This was a pretty competent, if curious legal thriller. We follow crusading Erin Brockovich type as he gets swept up in a political case-- the campaign manager, scion of Houston's most prominent Black family and nephew of the Mayoral candidate, is arrested for the murder of a young campaign volunteer, but there's more going on here, including the legacy of pre-Civil Rights set-aside communities like Pleasantville, alongside the kind of micro-targeting of voters that has become quite the thing under Obama.

The curious part, then, is that this is (barely) a historical novel: though set in 1996, it was published in 2015. So there's a strange quaintness, where you want to give credit to Locke for being prescient, but she's really only repeating what everyone's been saying since 2008. And stranger still, she attributes this micro-targeting to Rove and W, not O and his digital team. But whatever.

There's a lot of history, real and character specific, that gets imported into this novel in a relatively graceless ways, whole pages of it at the start of the novel. It makes the world seem very real (until the courtroom stuff, especially the "defense" section, when it seems very very unreal), but in a way that comes close to making reading this feel like homework-- and not the fun kind of homework, either, but the "memorize all fifty states and capitols" homework. As a novel, it has its moments-- I like Elena and Lonnie and some of the other characters are fun and reasonably well-drawn, and Locke has an apparent love for Houston-- but this feels strangely belated for a book only two years old.

I didn't realize it was a sequel when I picked it up, but enjoyed it so I think I'll read the first one now.

4.5 stars It’s entirely possible that my rating has a huge amount to do with how familiar the setting is. For anyone who spent time in the Houston area between the 60s and 90s, the streets, restaurants, and neighborhoods are very familiar. In addition, Locke is a terrific story teller. Can’t wait for more.

A crime novel surrounding a girl's abduction and murder in 1990s Houston. Locke brings an interesting protagonist (attorney Jay Porter, who is stretched to his limits both personally and professionally) and premise to the table -- one that also involves a heated city election and race relations. However, the various threads didn't completely coalesce into a satisfying climax or resolution; too much crammed in left the ending revelations feeling rushed for me. This isn't my genre either, so I enjoyed it less than I think the average suspense/courtroom drama fan would. (Plus, I honed in on the perp as soon as he was introduced.) A great suggestion for fans of Grisham.

I was looking forward to hearing more about how attorney Jay Porter does or does not make it up to his long-suffering wife Bernadine, but the family drama in this book is more between Jay and the daughter who was in utero in [b:Black Water Rising|6214113|Black Water Rising (Jay Porter #1)|Attica Locke|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327883835l/6214113._SY75_.jpg|6394686] and now a refractory teenager.

The murder mystery in this book, sad to say, is almost a sideshow next to the mysteries of racial politics and corporate power in Houston, Texas. Those (and the supporting cast of reporter Lonnie Phillips and driver/buddy/man of all dirty work Rolly Snow) are what make this book worth reading from beginning to end. It feels a little bit like watching The Wire for the first time.

A bit slow for the first 25% but a great read thereafter

very satisfying. actually more satisfying that book 1 in this series, [b:Black Water Rising|6214113|Black Water Rising|Attica Locke|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327883835s/6214113.jpg|6394686]. this book is all about murder and dirty politics, which continues and expands these themes from book 1. may i suggest, if you plan on reading Ms Locke, start with book 1. you'll be glad you did.