ABOUT THE BOOK:
The thrilling follow-up to the award-winning Bluebird, Bluebird: Texas Ranger Darren Matthews is on the hunt for a boy who's gone missing - but it's the boy's family of white supremacists who are his real target
9-year-old Levi King knew he should have left for home sooner; now he's alone in the darkness of vast Caddo Lake, in a boat whose motor just died. A sudden noise distracts him - and all goes dark.
Darren Matthews is trying to emerge from another kind of darkness; after 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. Now she holds the key to his freedom, and she's not above a little maternal blackmail to press her advantage.
An unlikely possibility of rescue arrives in the form of a case down Highway 59, in a small lakeside town where the local economy thrives on nostalgia for ante-bellum Texas - and some of the era's racial attitudes still thrive as well. Levi's disappearance has links to Darren's last case, and to a wealthy businesswoman, the boy's grandmother, who seems more concerned about the fate of her business than that of her grandson.
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.
Attica Locke proves that the acclaim and awards for Bluebird, Bluebird were justly deserved, in this thrilling new novel about crimes old and new.
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MY REVIEW:
Heaven, My Home by Attica LockeMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Heaven, My Home by Attica Locke is a 2019 Mulholland publication.
A powerful and deeply effective crime drama!
I have been dying to get my hands on this book since reading ‘Bluebird, Bluebird’. As this second installment opens, we find Darren Matthews working hard to make his marriage work and stabilize his career. But then he is hand-picked to locate a young boy who has disappeared on Caddo Lake. However, this is not the usual Amber Alert situation. Young Levi King is the son of a white supremacist and Matthew’s real target is Levi’s family.
Meanwhile, the explosive knowledge his mother has on Darren could derail everything he’s precariously pieced back together. As the pressure increases, the case takes a stunning turn linking back to Darren’s previous case. In a tense race against time, Darren’s salvation depends on the rescue and return of Levi King.
I can’t put into words how impressive this series is. The atmosphere is heavy and thick, and the suspense is nearly unbearable. At its core this series is a procedural, with a mystery to solve, but the complexities of the novel, and the characters, are so deep and conflicted it seems this series defies the ordinary and mundane label is categorized under.
There is so much diversity, layers of history, especially in the depiction of the Hasinai Caddo Indians, and the incredible landscape to compliment the drama.
There are several deep topics to explore and ponder on, but one that truly stuck out for me was the timely subject of forgiveness and the all too realistic depiction of the political climate in this country, showcasing the troubling results it has wrought.
Locke’s prose and intricate plotting and pitch perfect pacing, rich characterizations, and cultural observations will make this series appealing to a much broader audience, luring in those who don’t typically read crime fiction.
Overall, I think I might have liked this second installment a little better than the first and that’s really saying something. I can’t wait to see the direction Darren Matthews will follow and what paths Attica Locke and Highway 59 will take us down in the future.
GET YOUR COPY HERE:
https://www.amazon.com/Heaven-Home-Highway-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B07MS7WJB2/
https://www.amazon.com/Heaven-My-Home/dp/B07WSRLRWQ/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heaven-my-home-attica-locke/1130069945
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Attica Locke is a writer whose first novel, Black Water Rising, was nominated for a 2010 Edgar Award, a 2010 NAACP Image Award, as well as a Los Angeles Times Book Prize and was shortlisted for an Orange Prize in the UK.
Attica is also a screenwriter who has written movie and television scripts for Paramount, Warner Bros, Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, HBO, Dreamworks and Silver Pictures. She was also a fellow at the Sundance Institute’s Feature Filmmakers Lab and is a graduate of Northwestern University.
A native of Houston, Texas, Attica lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband and daughter.
