About
Reviews
Search
Submit
Home

Mystery Books for Sale

[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]


  

BLACK WATER RISING
by Attica Locke
Harper, June 2009
448 pages
$25.99
ISBN: 0061735868


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

In this brilliant literary debut, author Attica Locke captures much more than her readers' attention with a dazzling mystery. Within the pages of BLACK WATER RISING, Locke melds the social issues of the day with the internal story of a troubled man, lawyer Jay Porter. In the tradition of Dennis Lehane, the author uses the gritty backdrop of the city and one man's disillusionment with life to capture a wider social history of struggle and loss among the African American community in Houston.

Jay Porter is a struggling storefront lawyer who once had a promising career as an orator and student activist during his college days. The novel begins in the 1980s, long after Porter has weathered an intimate betrayal and nearly gone to jail for these protest activities. He has largely foregone his once strong idealism and beliefs in the hope of finding a modicum of happiness as a family man. Now struggling to provide for his family, a loving wife and first baby on the way, his current pursuit of the American dream has been significantly scaled back from headier days.

When he decides to take his wife out for a midnight birthday cruise, they unexpectedly encounter a confusing scene, with gunshots and a drowning woman. Jay rashly decides to rescue the woman, but he has opened a Pandora's Box of secrets that will end up placing his life and that of his family in danger. In seeking to learn the identity and circumstances of the drowning woman, he unknowingly opens up his own painful past, as well as running headlong into an ominous unknown party who would rather keep the whole event hushed up for reasons not readily apparent.

Adding to the strain on Jay is a strike on the Houston docks, which Jay's father-in-law draws him into, even as he seeks to focus on the details of the mysterious case before him. Together, the struggles of the union workers and the threat to Porter's life from the investigation of the rescued woman push him nearly to the edge of insanity and right up against some powerful local political forces.

The novel culminates in the ultimate decision - to take the easy way out or to stand and struggle for what one believes to be the right thing. This is the dilemma that dogs Jay Porter every step of his journey in BLACK WATER RISING. It's a powerfully told story, with the angst of Porter's decision making beautifully rendered. Not only does the story flow easily along, with new details from the past being judiciously doled out, but readers come to care about the outcome and social circumstances that make it hard for the little guy to catch a break. Author Attica Locke is sure to have a bright writing career ahead of her, if BLACK WATER RISING is any indication of the talent that lies within.

Reviewed by Christine Zibas, May 2009

[ Top ]


QUICK SEARCH:

 

Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]