By: Attica Locke Publisher: Harper Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 448 Publication Date: June 01, 2009 Release Date: June 09, 2009 Studio: Harper
Writing in the tradition of Dennis Lehane and Greg Iles, Attica Locke, a powerful new voice in American fiction, delivers a brilliant debut thriller that readers will not soon forget.
Jay Porter is hardly the lawyer he set out to be. His most promising client is a low-rent call girl and he runs his fledgling law practice out of a dingy strip mall. But he's long since made peace with not living the American Dream and carefully tucked away his darkest sins: the guns, the FBI file, the trial that nearly destroyed him.
Houston, Texas, 1981. It is here that Jay believes he can make a fresh start. That is, until the night in a boat out on the bayou when he impulsively saves a woman from drowning—and opens a Pandora's box. Her secrets put Jay in danger, ensnaring him in a murder investigation that could cost him his practice, his family, and even his life. But before he can get to the bottom of a tangled mystery that reaches into the upper echelons of Houston's corporate power brokers, Jay must confront the demons of his past.
With pacing that captures the reader from the first scene through an exhilarating climax, Black Water Rising marks the arrival of an electrifying new talent.
Left Me Breathless ^ I really loved this book. From the first chapter, the BLACK WATER RISING became all I could think about. The writing is gorgeous-- descriptions were just beautiful. The plot itself was juicy and complicated. I loved the historical digressions. And the dialogue! I am so eager to see what Attica Locke does next
Black Water Rising ^ I am extremely please with the quality of the book received, particularly the time frame in which it was received
Thought-provoking political thriller ^ I read this after hearing Attica Locke talk about her why she began it. The atmospheric, gripping opening, showing her skills from being a film and television writer for over ten tears prior to writing this book, sets the scene for the "thriller" side of the book. However there is more to this novel. Some people may engage with it accordingly, as I did, but some may feel the book drags in places or may even lose interest in it. It seems to have been born from a mediation on how Attica Locke's parents changed from being involved in the civil rights movement, to becoming successful middle class professionals, somehow "forgetting" the struggles of their younger selves, and ceased to continue fighting for the rights of those still without a chance because of the colour of their skin. The book is set in Houston,Texas in the 1980's, and in the backstory the 1970's. For me, White British and born in the 1960's, this gave a fascinating and involving history lesson. The politics of the two decades form the identity of the main character; who he is, and therefore why he thinks and does what he does in the intertwined mystery of the main plot. On a broader canvas this is a book about how we all change in our lives; we lose or alter our ideals and, for good or for bad, how we deal with that fact. I have a few minor complaints, but find they are overshadowed by the strengths, and indeed potential strengths (although she is a writer this is her first novel) of the writing. Aside from the historical and political aspects, Attica Locke gave me a vivid sense of the characters of the people, including the bit players, and the places which they inhabit. She can also be disarmingly funny. I found this book succeeds in being involving, entertaining and thought provoking.
(RAW Rating: 3.5) - Past Demons ^ BLACK WATER RISING by Attica Locke features attorney Jay Porter in early 1980s Houston. One night out on a bayou celebrating his wife's birthday, he is a witness to a murder. However, based on his past run-in with the law while in college, Jay decides to keep what he believes he witnessed to himself and investigates on his own. Simultaneously, he is representing a prostitute against a high-powered businessman and he also finds himself in the middle of a union dispute with dockworkers, courtesy of his father-in-law, who is a minister.
Locke delves back and forth between Jay's past and present to present his story in its entirety, including his dysfunctional familial history. With this presentation, we come to know Jay and why he makes the decisions that he does. BLACK WATER RISING highlights a host of characters and at times, the story lags in transitioning from the past to the present. The characterizations are complex but presented in a realistic manner. The story is intriguing, well written and provides an enormous amount of history of the city of Houston.
Reviewed by Dawn R. Reeves of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers
Good, cinematic thriller! ^ This wasn't a perfect thriller, but it was a really good one. Set in Houston, TX in the '80's, Locke tells the story of Jay Porter, a lawyer who witnesses something bad out on the bayou, but is disinclined to trust the cops.
Jay Porter is a wonderful character - a former civil rights activist, burned by a snitch in his group and put on trial, but acquitted. He has come through this experience with a law degree, a wife, a baby on the way, and a not-so-thriving law practice in a strip mall. His life hasn't exactly turned out the way he planned. Riding along with Jay as he sorts through the events he is tangled up in accidentally you can't help but root for him, despite all his damage, despite all his paranoia, despite his imperfections.
Locke does a great job of bringing the reader into the Houston of the '80's where it's all about oil, corruption, and growth - growth so fast that the city can't keep up with basic services and toney gated communities must hire their own garbagemen to avoid drowning in their refuse. Locke grew up in Houston and obviously knows the city well. I loved her ability to move through all the various niches - from ghetto to honky tonk to City Hall.
Locke is a screenwriter and it shows. The pacing in the book is very cinematic and she really knows how to grab you and keep you reading. Another reviewer compared her to Dennis Lehane and I guess she's working in similar territory if Dennis Lehane was African American and from Houston. The final third of the book gets a little clunky and a little too convoluted as if she threw too many balls in the air at once and doesn't quite know how to make it all work, but this was fresh and entertaining and I hope she writes another one.
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