Texas-born Attica Locke superb 2017 thriller Bluebird, Bluebird, the first in her series starring black Texas Ranger Darren Mathews, may be one of the best novels of the past decade, with its rich storytelling and incisive observations about dangerous rhetoric emboldening a white supremacist underbelly desperately clinging on in America.

Five years after its excellent sequel, Heaven My Home, we now have a fitting finale to an outstanding ‘Highway 59’ trilogy. With the legal consequences of past choices still hanging over him like a sword of Damocles, a bourbon-soaked Mathews hands in his badge. Then his mother, who’s played a key role in his many troubles, reappears. Apparently sober, wanting his help to find what’s happened to a black girl missing from the all-white sorority where Darren’s mother now works. Disillusioned by how law and justice are being twisted in Trump’s America, Mathews reluctantly agrees, only to uncover a snake’s den of deceit, and discover far more about his own family history.

Locke soaks readers in the East Texas setting, and the humanity and frustrations of good people trying to live and operate in an unjust world. Mathews is confronted not only by the mystery of a missing girl who everyone seems to insist is okay – even her family – but the mystery of his mother, and his accepted narrative of his own past. Top shelf.

[This review was first written for publication in Good Reading magazine]

I love Attica Locke's writing, the way she can immerse you in a world. For Darren Mathews, that world is rural Texas, his struggles as a Black man in law enforcement in the Trump era, and a complicated family history. His mother comes to him with her anxiety about Sera Fuller, a missing Black college student who no one seems to care about. Despite his resentment towards his mother, he is drawn in and they investigate together.

Running alongside this is Darren's professional and legal jeopardy. Their investigation is complicated by the fact that he has handed in his Ranger's badge and so relies on a combination of deception, contacts and personal authority to make progress in the mystery of Sera's absence and the silence that surrounds it. Underlying both plots is the context of racism and the politics of Trump's America.

The story of Darren and his mother's relationship ties into the legal case against him, and their interactions, always painful, sometimes tender, are beautifully drawn. I did feel that the mystery element of the story wrapped up too quickly, and some of the bigger issues were brushed aside (basically Darren saying he will refer them to other agencies, which may be realistic but hardly makes for drama!). And I had hoped that Rey, Sera's friend who features in the prologue, would play a bigger part in the story as he is an interesting character in his own right.

Overall, though, Guide Me Home is an absorbing read and a fitting end to the series.

The Highway 59 series is one of my favourites so I was thrilled to jump back into the world of Texas Ranger Darren Mathews as he finds himself and America itself in an intense reckoning of sorts, where everything feels like it’s teetering on a dangerous precipice. The narrative focuses on both the case of a missing college student, a black girl in an all-white sorority, who no one seems willing to admit is actually missing, and Darren’s incredibly fractious relationship with his estranged mother, who has reappeared in his life just as his career and possibly even his freedom are hanging in the balance. It is this tense and difficult relationship which has been a running theme throughout the entire series and is part of what makes Guide Me Home so utterly compelling.

Attica Locke’s ability to make her books intensely gripping character-driven stories but also an indictment of and reflection on the political and social landscape of America and indeed the world is incredible. She is a phenomenal writer and this is an excellent crime series. If you have read the previous two books then I guarantee Guide Me Home will not disappoint and if you haven’t then please do add the whole series to your TBR. Evocative, incendiary and propulsive – I highly recommend.

I've loved the Highway 59 series, and this final installment is no exception. The characters feel so real that I sometimes have to remind myself they're fictional. I was fully invested in Darren’s life, thanks to the raw and realistic way Locke told his story. Nothing was sugarcoated, and it touches on real issues during an ongoing and deeply troubling time. Locke is now an automatic must-read for me, and I can't wait to see what they do next.

Guide Me Home is the third (and possibly last?) book in Attica Locke’s Highway 59 series, centred around Black Texas Ranger Darren Matthews and the communities and landscape of East Texas. The first book of the series Bluebird, Bluebird, won a slew of crime fiction awards, the second Heaven, My Home was equally powerful, set in the weeks after the election of Donald Trump and flagging the changes that this was bringing.
Guide Me Home is set three years later, in 2019 and the:
…fever dream that has been the years since Donald Trump was elected. Years that had laid bare the fragility of democracy… It was all a house of cards. Smoke and mirrors. Just marks on parchment. With holes you could drive a truck through. And a talented huckster got behind the wheel of one and drove it straight to the White House… The ground had gone out beneath us. We were floating in a mad world without guardrails.
In this environment, unable to effectively do his job anymore, Darren Matthews decides to hand in his badge. But before he can put his feet up and propose to his girlfriend Randie, his estranged mother Bell appears. In Heaven, My Home Bell had tried to blackmail Darren by threatening to send a gun that he had hidden (to cover up the murder of a white supremacist) to the District Attorney. Turns out she did and this action that might still see him sent to jail as an accessory. Bell tells Matthews that she has become sober and wants him to help her find Sera, a Black girl who has disappeared from her otherwise all white sorority. After a spectacular bender, Matthews swears off alcohol and reluctantly agrees to help, despite the fact he is no longer a serving Ranger.
Guide Me Home is ostensibly about Matthews’ investigation into the missing girl. And while Locke has things to say through this aspect of the plot, it feels like a feint to allow Matthews to reconnect with his mother and uncle and to understand and come to terms with his family history. A history that he has been lied to about since he was a baby, removed from his mother and raised by his father’s brothers ‘for his own good’. There is plenty of poignancy and heartbreak here, as the truth of Matthews’ past slowly emerges.
But much like the previous two books in this series, Guide Me Home is also an angry book. Locke does not hide her disdain of the way the poor and dispossessed are treated in Texas. Joseph, the father of the missing girl has become a Trump supporter because he felt let down by Obamacare, even through, as Locke points out, the failure of Obamacare in Texas was down to the Republican State Governor:
“It’s Texas that played funny with the way the whole deal rolled out in the state, making it harder for poor folks to get help with health coverage.”
It was true, Darren thought.
It was his beloved state that had let down folks like Joseph and Iris Fuller.
The girl’s family live in a gated, controlled factory community called Thornhill. Thornhill provides schools, shops and medical care but the people end up living in what is essentially a form of indentured servitude. Nevertheless, this is a model that the owners of Thornhill are trying to spruik to both sides of politics and one that, despite knowing all the pitfalls, appeals to Matthews’ mother.
In amongst all of this is Locke’s clear love for Texas, its landscapes and its people. Locke is angry and she surfaces these issues not to complain but because she wants things to be better for all of these people. And Locke once again effectively uses a page-turning, revelatory piece of crime fiction centred around a flawed but relatable character to make her case.

A slow burn of a read, exploring the relationships of the main character, Darren. With his mother, who he believes has always lied to him; the father he never knew but who his uncles told him was too good for his mother. His relationship with Randie, the woman he thinks he wants to spend the rest of his life with; and alcohol. Darren finds that the things he has always thought were truths, have been built on half truths and evasion. It’s an interesting read, where Trump is President, life still isn’t easy for an awful lot of people, especially where health and wealth are concerned and prejudice is still rampant in certain areas. I found the Thornhill set up interesting and believable unfortunately. I can’t say I enjoyed it, but it’s certainly worth reading.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Guide me home" caught my attention by being awarded the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Daggar Award. 

Set in East Texas, the 3rd book centered around Texas Ranger Darren Mathews who has justed handed in his badge,  is not exactly a crime novel, although at the center is the search for a missing young black sorority student Sera Fuller.  For me this is a fine, engaging novel about a man at a crossroad with very conflicting personal relationships, be it with his current girlfriend, his divorced wife or his mother who drifted in and out of his life but is now making a reappearance or his former superior or colleagues. It is also a great portrait of America's less fortunate, far from the dreamland politicians would like everyone to believe . 

Really was surprised by the captivating story and the exellent writing.

This is the final part in Attica Locke's literary trilogy featuring Darren Mathews, a man having retired as a Texas Ranger, driving home to Randie, the love of his life, planning to propose, but everything descends to chaos and mean spirited words uttered under the influence of alcohol. His estranged mother, Bell Callis, has turned up, unwelcome, having landed him in trouble, leaving him under the threat of prison, driven by the vindictive DA Frank Vaughn, a Trump supporter who refuses to play by the rules. Bell denies she aimed to put him in danger, and wants him to investigate the disappearance of black student, Sera Fuller, the only member of an otherwise all white sorority.

Darren's reluctance to get involved, all his mistrust of Bell spewing out, has Randie suggesting he might not have understood how the past affected Bell, and that he might not see the complete picture, a notion he initially rejects. However, with the possibility of losing Randie, he faces the challenge of closer contact with Bell, and encounters an uncle he had no knowledge of, Pete, who had suffered a stroke. He soon finds himself in a strange investigation, lent an urgency with Sera having sickle cell anaemia, and her essential need for medication. However, in Thornhill he is an unwanted presence, finding himself the focus of Thornhill PD, with a denial that Sera is even missing, a claim supported by her Trump supporting father. What could possibly be going on?

Locke provides an illuminating picture of the black experience in contemporary America, the bone deep and overt racism, how horrific employment conditions can be, what it is like to be a migrant or refugee, providing an incisive social, political, and economic commentary. This is a Texas and US where if you are black, you live under the fear where all it takes is one idiot with a gun. There is a poignancy as the truth about the past emerges, about Bell and his father, as Darren additionally reconnects with former FBI agent, Greg, coming to the painful realisation of just how much he had missed him, plus he has to address his alcohol addiction.

Darren's inner insecurities buried deep within him, that he is inherently unlovable, are finally questioned, he is loved, as those to whom he matters so much rally around in his hours of greatest need. As he looks at what is happening at Thornhill, he is a renewed man, as he knows he will do all he can do to hold those responsible to account, to fight for the Texas with its open arms, of fellowship, protection, and love, 'values that even its worst charlatans in power cannot undo' (Locke). A brilliant read! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

This is my first Attica Locke book and it most certainly won't be the last. Guide Me Home is part of the Highway 59 series but although it's the third I easily read it as a standalone.

So what appealed to me about this book - real issues, for real times was the main draw for me as the book transported me to Trump era Texas and the very real issues in such states from racism, protected privilege, access to medical care and big business and the way some of them are able to disguise their nefarious practices.
But in and amongst a compelling and complex narrative about a black girl gone missing from her all white sorority, we see the very human struggles of family connections, the effects of lasting trauma and ultimately a degree of hope. We witness this through a flawed character struggling to understand his past and reconcile it with his future.
Evocatively written - I could feel the heat and taste the oxtail
This will stay with me for a long time and now I'm off to catch up on the other books in the series.

This was a fitting and exceptionally well written and plotted finale to the 3-book series about Texas Ranger Darren Matthews.

All of his various and complex family issues are examined, digested, develop and are finally resolved and this is combined with his search for a missing girl.

But this book is so much more than that. Attica Locke puts the plight of the black man in contemporary America under the microscope and it sometimes dies not make for an easy read - but it is certainly a worthwhile one.

This is such a brilliantly crafted series of books intertwining contemporary US politics, being black (and a Ranger) in Texas, family history that slowly unravels along with crime at its heart. The author's skill at constructing a family story over three volumes is brilliant and the motivations and essence of all the characters are shown through action not words with nothing feeling contrived.

American political polarisation is stark and, for a British reader, layers up understanding rather than news soundbites. I feel I have been to the heart of a black law-keeper in the Deep South.

I recommend Attica Locke to everybody - for narrative, for tension, for great writing and such creative and nuanced stories.

With many thanks to #NetGalley @SerpentsTail @ViperBooks @ProfileBooks for allowing me to read and review

Fine writing and storytelling - I'm now propelled to go back and read the copy of Bluebird, Bluebird I picked up recently.
Lock handles complex social observations intelligently in her portrayal of a Black man in law enforcement against a backdrop of Trump's dysfunctional America.
This is definitely more of a literary novel with a social conscience, rather than a thriller, and all the better for it.
Readers would benefit from having read the previous novels featuring Texas ranger Darren Mathews as this finishes the series by winding up several threads from the earlier novels. It can be read as a stand-alone but the reader would feel like they were missing a fair amount of backstory.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy to review.

The blurb and the beginning suggest that this is a crime mystery/thriller. It isn't. It is social critisism at it's best combined with excellent psychological observation regarding difficult family dynamics, addiction and racism.
I really loved the writing style.

This is the final book about Darren Matthews, a black Texan ranger. He wants to settle down with his lovely girlfriend Randie, but his estranged ex-alcoholic mother turns up to let him know she has handed in a gun to the authorities, and this is going to cause trouble for Darren. His mother also tells him about the disappearance of a black student, and Randie encourages him to help find her.
The book is about Darren's search for the missing girl, dealing with his own alcohol problems, his relationships with family and Randie , and an investigation about his conduct in a murder investigation from the previous book. Attica Locke's writing is so rich in detail, and has an original perspective. I really enjoyed the previous books in this series and would definitely recommend reading them before this one so you can fully understand and appreciate it.

Love of Texas, especially the good people of that state and the natural beauty of East Texas is the warm undercurrent to this fine crime novel, third in the series about a Black Texas Ranger Darren. 5/5 stars for those who have read the other two books, this is a sophisticated adult finale that centres lost stories and hopes for redemption. Locke’s books are satisfying puzzles accommodating the world as it is. Highly recommend.

This wasn’t marketed as the end of a series so I definitely missed some of the plot. But this was an incisive novel, which is very poignant and I think I will go back and read the rest.

A talented author who made me feel like I was there.

This is a fitting end to Locke's political and emotive trilogy. Darren Mathews has handed in his Texas Rangers badge, is facing indictment and continues to struggle with what it means to be a Black man in Trump's America and in law enforcement. For all the good stuff, I felt that the balance between the personal plot and the investigation wasn't quite right: so much is about the resetting of Mathew's emotional life, uncovering long held family secrets and forgiving his mother. The investigation of the disappearance of a Black female student and a sinister industrial town feel overshadowed and don't really have room to breathe. I still enjoyed this for the long-term story arc and the politics, but do make sure you start with the first book in the trilogy.