Attica Locke

When it comes to law and order, East Texas plays by its own rules--a fact that Darren Mathews, a black Texas Ranger, knows all too well. Deeply ambivalent about growing up black in the lone star state, he was the first in his family to get as far away from Texas as he could. Until duty called him home. When his allegiance to his roots puts his job in jeopardy, he travels up Highway 59 to the small town of Lark, where two murders--a black lawyer from...

"Texas Ranger Darren Mathews isn't sure he's been a good cop, but believes he's got a shot at being a good man. In the midst of remaking his life with the woman he loves, he is visited by a woman who's always been bent on tearing his life apart. His mother. Armed with a tall tale about a missing Black college student, Sera. Darren must decide if he can trust his mother and what her ulterior motive may be. Darren gets his hooks into the investigation,...

"Acclaimed author Attica Locke reintroduces us to environmental lawyer Jay Porter (her Black Water Rising protagonist), who takes one last case on the behalf of the community of Pleasantville in this new thriller--only to become embroiled in its shadowy politics, a disturbing education in how far those in power are willing to go to win"-- Provided by publisher.

In the tradition of Greg Iles and Dennis Lehane comes a powerful new voice in American fiction. Locke's debut thriller involves murder, greed, and redemption, set in the oil boomtown of 1980s Houston.