Why You Need to Drop Everything and Start Reading New York Times Bestselling Author Attica Locke
It would probably be impossible for New York Times bestselling author Attica Locke to put out enough books to satisfy me. She is one of those authors where I will drop everything in order to read any new work of hers. She’s also one of the crime authors I most recommend.
While the reasons are many—including her excellent writing—I most often recommend her books for two reasons: people ask me a lot for a book to read after Tana French (Locke’s Jay Porter series) and for a book where the setting is very much alive (The Cutting Season and Bluebird, Bluebird). These Attica Locke books have great characters, settings, and mysteries that will completely draw you in.
Bluebird, Bluebird puts racial tension and a fight for justice at the forefront after a black man from Chicago and a local white woman are murdered in a small east Texas town. Enter Darren Mathews, a black Texas Ranger, who, while technically suspended, refuses to leave this case alone. You can feel the heat and tension rising off the page as this small town holds dearly to its secrets and racism and wants nothing to do with Mathews. The setting once again comes to life with as much importance as a character, the characters are vividly alive from the moment of introduction, and you’ll be carrying this one with you long after turning the last page.
Not only did Bluebird, Bluebird win the 2018 Edgar Award for Best Novel, Attica Locke is also writing the TV series adaptation FX. So, if you're a must-read-the-book-before-watching-the-show reader, you may want to move this one up on your TBR list.
In Locke's New York Times bestselling follow up to Bluebird, Bluebird, Texas Ranger Darren Mathews is on the hunt for a missing child—but it’s the boy’s family of white supremacists who are his real target.
As Darren tries to emerge from the events of his previous investigation, his marriage is in a precarious state of re-building, and his career and reputation lie in the hands of his mother, who’s never exactly had his best interests at heart. Darren has to battle centuries-old suspicions and prejudices, as well as threats that have been reignited in the current political climate, as he races to find the boy, and to save himself.
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Jamie Canavés is a Book Riot contributing editor who always has a book in one hand. She writes the Unusual Suspects mystery newsletter, never says no to chocolate or ‘80s nostalgia, and spends way too much time asking her goat-dog “What’s in your mouth?!” Tweets: @Oh_Dinky.