A superb sequel by Attica Locke. Looking forward to more from this gifted and nuanced writer. Worth the read!

Let me preface this by saying that I loved this book so much that I have already ordered the first in the series, Bluebird, Bluebird, so that I can read it ASAP.

This book was wonderful. I have previously read a book by Attica Locke so I knew that I would love her writing and this book did not disappoint. She is such an amazing writer. From the way she develops her characters to the way she perfectly describes the settings, Locke paves the way for a wonderful adventure for her readers. This book was heavy; it was filled with racism and prejudice, and even as a white reader, I had a hard time understanding Darren, the main character, keep his cool while being slung racial slurs throughout the book. The rural setting and the Brotherhood associations there really made for an "othering" vibe toward anyone of color in this book.

In this story, Darren comes to a rural white town in Texas down Highway 59 where the missing white son of a Brotherhood member is suspected of being killed by a black man, Leroy Page. His true intentions there are to get in to see Bill King, the boy's father, who is in prison for murdering a black man. But after meeting the people of this town, especially Bill King's mother, Rosemary, he decides he must stay and try to find this boy and hopefully save Leroy's life in the process.

Not only did Locke hit the nail on the head with the racism in today's society, especially after Trump came into office, but she also formed a little side story of Darren and his wife, Lisa's, failing marriage. Throughout the book I couldn't decide if either of them really wanted to work on things, or if both were just continuing on because it was comfortable and familiar. Darren clearly has feelings for a woman from book #1 (I am trying to wait patiently to read that one), but doesn't want to hurt his wife by acting on them. There also seems to be a secret between his wife and his best friend that is gnawing at him.

In all, this was an amazing book. The only hard part now will be waiting for the next book in the series. Great job again, Attica Locke!

I will be posting this review to my blog and on Instagram on the pub date.

Thanks to Attica Locke, Serpent’s Tail/Profile books, and Netgalley for providing me with a digital advance copy of this novel. This is the second novel featuring African-American Texas Ranger Darren Mathews, following Locke’s Edgar award-winning novel Bluebird, Bluebird. Here, Mathews is sent to a small east Texas town where a young boy has gone missing.

Locke is a gifted writer, as evidenced by the first few pages of the novel which are a master class in description and suspense. She does an excellent job creating characters and situations that seem real. I appreciated those aspects of the novel, but I had the same overall feeling that I had reading Bluebird, Bluebird, which was that was much as I wanted to like Ranger Mathews, I didn’t like him much. It’s really hard to root for the hero of the story when you don’t find him likeable.

I think Locke is a talented writer and I look forward to reading her next novel.

Attica Locke's Heaven, My Home is the second in her Hwy 59 series.

Although Highway 59 stretches from the border of Mexico to the border of Canada, Locke is concerned with the portions within her native Texas.

I loved Blue Bird, Blue Bird and Texas Ranger Darren Matthews, and I would suggest beginning with Blue Bird as the second book (Heaven, My Home) resumes shortly thereafter. It isn't necessary, but the background of Darren Matthews as a black Texas Ranger raised by his uncles adds a great deal to the character.

In Blue Bird, Darren hides a gun used by an old man to kill Ronnie Malvo, breaking the law and contravening the values his uncles have tried to instill in him. Ronnie Malvo, member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, was a violent man and few people mourned his death. The reader can't help but think Darren was right in trying to protect the old man who killed Malvo, but it upsets his sense of duty and leaves him vulnerable to blackmail.

Darren's new case involves a missing boy in an isolated community on Caddo Lake (25,400 acre lake and wetland on the border of Texas and Louisiana). Again, there is an association with the Aryan Brotherhood and a bunch of white supremacists. The uncomfortable fact of racial tension, distrust and betrayal is not limited to the white supremacists, it is also endemic to the culture of the area in a traditional way that is almost subconscious.

Darren's character has been altered by his own actions in the previous book, and I found it harder to empathize with him in this book, but he is human and despite his failures, he still strives to understand himself and his relations with others.

A complex plot with complex characters, Heaven, My Home addresses a number of issues society is dealing with currently; none of these issues are new, but they have certainly become more "acceptable" in the last few years. Darren, too, is having to consistently evaluate his feelings at overt and covert racism directed at him , including the unacknowledged, often unintended, racism of his boss. Recommended.

Read in July. Blog review scheduled for Aug. 26, 2019.

NetGalley/
Mystery/Thriller. Sept. 12, 2019. Print length: 304 pages.

Texas Ranger Darren Matthews has worked hard to save his job and his marriage in the wake of the unsettling case in Lark (Bluebird, Bluebird). During marriage counselling, he has agreed to stop working in the field so, stuck behind a desk, Matthews works to identify white supremacist activity.
However, he is soon drawn back into more active service after the disappearance of a young boy, son of a prominent member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas.

Set against the backdrop of smalltown Jefferson and the vast expanses of Caddo Lake, Matthews encounters open prejudice, avarice and resentment. The black man with a badge overturns local stereotypes but also doubts his own integrity as he strives to protect an old friend from the law.

In the background is the election of Trump to the presidency and how attitudes within the law enforcement agencies are changing in preparation for the new president's inauguration. Incidents of everyday racism and overt bigotry are constant and Matthews finds his views and attitudes influenced by race too. There is an urgency and vitality to this aspect of the writing that draws the reader in and makes thoughtful parallels with current events, particularly the rise of right wing violence.

Landscapes are beautifully described, from the dank waters of the swamps to the open expanses of the lake. The description of the sunset in Matthew's place in Camilla shows his love for the land, despite the prejudices that haunt black people and native Americans across the state.

The mystery is solved but almost seems incidental to the main themes of the novel: pride and a sense of self; love of homeland; and racism within society. This is a superb follow-up to Bluebird, Bluebird and the ending suggests the author has more stories to tell of Ranger Matthews. I can't wait to read them.

(I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.)

I loved the flawed protagonist in this story who is facing real life issues but also long running issues from the past
It was a good plot and setting.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

This follow-up to Bluebird, Bluebird brings back Texas Ranger Darren Matthews, a nicely complicated and flawed protagonist who is also a black man in racially-tense Texas. Pitching him against the Aryan Brotherhood make race absolutely central to this book with a mystery that goes back to America's troubled history of slavery.

Locke is a passionate writer who uses fiction to explore history and the way it points forward to contemporary tensions. I did feel that this story slightly gets away from her at points: characters are introduced then forgotten about, and the mystery gets increasingly labyrinthine. Still, Matthews is such a charismatic lead character that I can forgive a lot - intelligent crime fiction with heart.

In the wake of Trump’s election victory, Ranger Darren Matthews travels down Highway 59 to Jefferson, Texas, where nine-year-old Levi King, son of an imprisoned Aryan Brotherhood captain, has gone missing. Strangely, only Levi’s father and sister plead for the boy’s return. Local law enforcement assume he’s dead, his own grandmother, one of the town leaders, remains eerily distant, and Matthews’ boss only wants him to find evidence to implicate his father.

Matthews, though, realizes the local denizens are obfuscating at every turn. An elderly black man, Leroy Page, claims to have seen Levi the night he disappeared, making him the last person to see him. Leroy becomes a suspect, but Matthews doubts his guilt. He’s driven to find out what really happened to Levi, and perhaps escape his mother’s hold having a secret that could bury his career, even if it means making a devil’s bargain. Powerful forces in Jefferson, however, are intent on seeing him fail.

Heaven, My Home is compulsively readable with a compelling and serpentine mystery reaching back to the antebellum era. It brought in just enough Bluebird, Bluebird to both satisfy and whet curiosity. Background to the mystery is the town of Jefferson, a failed port city which capitalizes on its past, hosting ghost tours that visit the sites where white women died but conveniently ignoring the deaths of blacks before and after slavery. The book shows how racism can be so seamlessly institutionalized, those with privilege (whites) can see it only if looking, but people of color are subject to large and small aggressions. Furthermore, it hints at the practical and personal consequences of Trump’s victory which we’ve sadly seen play out over the past couple of years. Darren also has to confront his own biases and his tendency to view black men of a certain age as though they are the same as his uncles.

I did overwhelmingly enjoy the book, but something that worked less for me was the introduction of so many characters who weren’t utilized in the story, for example, a group of Matthews’ fellow Rangers who sound interesting but only appeared in a single scene. Likewise, I felt Levi’s sister, Dana, was savvy and observant, while Leroy’s neighbors, the Goodfellows, were important to the plot, but not as developed as I might have preferred.

Complex and flawed, Matthews presents a welcome alternative to the mystery protagonists who are male detectives, overconfident, and undeterred by rules or procedures. His Eastern Texas district, rural, conservative, and often racist, obstructs his ability to successfully navigate his investigations. Even when he is doing the wrong thing, I want events to work out for him. I recommend this series for readers who enjoy mysteries and who want to understand small town racism.

Thanks to NetGalley and Serpentine Books for providing an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I came late to the party with Heaven, My Home as I hadn't read the previous Bluebird, Bluebird - which I am now going to read. I just loved Heaven My Home though Darren was a new character to me and I didn't have the full backround. Black American Texas Ranger in a racially rife Texas............absolutely made for engrossing reading. Written with poise, skill, compassion, fervour and spot-on characters. It always amazes me that even in this day and age - ESPECIALLY in this day and age - there are racists and bigots on ALL sides. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised but it's a damning enough fact. of life to be of tremendous concern. This book just tore at my heart. And so beautifully written. Filled with history and pathos with a wonderfully flawed main protagonist but ultimately realistic. I just adored this book.

I loved Bluebird, Bluebird but I'm having a difficult time with Heaven. There seems to be too many characters so too many story lines to keep up with. The story is intense. Ranger Matthews seems to have matured. He is a conflicted man with loyalties and ingrained prejudices of his own that he must set aside to get his job done. As in the first book, his personal life, mainly the relationships with his wife and his mother, are wearing him down while keeping him on edge. The central story takes awhile to sort through. Again too many characters with their own story lines to sort. But in the end, Darren will figure out the mystery and save himself at the same time.

The book was a slow read, basically just hard to connect with the characters.
Thanks, NetGalley for the advance copy for review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
I loved Bluebird, Bluebird. To me, the second book was harder to like. A boy disappears in a bayou and is thought to be kidnapped, while Texas Ranger Darren Mathews is trying to figure out what is going on he deals with the Aryan Brotherhood, deceit and dark secrets. I had a hard time liking characters in this.

Attica Locke writes another page turner. I found myself hanging on her every word. Her storytelling has a way of pulling the reader in, and for a reader up for the adventure, this book is the perfect fit. I highly recommend this book, and can't wait for the third installment.

Nine year old Levi King knows he’s in trouble, a he’s alone on a huge lake in a boat with a motor that won’t start, and that’s just the beginning of his nightmare. Texas Ranger Darren Matthews is looking for the boy, while at the same time keeping tabs on the kid’s white supremacist family, Dealing with a shay marriage and a manipulative mother, it’s all Darren can do to keep his own head above water. Locke’s complex novel about racial tensions and ignorance is as frightening as it is spellbinding