Another fine entry in the Quinn Colson series. With colorful & interesting crooks, Atkins evokes the best of Elmore Leonards novels but with his cast of regulars & Southern setting these novels are Atkins'own. He keeps the bigger story that unites the series into one continuous tale moving smartly. The cliffhanger ending leaves fans ravenous for the next entry.

The G=Fallen is the worst Ace Atkins novel I have ever seen. I got through 13 chapters of awful dialogue and trailer trash characters. I have a stack of good novels waiting to be read, I didn't need this loser.
But thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Another excellent read from Tibbehah County where Quinn Colson is the sheriff. This time, he is facing a group of bank robbers who come into banks wearing Donald Trump masks and execute the robbery like a military team. In and out in 90 seconds, that's their formula and they haven't failed yet. Operating all over the country with no rhyme and reason, the FBI gets involved and it's a major case for the small town sheriff. And then there's always the usual suspects causing trouble and keeping Quinn busy.

A great read, of course, and one that I truly enjoyed and sped right through. Filled with action, it's a thrilling ride that has you consumed.

Thanks to Penguin Group Putnam and Net Galley for providing me with a free galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

This was a great book. It has been purchased for our library.

There's nothing that'll make me hit request faster than seeing bank robbers as the premise for the storyline. This is my first Ace Adkins book and overall I felt it was pretty lackluster. I expected drama, suspense, and action along with a mystery since the blurb indicated it's a bank robber story but I don't think that's really what I got. Quinn Colson is now serving as sheriff in this small Mississippi town and he's joined in the storyline by his once troubled sister Caddy. We also get a glimpse of the bank robbers in the beginning and they don't really seem like the sharpest knives in the drawer. Caddy soon becomes concerned about the disappearance of 2 teenage girls and Colson finds himself involved with a domestic burglary of an old childhood friend.
Using different protagonists, all of the threads get connected eventually, but despite loving the bank robber angle, I found myself not really enjoying the narrative overall. I was somewhat bored and not too invested. I did enjoy the setting but that's not enough to say I enjoyed the story. It was an average read for me.

(2 1/2). Quinn Colson is a terrific character, I am sure we will be seeing plenty of him in the future. This Southern baked book is kind of like James Lee Burke on speed, and that is a good thing. Fast moving, violent and full of avarice at all kinds of interesting levels. I wait patiently for the next installment.

Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons on July 18, 2017

Ace Atkins always makes me laugh. He brings intelligence and fair-minded wit to his portrayal of a South that cloaks bigotry and hypocrisy in the language of “old-fashioned values” and “a Christian way of life.” Atkins doesn’t paint all residents of rural Mississippi with the same brush, but he isn’t afraid to expose persistent ugliness. Of course, readers who think that bigotry is a Christian value will probably dislike this novel, but there are plenty of "values" novels by lesser authors with which they can entertain themselves.

Values aside, Atkins always tells a good story, mixing strong characters with a convincing plot. He does all that again in The Fallen, his latest Quinn Colson novel.

In true southern tradition, the residents of Tibbehah County blamed acting Sheriff Lillie Virgil for arresting a coach who was molesting kids (rather than blaming the coach), paving the way for a reluctant Quinn Colson to win his old position as sheriff. Now the county supervisors want to take Tibbehah back to its godly roots. To do that, they want to enforce an ordinance constraining activities at the local titty bar by proclaiming their adherence to wholesome southern values, notwithstanding the county’s long tradition of prostitution, moonshine, and support for the Klan — but their concerns have more to do with greed than morality.

Apart from the normal problems caused by rednecks at the local titty bar, the crime that occupies Quinn in The Fallen is a bank robbery. The robbers are three veterans who haven’t adjusted to civilian life and enjoy the thrill of robbing small town banks. A subplot involves two teenage girls (last seen in The Innocents) who have gone missing.

All of those storylines intertwine. Apart from the bank robberies, the storylines are a continuation of events developed in earlier novels. While novels in some series can be read in any order, that’s not true of the Quinn Colson series. To follow the story, it’s best to start at the beginning and watch the characters and their situations evolve over time. It might be possible to read The Fallen as a stand-alone, but the novel assumes a familiarity with the series. It doesn’t summarize past events in any detail, which might leave new readers wondering what’s going on with some of the characters.

Reliable supporting characters in the series return in The Fallen. In addition to Lillie, other returning characters include Boom Kimbrough, Quinn’s sister Caddie and mother Jean, and titty bar owner Fannie Hathcock. Some aspects of the story are sad, reflecting the reality that life doesn’t always come with a happy ending and that bad guys don’t always get their just deserts. That might turn off readers who are looking for a happier world in their fiction, but the redeeming qualities of the Quinn Colson series are found in Quinn, Lillie, Caddie, and Boom, who are never afraid to stand for what’s right, and who know that what’s right has to do with how people treat each other, as opposed to hypocritical posturing about “old-fashioned values."

RECOMMENDED

4.5 Stars

The Fallen is the third book that I have read by Ace Atkins in relation to the Quinn Colson Novels. As with the other two, I was thoroughly entertained. The way that the Southern people of Mississippi are depicted is hilarious. You never know what will be said or done. Some of the characters are too fearless for their own good and they know how to serve up some Southern Fried Justice. You do not need to have read the other books to enjoy this one, but you would know a lot more about Tibbehah county and its residence if you did.

This time, Quinn Colson has been re-elected as Sheriff. In between apprehending someone robbing the local Dollar Store and searching for some masked bank robbers, Quinn has his hands full. The bank robbers are clearly trained military and have a connection to Quinn that will take him a while to figure out. In addition, local politics have him at odds with the County Supervisors and the local Gentlemen’s Club that is ran by a very feisty red-head. To add insult to injury, Quinn’s sister Caddy is adamant about finding two young girls who disappeared. There is a lot going on but somehow it all comes together nicely. Ace Atkins does an amazing job of keeping everything on track and makes you feel like you are smack dab in the center of town interacting with all of the country boys and girls. And man, do they provide some serious entertainment and funny sayings. There is also a sense of family that I really appreciate.

Once again, Ace Atkins has found a way to reel you into this world of utter and complete country chaos. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put the book down. Despite how serious some of the material is, it was dialed down with a lot of hometown humor. I look forward to the next book in the series. There’s plenty left for Quinn to get into.

THE FALLEN: A Quinn Colson Novel
Ace Atkins
Putnam Books
ISBN 978-0-399-57671-3
Hardcover
Thriller

I came to the conclusion awhile ago --- it might have been when he wrote WICKED CITY --- that Ace Atkins can do no wrong. The latest exhibit in support of that proposition has just dropped. It is titled THE FALLEN, and is part of the Quinn Colson canon. It may or may not be the best of the seven books in the series to date, but it is certainly my favorite one. And not because of Colson, either.

Now, don’t everyone jump my face. I like Colson just fine. He’s an ex-Ranger who is the Sheriff of Tibbehah County --- it’s been kind of an off-again, on-again proposition for him --- and he’s smart enough to choose his battles as he navigates the criminal and political landscape in and around the county and Jericho, its county seat. It’s a wise choice, particularly when one of the main industries in the area is a truckstop/gentleman’s club with a short stay motel just across the state highway. Indeed. Colson is understated but competent --- think Marshal Dillon on Gunsmoke --- and could get better employment elsewhere, but has a debt to the family and the soil where he was raised. What’s not to like.

What is interesting about THE FALLEN is that Atkins gives all of the best lines in the book --- well, most of them anyway, and there is a passel of them --- to Lillie Virgil, his predecessor and now assistant sheriff. If you would like to have some textbook examples of how to write dialogue and have a good time doing it pick up THE FALLEN and give it a read, as Colson, Virgil, and a fine supporting cast have their world torn up and turned upside down in a story which begins with the Jericho bank being robbed with military precision by a trio bank robbers wearing very distinctive masks. This isn’t the trio’s first rodeo, by any means, nor is it there last, and they leave everyone from Colson and his deputies to the FBI flummoxed at every time. THE FALLEN is about much more than a team of bank robbers of course, given Jericho’s culture and history, and while one might expect that one event ties in with another most of the fun of THE FALLEN specifically as well as the Colson series in general is seeing just how this relates with that. The reader can see a glimmer of the end coming, just a little over halfway through the book, when an offhand revelation at a zoo, of all places, demonstrates that things between Colson and the robbers --- one of them in particular --- are on an inevitable collision course, one that you might not have seen coming. As I said, however, that only provides a glimmer of the ending. Atkins sets off a string of explosions that leads THE FALLEN to its conclusion, and not all of them are ones that will make you happy, for sure. There was one in particular --- you will know it when you see it --- where I was compelled to several pages, just short of the ending, to make sure that I hadn’t gotten it wrong. I hadn’t. It’s only a story, true, but it brought me way down. As for the last few paragraphs of THE FALLEN...Atkins is setting something up, something grand and explosive and violent and wonderful I’m sure.

I should add --- I will add --- that if for some reason you are not reading this fine series why, you can jump right on here before moving on back and picking up on the others in order. Atkins, as he has with every book bearing the Colson name, does a fine job of bringing new readers up to snuff while helping readers who are older in experience and age fill in the blanks in cheesecloth memory as to what has gone before. Just don’t get too attached to anyone in THE FALLEN, because not everyone who is there at the beginning is present at the end. Still, THE FALLEN is strongly recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2017, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

A terrific novel of both greed and fearless altruism. The bad guys are really good, but the good guys are really, really good. I was fully invested in the characters and the plot. Tension and frustration abound, but the story line is uplifting as well. This is a book well worth reading that's definitely hard to put down. Highly recommended.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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Each of the Quinn Colson books has 3 or 4 things going on (it really depends how you want to break things down): There's a central crime story, a Quinn story, a wider Colson-family story (usually Caddy-centric -- by the way, try writing about Caddy right after listening to a novel featuring Walt Longmire's daughter, Cady, it'll bend your mind), a story about goings-on in the wider Tibbehah County and Jericho area (typically criminal, but not necessarily part of the other crime story). Now, these blend into each other all the time, and are hard to strictly delineate, but that's how I think about these books anyhow. Were a grade or degree on the line, I could define this better -- but we'll settle for this. Now, typically the central crime story is just that, central -- it's the driving force behind the novel and the other things happen around it. With The Fallen, however, it felt like the central crime story functioned mostly to give an excuse to tell the other stories -- sort of a time frame to hang the rest on.

Which is not necessarily a bad thing -- but it's not a good one.

There's a group of highly efficient, disciplined bank robbers on a spree through the south, and naturally they hit Jericho. They're out of town in a flash, with Quinn and Lillie not able to do much. Still, this is a challenge that Lillie sinks her teeth into (and Quinn, too -- to a lesser extent). The trio is not as amusing as the goofballs from The Redeemers, and thankfully, they aren't has horrifying as some of the others (see The Innocents, for example). I could easily have spent some more time with them, though. Their story is pretty compelling and rings true.

Quinn is settling back into his job as Sheriff, with Lillie as his Assistant Sheriff . There's a new county supervisor, Skinner, making life difficult for everyone, although Boom Kimbrough and Fannie Hathcock seem to be top of his list. But it doesn't seem like anyone who doesn't share his vision for Jericho -- a halcyon 50's vision -- will have much of a chance against him. You get the impression even Johnny Stagg prefers his incarceration to dealing with Skinner. We'll be seeing more of Skinner.

Caddy and Boom actually get the more interesting investigation in the novel -- with some help from Lillie. Caddy's looking for a couple of teen girls that she's afraid have fallen into Fannie's employment -- but it turns out to be more complicated than that. What they stumble on is disturbing, at the least, and will push Caddy's buttons in a way little else has. Once he learns about it, Quinn's not crazy about what she's up to -- but when is he?

There's a lot of movement in long-term arcs, and while it'd be wrong to say that nothing happens other than moving pieces around on the chessboard to set up for books #8 and on, it frequently feels like it. I'm not crazy about any of the things that did occur in this novel (matters of taste and how I want things to go for particular characters -- Atkins nailed it all, it's not on his execution) -- but man, what it means for the next couple of books has got me ready to fork over money right now.

Still, while I found the main crime story wanting, and wasn't crazy about the long-term arc developments, this was a good book. Atkins has infused -- and continues to do so -- this community and these characters with so much life, so much reality, that the reader gets sucked in and can't help but care about everyone. It's only when I stopped to think about and write about the book that I had these issues -- in the moment, I couldn't have cared less about what was going on in actual Idaho -- Jericho, Mississippi was what it was all about.

Solid crime fiction from one of the best working today.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Putnam Books via NetGalley in exchange for this post -- thanks to both for this.

Another winner in Ace Atkin's great series featuring Quinn Colson. The characters get richer with each book. The best series being written today.

It's been a few years since I've read Ace Atikins, and unfortunately I found that his style has become a bit too raw and edgy for me. That said, I think The Fallen will appeal to fans of hardboiled, masculine detectives.

Quinn Colson is back in office as sheriff, and he’s got no shortage of problems to deal with. A crew of ex-military combat vets have started robbing banks. Two underage teenage girls have gone missing, and Quinn’s born again sister is obsessed with finding them. The lady who owns the local strip club is as crooked as a dog’s back leg and has connections to the bank robbers as well as the Dixie Mafia. A miserable old bastard of a politician has vowed to make Mississippi great again by turning back the clock to the days when everyone went to church and segregation was still the law of the land. And a childhood friend of Quinn’s has returned to town leading him to a new romance even as she’s still waiting for her divorce to be finalized.

Tibbehah County definitely isn’t Mayberry.

This is the seventh book in the series, and Ace Atkins has built this world up to the point where it’s now got it’s own internal logic and rhythm to it. The basic idea of a ex-military bad ass returning to his old home town to clean it up sounds like the plot of an action movie. However, rather than make his ex-Ranger straight-talking straight-shooting hero into the focal point that all the other characters orbit around Atkins has been content to let Quinn be like the leading man of a TV show with a great supporting cast. The action usually involves him eventually, but he doesn’t need to be in every scene. This lets the whole thing play out as a crime story that has room to explore other aspects, and we end up spending as much time with the owner of the strip club and the bank robbers as we do Quinn. That makes everyone feel like real characters and not just targets to be shot or arrested.

Recent political events have added an interesting undercurrent to this one. The developing situation with the politician demanding a return to his version of the good ole days as a populist hook to get people on board with his agenda lurks throughout the book. This feeds into a larger plot about large scale corruption taking the form of hypocritical old rich white men who line their pockets while feeding the rubes lines about factory jobs returning as soon as we have a return to decency. The guys robbing the bank may be dangerous thrill seeking criminals who wear Donald Trump masks, but at least they’re honest about what they’re doing.

It’s another very strong crime novel from Atkins who continues to resolve some stories while leaving some things up in the air to be part of future books. When I finish one book about Quinn Colson and Tibbehah County I’m always anxious to get the next one, and this has a final scene that will make it a long year waiting for the next installment.

Thanks to net galley.com, Ace Atkins and Penguin Group Putnam for the advance ARC for my honest review.

Quinn Colson's back as Sheriff of Tibbehah County, along with his right-hand women Lillie Virgil, the Jericho First National Bank gets robbed, but what an awesome read the Fallen picks up where the Innocent ended and my favorite read of the year so far.

So strap yourself down in your favorite reading spot, then go on a wild ride in a jack up green pickup truck, as your favorite Law Enforcement duo, turns the county upside down trying to find the robbers, let your imagination flow, as Atkins takes you on a realistic, heart pounding read.

He puts right their in all the action, you'll love corrupt Jericho, Miss. Totally enjoyed 'The Fallen', loved the cliffhanger ending and speaking of the ending. It would be the perfect spot in this series, for Nick Travers to make a cameo appearance.

Yup, Ace Atkins did it again. Just like with Sammy Hagar 'the Red Rocker', who at 67 years old has lost nothing vocally and seems to just keep getting better. Ace just gets better and better with each offering, adding new elements with each book and it's not the same old same old with each book.

With 'the Fallen', Atkins offers up, yet another multi-layered intertwining storyline, ripped right out of the headlines and gives the reader, the ultimate reading experience.

How can you not like the Quinn Colson character? He's blue collar, tough as nails, an ex-Ranger, he's back as Sheriff of troubled Tibbehah County, family oriented, thinks of nothing to help friends and Atkins just makes him larger than life with his words.

Atkins is the ultimate master of character development. He breathes life into them good or bad, they all play a vital role in the storyline and aren't just a needless distract.

Love, love how he has Lillie Virgil larger than life, she seems to just take over the story and just makes the Fallen that much better. It's almost like she's Atkins secret ingredient in the Quinn Colson series, making it so good and keeps the readers coming back for more helpings.

She's full of some great one liners, here's two of my favorite quotes from Lillie.

"And Miss Lillie said the only folks offended by cussing are fat ladies in big hats who can't do their business on the toilet".

"Watch your ass, but protect your heart".

While I'm bummed that he left us hanging in regard to Lillie going back too work Memphis Police or did she have a change of heart in her last two weeks to stay. I'm also excited, since my brain's screaming we're going to have a third yearly offering and could we see him writing a Lillie Virgil series soon.

Then you have Quinn's mom Jean, his troubled sister Caddy, his nephew little Jason, his Hondo his dog, new love interest Maggie Powers, her son Brandon and they all add to the storyline.

Now the Trump masked robbers being Wilcox, Cord and Opie, kudos to Atkins, who made them so believable, realistic and shows you how greed can ultimately destroy even the best criminal.

Atkins should be in every reader's book case, he's that good of an author and just feel he deserves more recognition than he gets.

Author Bob Mayer refers to the big known publishing house authors as Airport Authors. Well Ace Atkins would be my favorite airport author, he can out write James Patterson and has a legend smilin' down on him.

THE FALLEN by Ace Atkins is the 7th book in the Quinn Colson series and gives readers another chance to visit Tibbehah County and follow Quinn’s life as sheriff and the challenges he faces both at home and at work with this book that takes up where the last book, The Innocents leaves off with Quinn having to pick up the pieces after his father once again disappears, thus leaving him holding the bag after having gone out on a limb to put together funding for his dad’s scheme, and thereby putting the family farm and property at risk as a result with Quinn to blame for his poor judgement in trusting his father.

Quinn and his (once again) deputy/former sheriff Lillie find themselves having to deal with a bank robbery that has been pulled off by a crew that operates using skills and techniques similar to what Quinn has learned in his military experience as a Ranger, and the precision and careful planning of the crew makes it difficult for any tangible leads to be followed up on, especially with the typical day-to-day calls that Quinn and Lillie have to deal with from the locals.
Several other situations develop involving Quinn both personally and professionally that once again place his family at risk, and characters from previous books along with a few new faces become intertwined with everything coming to a climax near the end of the book.

Ace Atkins has once again written a great story that really makes you feel as if you are right there in Tibbehah County and Jericho with Quinn, his friends and family, the locals, and the out of town criminals who always turn up in the books of this excellent series.

I'm constantly in awe of how well author Ace Atkins has balanced the writing of books in this series combined with the writing of the books in the “Spenser” series since the death of Robert B. Parker, and the consistent quality found in the books of both series where I eagerly await each upcoming novel in both series, and am unashamedly able to say that Atkins is my favorite living author at this time, and has been for the past several years.

Recommending this book is a no-brainer, and once again I'd also recommend new readers start at the beginning of the series with the first book The Ranger to get the full experience and gain appreciation of the writing skills of Ace Atkins in the writing of all the books in this series.

5 stars.

Do you love some real "Redneck Noir"? Ace Atkins' Quinn Colson delivers again!

Thank you Net Galley & G P Putnam.

Another fast fun read with lots of action and fairly well developed characters / characterizations. and lots of local flavor.

Ace Atkins continues his reign as one of my favorite crime novelists. And this series keeps getting better and better. The plot is good, for sure, but Atkins's true gift is in creating characters that live and breathe beyond the pages. Reading this, I can hear Elvis playing as I sit down to one of Miss Jean's dinners with Quinn, Caddy, Boom, and Lillie. I can see Fannie Hathcock in the neon glow of Vienna's, while Mingo stands miserably in the shadows. This all probably is disconcerting to the uninitiated, but you can pick up the series with THE FALLEN (as all of the books are written as standalones) and quickly become a part of Atkin's brutal, poetic, beautiful world. But why rob yourself of the pleasure of one of the best crime series ever? I recommend you go back to the first book and follow along as these characters grow and change. However, have no fear if you're starting here with THE FALLEN. Everything you could want in top notch crime fiction is found between the covers. I already hit upon the characters and Atkins's beautiful, lyrical writing. But what about plot? Does anything happen in this novel or are the characters standing around gazing at their navels?

Plenty happens.

As for plot, we have a gang of extremely competent bank robbers wearing Donald Trump masks. We have two missing teen girls. And we have a possible new love interest for Quinn. Only Atkins could make those storylines collide as pleasurably as they did in THE FALLEN. This is certain to be on many "best of the year" lists. As The Donald himself might say, "Believe me."

Action packed, gritty and kept my attention from the start. Characters were intriguing and well developed while the plot was well thought out and suspenseful. Stereo-typing on military and southern folks was a tad heavy, but overall an enjoyable book.