Serpent's Tail Bluebird, Bluebird

Brilliantly written with awesome narrative.

Ticks off all the right boxes! Good, crisp writing & good plot! The characters are so well developed as the book progresses! Great vacation read!

I have finished the book. While it took me weeks to pick it up after the beginning focus on the traumatic event that still haunts, I am glad I finally picked it up. Locke is a very good storyteller. She didn’t sensationalize areas she could have taken advantage of… Giving details to visualize the scenes and leaving just enough suspense that ultimately helped me stick to the end. I do appreciate all the entanglements (race, gender, love, family, relationships…). Very good read for those who love to get lost in the story.

Attica Locke won an Edgar Award for Best Novel for this book. She deserved it. Darren Mathews is a black Texas Ranger with a load of personal troubles. He is struggling to hold on to the job he loves and his marriage when he's tasked to investigate two murders in the tiny east Texas town of Lark. The first victim is a black male attorney visiting from Chicago and the second is a white local woman who died two days later. The two were seen in a rundown watering hole frequented by members of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. When the wife of the victim shows up racial and family tensions begin to ignite. Darren's wife wants him to return to his pre-Ranger law career while his bosses and family members want to control him. He feels a personal obligation to Michael, the murdered man, and won't rest until he finds the killers. Locke weaves a beautiful backstory of the Mississippi blues and a famous Les Paul guitar into the mystery. This is a great read that provides insight into many important issues facing modern society.

I like this author and have read all her books. Our library didn't have a copy so I bought the book from Amazon.