All the elements of the book fit so well together, the tension & frustrations are real, takes the classic all families have secrets & misdirections to keep me guessing to the end ( )

As usual I forget where I heard about this book. I think I was interested because it tells the story of a black Texas Ranger investigating a couple of murders in a rural east Texas town that pretty much have to be racially motivated. I thought the setting sounded interesting, and the portrayal of Lark, Texas could have set the novel in 1959 rather than the present day, and indeed the motivations and emotions running through the murders seem like they could go back that far. I read through the entire novel (billed as a “thriller” in some of the jacket copy but aside from a few armed standoffs not particularly pulse-quickening) but I can’t give it more than 3 stars here. I wasn’t exactly right about the killer but I was close enough. There was one minor but irritating continuity error that bugged me. And the ending sets it up as if there might be a sequel, or even the first of a series starring the Ranger protagonist, who I wasn’t really all that interested in. So, I’ll stick to better written mysteries. ( )

I will fully admit I had certain assumptions when I started reading this book and avoided reading it because of those assumptions- African American Texas Ranger, a white town, a murder of an African American and a White Woman, and my assumptions began to take shape. We all know the sayings about assumptions though, don’t we?

While some of my assumptions were true, if you pass this one up strictly due to the description, you will miss such a twisty turny murder mystery that kept my attention from beginning to end. Yes, some things you can imagine would happen, happen, but this is not a paper cut out story. The characters are rich and it has an ending you might not expect.

Darrin Matthews is a black Texas Ranger who is on suspension when he hears about a murder in a mostly white town- first an African American male is found dead and the town doesn’t care much. Then a second body is discovered- a white woman, whom the town knows well. Drawn in by the mystery, Matthews begins investigating even though he is not allowed to.

As he begins investigating, Matthews discovers a bar where the woman worked. In it, he finds a group of Aryan Nation members. This is that type of bar. Turns out it was also the last place where both of the victims were found. This is the part where you think what is going to happen begins to happen.

On the other side, Matthews has unreliable witnesses, family histories that go generations deep, the black/white divide that goes back to slavery days, and Matthews himself is battling his own history and his suspension. To solve this mystery, Matthews must get out of his own way first.

As stated, there may be some initial eye rolling at the mention of a Black Ranger and an Aryan Nation bar, but this is not that story. In some parts it is, but this is more a story about a town with deep secrets that may not always want to be shared outside of town people. It is a town rich with layers that goes beyond the black/white divide.

Even Matthews himself is not the typical cop on suspension character. He is a screw up. He has deep flaws. His addiction is not just to take the edge off, but it is a real addiction where he needs a drink to just get by. His addiction has also ruined his relationships and his career. He too is a complex character.

I had a guess where the ending was going, but it took almost to the end to figure it out. The way she rolls out the story was quite well done. As Matthews finds out information, the story of what happened with the two victims begins to roll out, but stops at the information that Matthews knows. By the end, we see the full night and watch everything play out from beginning to end. It is like getting pieces of a puzzle where the picture isn’t quite clear and even when you figure something out, there is one more piece which changes the perspective.

This was so well done that I am ready to tackle another of her books. I loved this one. I gave it a solid 4.5 stars.

*I want to thank NetGalley for the advanced copy. I received it in exchange for an honest review.* ( )

I didn’t know what to expect but I must say this author is magical with her writing skills. Love the book and had me looking forward to reading the next one in line. Thanks sis!!!! We need more authors like you. Thank you for paving the way! You can also send me a book once your next one is released. Also your title page and Thank you’s those that didn’t believe in you was brilliant! Never allow someone to tell you that your crown isn’t royal enough! ( )

Murder, Race, Duty Collide in Texas

Yes, there’s a double murder to be solved here and arriving at the solution is something of a thrill ride. But, really, the questions most notable in the novel revolve around the main character, Darren Mathews, the black Texas Ranger.

“Texas Ranger,” these are magic words that conjure up all sorts of images, with the most prominent being “integrity,” “respect,” and “honesty.” Why mention these at the outset? Because, as readers will discover as the pages flip by, these are the fulcrum upon which Ranger Mathews teeters from start to finish, until we learn exactly where he stands in relation to those concepts. Then there’s the question of why anybody would quit the University of Chicago law school to return to Texas to be, essentially, a cop. What the heck is it about Texas that firmly roots a black man to its vast geography populated with its fair share of American racists? As if murder, Ranger fealty, and Texas blood are not sufficient, there’s also self torture over a marriage in peril to occupy the scattered underworked portions of Ranger Mathews’ mind.

The novel opens with Ranger Mathews caught in a dicey situation. He is testifying before a grand jury regarding the murder of a belligerent Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) member. He was killed shortly after an incident on a family friend’s property, at which Mathews was present. It’s a tightrope the Ranger walks, and it haunts the entire novel, even after the grand jury delivers its decision. It’s sufficiently compromising that Ranger Mathews finds himself suspended until its resolution.

In the meantime, he receives a request from a friend at the FBI to amble on over to Lark, TX, were a double murder has just occurred involving a black man and a white woman, murders with racial implications and possible links to the ABT. There he mets an assortment of people, black and white, living side by side, or more literally across Route 59, in the case of Wally Jefferson III and Geneva Sweet’s Sweets, and up Route 59, in the case of Jeff’s Juice House, a bar owned by Wally, frequented by whites, and popular with the local ABT. This is the ABT that’s not supposed to exist in Sheriff Van Horn’s county, the lawman in charge of the double murder investigation. What you have operating here is racial animus and fear, a sort of feudal juxtaposing of Wally’s Monticello-styled manse (his dog resides in an ersatz White House) and Geneva’s thrown up shack of an eatery and gathering place.

If you sense a connection here, you’re right, but it is even stronger than you can possibly suspect. These connections extend back in time before Geneva met her traveling bluesman husband Joe, who up and quit to settle with her. Everything is rooted and connected in Texas in ways that folks like these people and Ranger Mathews understand. And this includes the present murders, a murder from long ago, a love left unrequited, and a powerful stockpile of resentment. After some bruising encounters, after managing to get reinstated, after falling a little bit for the murdered man’s wife, after twisting himself in knots over his wife and her desire for him to return to law school and the precarious state of their marriage, Ranger Mathews solves not only to the double murder, but also one from Geneva’s past.

And what of his marriage? What about that grand jury decision? What secret does it hold to the moral character of Ranger Mathews, to the integrity and respect commanded by a Texas Ranger? The answers await you.
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