Monday, August 03, 2020

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

First Line: Geneva Sweet ran an orange extension cord past Mayva Greenwood, Beloved Wife and Mother, May She Rest with Her Heavenly Father.

Like most other folks who live there, Darren Mathews is well aware that East Texas plays by its own rules when it comes to law and order. That's why he moved as far away as he could... until duty called him home. Now he's a Black Texas Ranger on suspension when his allegiance to his roots puts his job in jeopardy.

Mathews travels up Highway 59 to the small town of Lark where the murders of a Black lawyer from Chicago and a local white woman have stirred up plenty of trouble. Mathews needs to solve the crimes before Lark's racial fault lines shatter. If he can do this, he can also save himself in the process.

I'm glad I waited to read Bluebird, Bluebird until now. Until the actions of #BlackLivesMatter have begun to spark this nation to change. Attica Locke takes those of us who have lived basically sheltered lives and shows us what it's really like for Blacks in the South, and it's not pretty. If you're Black, you have to navigate an entirely different roadmap from the rest of us. How did I feel as I read this book? As if I were suddenly thrown onto a different planet. As Darren Mathews walked into a bar that's home to the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas to local blind-eye law enforcement to Geneva Sweet's restaurant, I was with him, and I was on edge. You see, my way of thinking is that, if Blacks are treated like third-class citizens here in Lark, who's to say that someone who's not from these parts (even though she's white) will be treated any differently? I didn't feel any safer than Darren did, and that's a good bit of storytelling on Locke's part.

Mathews is an interesting character who certainly doesn't always do the sensible thing-- even when he knows how "the system" works in this area. Raised by his uncles, he's got a strong sense of justice, and he doesn't know when to quit. He can also see both sides of a situation: when things get tough for a white character, he can see that the man is being treated the exact same way the Black suspects were-- and that's not right.

Bluebird, Bluebird is a fast-paced intricate mystery that hooked me almost immediately, but be forewarned. If you don't like cliffhangers, this book ends on a doozy. Personally, I don't mind taking another trip up Highway 59. I have got to find out how Attica Locke continues Mathews' story in Heaven, My Home.


Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
eISBN: 9780316363266
Little, Brown and Company © 2017
eBook, 318 pages

Police Procedural, #1 Highway 59 mystery
Rating: A+
Source: Purchased from Amazon.

12 comments:

  1. Oh, I"m so glad you loved this book. I did, too, and the next one in the Darren Mathews' series, Heaven, My Home.

    I was gripped from the first descriptioon of Geneva Sweet's cafe. I could taste the food.

    And I could not put this book down nor the follow-up.

    A friend in Houstin knew Attica Locke's father years ago and she and I discuss the books. She goes to every appearance by Locke in Houston.

    After reading the second book, I was looking at the geography of the area described, at the lakes, cypress trees, and reading about the area's history.

    And I note that Locke is interviewed at the Poisoned Pen, an event I must watch.

    There are more books coming in this series.

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    1. I need to watch that Poisoned Pen event, too.

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  2. Attica Locke is traumatized by the election of the current resident of the WH. It comes through in book two.

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    1. She showed just a bit of that in Bluebird, Bluebird.

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  3. So glad to see you thought this was a great read, Cathy. Locke is a gifted writer, and she does show us what life is like for Black people. We take a lot for granted, and it is entirely different when you don't have white privilege. Locke shows us that without letting go of her focus on the plot, if that makes sense.

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  4. Loved this one! And the series has me hooked on Darren. I want book three.

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    1. I imagine I'm going to feel the same way when I finish book two!

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  5. I've actually owned this book since last summer and haven't started it yet. Will try to make a point of reading it before long. Sounds really good.

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    1. I thought it was. Reading some of the reviews on Amazon was interesting-- and not really surprising.

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  6. Cathy,
    Like you I thought this A+! I listened to the audio and the author words in tandem with the terrific narrator transported me to my East Texas roots. I swear I could taste the food and smell everything cooking in Geneva's place. Boy, can Attica Locke write with a sense of place! This was just what my soul needed during a pretty emotional July as I made the decision to retire from teaching due to the pandemic. I was SO grateful that this feeling of going 'home' helped soothe me - isn't that weird for a mystery? I started Heaven, My Home today, on what would have been the first day of school. Again, I need a bit of the South to heal me I guess.
    The more I have thought about Darren Mathews the more I see him as a lot like Craig Johnson's Longmire, an imperfect man navigating the hard parts of doing what's right no matter what it costs him.
    Stay cool!

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    1. You *have* been dealing with some very difficult decisions, Gaye. *HUG* I like your comparison of Mathews to Longmire.

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