Three Seconds of Hell by Penelope Lowder

Three Seconds of Hell, a collection of short stories inspired by the author's father, Billy Lowder, who lived, fought and rebelled in the 1950’s Georgia, Jim Crow South. Billy and Tigner are two young black men who are forced to constantly examine their mortality as they encounter violent young white men exerting their manhood and challenge a town sheriff hell bent on control of the colored and destruction of the African American. Billy and his partner in survival, Tigner, battle daily against a world with a clear mission; to break them or kill them.