Will I love Bluebird, Bluebird?

Locke does the thing I’m always chasing. 

She makes the law itself the source of suspense. Her Texas Ranger, Darren Mathews, carries a badge that protects him and endangers him in the same gesture, and every door he opens with it might be the one that gets him killed. I love that she refuses easy heroes. Everyone in that little town off Highway 59 is wired into the same old order, and justice has to be smuggled out past it. 

She taught me a murder mystery can be a way of asking who the system was built to serve, and… show more.

The character of Texas Ranger Darren Mathews felt authentic and original. He comes across as a flawed human being trying to do his best with multiple obstacles in his way, some placed before him, others of his own making. Secondarily, I loved Locke's descriptions of eastern Texas. She really put in the setting.

Attica Locke delivers a powerful thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

This page-turner has impeccable pacing, noir suspense, and memorable characters. I love a good book, and this one is just a damn good book! I reached for her backlist to see what else I had missed.

Edgar Award-winner Bluebird, Bluebird, is the first in the Jay Porter Series. Black Texas Ranger, Jay Porter, tried to escape East Texas and become a lawyer, but his home and people clawed him back. Jay is on the verge of losing his prestigious job, his reputation in tatters, when he heads to a tiny rural town to investigate the death of a visiting Black lawyer from Chicago and the seemingly separate death of a local white woman. Locke deftly reveals how the persistent stain of racism continues to poison many facets of life, while the law enforcement hierarchies and jurisdictional… show more.

I’ve always been a huge fan of mystery novels, especially ones of the noir variety. Attica Locke brings this genre into rural East Texas with her series featuring Darren Mathews, a Black Texas Ranger. Bluebird, Bluebird kicks the series off with Mathews investigating two murders in a small town—a Black lawyer from Chicago and a White woman from the town of Lark. Locke crafts an incredibly satisfying and tense mystery while also exploring the complicated way race and racism thread into Mathews’ work in law enforcement and the town of Lark itself. Add in complex characterization and a stunningly atmospheric… show more.