United States
![Attica Locke - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B001JS0CB4.jpg)
Heaven, My Home (A Highway 59 Novel, 2)
In this "captivating" crime novel (People), Texas Ranger Darren Mathews is on the hunt for a missing child -- but it's the boy's family of white supremacists who are his real target.
9-year-old Levi King knew he should have left for home sooner; now he's alone in the darkness of vast Caddo Lake, in a boat whose motor just died. A sudden noise distracts him - and all goes dark.
Darren Mathews is trying to emerge from another kind of darkness; after the events of his previous investigation, his marriage is in a precarious state of re-building, and his career and reputation lie in the hands of his mother, who's never exactly had his best interests at heart. Now she holds the key to his freedom, and she's not above a little maternal blackmail to press her advantage.
An unlikely possibility of rescue arrives in the form of a case down Highway 59, in a small lakeside town where the local economy thrives on nostalgia for ante-bellum Texas - and some of the era's racial attitudes still thrive as well. Levi's disappearance has links to Darren's last case, and to a wealthy businesswoman, the boy's grandmother, who seems more concerned about the fate of her business than that of her grandson.
Darren has to battle centuries-old suspicions and prejudices, as well as threats that have been reignited in the current political climate, as he races to find the boy, and to save himself.
A Best Book of the Year
New York Times
Houston Chronicle
NPR
Wall Street Journal
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Book Page
Financial Times
Kirkus
SheReads
Sunday Times
LitHub
Guardian
Book Riot
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Longlisted for the Orwell Political Fiction Book Prize
Editorial Reviews
"Timely and evocative."―NPR "Fresh Air"
"Captivating."―People
"Bewitching story and luscious language . . . . The story has legs, the characters have character, and the dialogue has a wonderful regional tang. But it's Locke's descriptive language that gets me."―New York Times
"Atmospheric . . . Ms. Locke, a canny storyteller, ties up enough strands to satisfy readers, while leaving enough loose ends to make us eager for Ranger Mathews's next adventure in the Lone Star State."―Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal
"Locke's beautifully written crime fiction (which also includes "Pleasantville," "Black Water Rising," and "The Cutting Season") have a remarkable immediacy--you breathe with the characters and walk in their paths."―Seattle Times
"Pulse-pounding."―Chicago Tribune
"Locke skillfully packs Heaven, My Home with realistic and, at times, uncomfortable situations as she depicts complicated characters. In Darren, Locke has fearlessly shaped a character that constantly walks a tightrope of being a good man with a quest for justice and being an extremely flawed person. . . . [Locke] once again excels in her superior storytelling."―Oline Cogdill, Associated Press
"With her usual aplomb, Locke tackles history and its all-too-real emotional fallout in this splendid follow-up."―Boston Globe
"[Locke] has proved that there's demand for stories about black characters. . . . Her books, categorized as mystery or crime, are also unabashedly about black experiences, examining the legacy of black history in the context of modern politics and culture. The crime she really concerns herself with is an existential one: the legacy of America's original sin. The protagonists in her novels are mostly black men, and she writes with the authenticity of a lived experience."―Madhulika Sikka, Washington Post
"Riveting."―Philadelphia Inquirer
"Attica Locke has gained a reputation as a marquee literary chronicler of Texas and the South, particularly the parts and people that usuall...
"Captivating."―People
"Bewitching story and luscious language . . . . The story has legs, the characters have character, and the dialogue has a wonderful regional tang. But it's Locke's descriptive language that gets me."―New York Times
"Atmospheric . . . Ms. Locke, a canny storyteller, ties up enough strands to satisfy readers, while leaving enough loose ends to make us eager for Ranger Mathews's next adventure in the Lone Star State."―Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal
"Locke's beautifully written crime fiction (which also includes "Pleasantville," "Black Water Rising," and "The Cutting Season") have a remarkable immediacy--you breathe with the characters and walk in their paths."―Seattle Times
"Pulse-pounding."―Chicago Tribune
"Locke skillfully packs Heaven, My Home with realistic and, at times, uncomfortable situations as she depicts complicated characters. In Darren, Locke has fearlessly shaped a character that constantly walks a tightrope of being a good man with a quest for justice and being an extremely flawed person. . . . [Locke] once again excels in her superior storytelling."―Oline Cogdill, Associated Press
"With her usual aplomb, Locke tackles history and its all-too-real emotional fallout in this splendid follow-up."―Boston Globe
"[Locke] has proved that there's demand for stories about black characters. . . . Her books, categorized as mystery or crime, are also unabashedly about black experiences, examining the legacy of black history in the context of modern politics and culture. The crime she really concerns herself with is an existential one: the legacy of America's original sin. The protagonists in her novels are mostly black men, and she writes with the authenticity of a lived experience."―Madhulika Sikka, Washington Post
"Riveting."―Philadelphia Inquirer
"Attica Locke has gained a reputation as a marquee literary chronicler of Texas and the South, particularly the parts and people that usuall...
Readers Top Reviews
D.WoodwardRosieMa
Extremely well written--has some of the style of James lee Burke--and some of his divergent tendencies. Some of it too--makes me think of Walter Mosley. Very current(2020). Intriguing story--but often confusing--and takes effort to find the theme. I think I will read again from this author.
JarD.WoodwardRosi
It all is happening in Caddo Woods Texas. Keeping alert, focusd will lead you to your haters. Some are under the Cypress trees, in the slow, syrupy water. There is a missing nine year old boy. Is he dead or alive?
KG216JarD.Woodwar
Attica Locke gives us a second story starting our favorite black Texas Ranger Darren Matthews. This time, there is a missing white child, a settlement started by freed slaves in conjunction with local Native Americans. ( This part of the story gave me a history lesson I did not know) Of course there is also an ongoing moral issue for Matthews, a greedy developer, more trouble from white supremacists, and the FBI with its own agenda. Once again, the reader feels transported to this part of East Texas, with a lake, a swamp, a jungle, and all the sensory input of this unique ecosystem. And of course, there is the missing child, whom nobody seems to want to find except our Ranger. I really hope we will have another visit soon.
Denise M.KG216Jar
I really love this author. I stumbled across her when I purchased The Cutting Season. I can't say why I selected that book, but I loved it. Bluebird, Bluebird was fantastic. This author's writing reminds me of James Lee Burke, incredibly atmospheric and really brings southern life, cities, people, customs etc., to life. However, this author has a unique perspective, in my estimation, because she is an African American author bringing a different level of authenticity to the southern black experience. Moreover, her writing gets better. I must admit, because I spent a month in Sicily, I took a detour and read "From Scratch" by Tembi Locke. Man, can these ladies write! Heaven, My Home , in my view, was better than her previous books, and they were good. I think I've found my new favorite author.
Hugh ProtainDenis
I liked the sustained suspense in the story and the sensitive analysis of the race dynamic of East Texas that influenced the lifelong friendship and cooperation between the indigenous Indians and the African slaves that were shipwrecked. I also appreciated the story, by the way it ends, highlighting that human behavior is not predictable when it comes to dealing with social constructs such as race.
