—or perhaps simply refuses to see. He doesn’t see the legend, the killer, or the frightening man everyone else knows him to be. He sees the person underneath all of that.
And there is something incredibly moving about watching Gaby’s presence gradually bring out the softer side of a man who has spent most of his life suppressing it.
Violence, discrimination, and found family
The book also touches upon issues of racial discrimination and shows how such discrimination can come from even the ones we consider “distant kin.” These moments add another important layer to the story and highlight how deeply damaging prejudice and exclusion can be.
But from this trauma emerges the healing experience of found family.
La Salle exquisitely proves that found family can come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Family doesn’t always have to be defined by blood or traditional relationships. Sometimes it is created through loyalty, compassion, protection, and the simple decision to stand beside someone when they need you most.
I especially loved the idea that even an act of kindness and mercy one may not think too much of can lead to lifesaving paybacks. Something that seems small in one moment can have consequences far beyond what anyone could have imagined.
A story that completes a full circle
The plot and character developments in the book are flawless, and the story completes a full cycle; a very emotional one at that.
The more we learn about Solomon’s past, the more we understand his present. The dual timeline works particularly well because the pieces eventually begin falling into place, allowing us to see how his past experiences shaped the man standing in front of us.
I also appreciated that the story doesn’t treat redemption as something simple. Solomon cannot undo his past. He cannot erase the people he has hurt or the things he has done. What he can do is decide what kind of person he wants to be from this point forward.
And perhaps that is what makes the ending so emotionally satisfying.
Final Thoughts
It is really hard for me to choose certain types of readers this book might speak to, because I strongly believe it is a story every reader should experience.
If you enjoy thrillers with morally gray protagonists, emotionally complex characters, redemption arcs, found family, and stories that go far beyond their initial premise, Laws of Solomon is definitely worth picking up.
I went into this expecting a high-stakes thriller, but what stayed with me was the emotional journey underneath all the danger and violence. Beneath the action is a story about trauma, compassion, second chances, and the possibility of finding tenderness even after a lifetime spent in darkness.
Sometimes, even the people who seem the most broken are still capable of protecting something beautiful.
Jojo’s Verdict: SHELF IT!
From Jojo’s bookshelves to yours, with love!
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