This book! Holy smokes, how has it taken me this long to read Attica Locke. I loved everything about this book – the strong sense of place, the complicated cast of characters, the racial tension, and how the plot developed. The pacing was perfect – a slow, steady ramp-up before weaving and winding through discoveries. And that ending was incredible.

If I could have, I would have read this book in one sitting. So many of the characters could have been tropes, but Locke made them feel real and flawed but not in an overwrought way. I'd love to see this one adapted for TV.

Bluebird, Bluebird, by Attica Locke, takes place in the small Texas town of Lark, a town filled with secrets of racial prejudice and violence that has been a secret for many years. Darren Matthews, a black Texas Ranger, who has to find the murderer of a black stranger and a local white woman, delves into the long running racial prejudice in this area, challenging his beliefs and those of everyone in this area. This book is a fast paced, intriguing, as well as disturbing mystery. Readers will second think their own prejudices and struggle with the outcome of the events in the end. I enjoyed this book.

In Bluebird, Bluebird Locke tackles the difficulty of being a black man in the south with education, status, and the drive to make things better. Locke begins to peel back the layers of what it means to call a place that is not always welcoming home. Of being drawn to a place that is hostile to your very existence. Darren and his family have deep roots in Texas. The Mathews family has every right and reason to be proud of their family's legacy that they fought to establish while fighting against people who felt entitled to more and better simply by being born white.

Darren's life is as about as complicated as it can get when he becomes entangled in three murder cases that all revolve around issues of race. Darren has been suspended pending an investigation, he and his wife are separated because of differing visions for their future, and Darren's trying to decide which part of the law he wants to fight for. Continue to be a Texas Ranger and fight with his boots on the ground, or finish law school and fight in the courtroom. The cherry on top of this pile of stress is Darren's mother, who is difficult at best, and is making an appearance and making demands in his life. To deal with the mess that his life is becoming, Darren finds himself seeking refuge in bottles of whiskey. Just when Darren thinks that his life is about as complicated as it can get, a phone call from a friend sends him to the tiny community of Lark, Texas to poke around in an unofficial capacity. The trip down Highway 59 sets Darren on a path to solving a crime and answering some hard questions about himself that he's been wrestling with.

Attica Locke wastes no time locking in her readers in Bluebird, Bluebird. I admit that I was partial to this story in part because of it's location. The story is set in East Texas, which is very familiar to me. My dad's people hail from the ArkLaTex area. That's Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas for those not in the know! My family and family friends still live and love in Texarkana, Shreveport, and Marshall. My family's farm is just minutes from Wiley College which is mentioned in Bluebird, Bluebird. Many of the places mentioned and described in this story were just that much more familiar to me, because I can clearly picture the farm roads, towns, and woods. I can hear the drawls and cadence of the people Locke describes. For me, this entire book felt like home and the Mathews family felt like a reflection of my own. I can barely describe how wonderful it felt to relate that closely to characters in a story. It is a very rare occurrence for me and it means a lot to truly see my reality reflected so clearly. The south is populated by many African American families who made a place for themselves and prospered through hard work and pushing for education despite the hardships and hurdles thrown at them. Unfortunately, we don't always get a realistic look at those kind of families in fiction. I appreciate Locke featuring this type of modern family as the background for Darren. Far from perfect, but reaching for their piece of the American dream. Locke did a wonderful job of encompassing the bits of really good and the really ugly of these southern communities. Close knit communities anywhere are sometimes difficult, but in the southern states, they can be especially complicated. In East Texas, as in many rural places, time has marched on, but the people there aren't growing and evolving with the times as quickly as other places. The tangled web of race, family, and community are all realistically portrayed in this story.

The ending of Bluebird, Bluebird clearly suggests that this is the beginning of a series and I certainly hope that Locke gives us many more books featuring these characters. There would be so much to explore with Darren as the protagonist. I almost finished this in one sitting on a road trip and hated to see the story end, even though it was a perfect place to leave off. If you are looking for a good crime story I would recommend picking up Bluebird, Bluebird. Attica Locke is an author who is going to be an auto buy for me.

Right off, I love the themes of this book and how they entwined to create a really powerful mystery. The crime (or crimes) in this novel are crimes motivated by race, family, lust, fear and power. This title is a strong start to the series, and there is a lot of potential for our main character, Darren Matthews, to develop into an fascinating lawman. The setting is also very unique and unlike anything else I've read. I really felt as if I was transported to a small, rural town in East Texas. And even though I've never been to a small eastern Texas town, I have a sense of exactly what it would look, sound and feels like. And I really appreciated learning more about the Texas Rangers. I came to really understand the "mythology" and sense of pride a man would have working becoming a Ranger.

So yes, there is a lot of potential here, but the suspense of the mystery was sometimes bogged down by the heavy and lyrical exposition. Attica Locke creates some great characters and has beautiful settings. Unfortunately, sometimes the descriptions of these characters and settings come at the expense of the plot. Tense scenes or portions of dialogue would sometimes be interrupted by long blocks of text with a great deal of exposition.

Politically correct. Average read. Terrible ending. Readers, look where Lark, Texas is

After hearing rave review after rave review about this book, I knew I had to check it out. In today's society, books that tackle race and racial injustice are so important. Attica Locke did a great job with this novel, showing how different white Americans and black Americans are treated in the Southern United States--but also in our country in general. I liked how everyone was connected--because we really are. I was kept guessing until the very end—it's an excellent thriller, an excellent family study, and an excellent racially-charged mystery.

Thank you NetGalley and Mulholland Books for letting me read.

Having grown up near East Texas myself, this book reminded me that there is still so much I don't understand about both the history and current state of racial relations there. This book is complicated, deep, suspenseful, and a very interesting read. I look forward to recommending it to Texas readers.

Since BLACK WATER RISING Attica Locke has been one of my favorite crime writers. I've read everything she's written to date, and was excited by the slightly new direction of this series with Mulholland. Mulholland has been putting out some terrific books for the past few years, and I've grown to trust their editorial instincts. So, combine my belief in the publisher along with my abiding belief in the author, and you can guess my level of excitement at the opportunity to read BLUEBIRD, BLUEBIRD.

Happily, I can report that my enthusiasm for this book was not only met but far exceeded. Attica Locke gets better with every word she writes. There is no end to the accolades I can give this gifted writer. There is so much I loved about BLUEBIRD, BLUEBIRD. The language, the characters, the plot, etc. Locke doesn't just tell you a story; she places you IN IT. So, you're right along beside black Texas Ranger Darren Matthews as he navigates the "interesting" racial politics of East Texas. You cough away the swirling dust on back country roads as Matthews digs ever deeper into the mystery of two murders: a black lawyer from Chicago and a local white woman. You taste the spices in every bite of food at Geneva Sweet's roadside cafe. And when Ranger Matthews takes his lumps, you squint and grimace with every blow.

Last year, I proselytized Christopher Charles's THE EXILED (another Mulholland gem) as one of the best books of the year. This year, you will much from me extolling the absolute pleasure of reading Attica Locke's BLUEBIRD, BLUEBIRD. The advance buzz has been deafening, and let me just say, fully warranted. This is top-shelf reading.

"Geneva Sweet ran an orange extension cord past Mayva Greenwood, Beloved Wife and Mother, May She Rest With her Heavenly Father."

The first line of this novel caught my attention immediately. What a great beginning! And it only got better from there.

Being from Texas, and being very familiar with Houston, Hwy 59, and the tiny little East Texas towns that dot the highway like so many mosquito bites on a redneck's arm, I was quickly drawn to this story of a black Texas Ranger and the two murders he is driven to investigate in an area that still holds on to some old-style traditions. And I don't mean the good kind of traditions.

Darren Mathews, Texas Ranger living in Houston, in the midst of an investigation that could mean his job, and a crisis and drinking problem that could affect his marriage, hears of the murders of a black man and a white woman in the little town of Lark in northeast Texas. While on suspension from the Rangers, he decides to check out the situation for himself. What he discovers in this rural setting, is that the stench of white supremacy has overtaken the sweet scent of the area's piney woods. As Ranger Mathews investigates further and gets to know the people in Lark, he uncovers secrets that have been around for years, hiding in plain sight. By the end of the book, an intricate web has been laid bare, as well as a realistic portrait of racial and criminal activities that still happen today - more often than we choose to believe.

This book was so well written, that I couldn't put it down. I read it in almost one sitting. Attica Locke has won multiple awards for her other books, and although I haven't read any others by her, that's going to change right away! Her style is descriptive, her characters well-formed and believable. Her use of real locations and her knowledge of the best and the worst of Texas had me smiling with enjoyment or shaking my head with shame throughout the story.

Attica Locke is a marvel, and this latest book has her at the top of the game. The mixing of race, history and a grizzly murder combine together for one momentous read. This is a great new serious with flawed, human characters, and I can't wait for the next one.