Heaven, My Home is the second in this excellent series by Attika Locke. This mystery is set in Texas and features Darren Matthews, an African American Texas Ranger. This one focuses on the disappearance of a 9 year old boy, who is the son of a convicted white supremacist. Darren gets involved in the investigation because this might be the opportunity to get more information about a white supremacist group. But his own emotions and sense of what’s right and wrong become complicated when the main suspect is an older African American man. Locke doesn’t shy away from complex contemporary politics and issues, and she delves into the complexity without being pedantic or didactic – in other words, Locke assumes her readers are intelligent and interested in the world – one of my favourite kinds of mysteries.

It’s worth reading #1 before reading this one, because Darren’s moral and emotional struggles carry through from book 1 to book 2. I sure hope there’s a #3 on the way.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to an advance copy.

Heaven, My Home is an interesting read. It is a complexed mystery but so much more. Filled with a variety of characters and a descriptive narrative, this book is both a study of racial prejudices as well as a story of a man grappling with a moral dilemma, that is fueled, in part, by his complex relationships with his mother, his wife and friends, and the uncles who raised him.

Unfortunately, I have not read Bluebird, Bluebird, the first book in this series. I now realize this was an error on my part. As a result, I found myself trying to catch up and understand the previous story that drives Heaven, My Home. But, once I sorted out the history a little I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Attica Locke weaves a mystery along with the history of Caddo Lake in eastern Texas. The people who live there are descendants from slaves and Louisiana natives. These intermingled cultures make for a fascinating story in and of itself. The characters, the mystery, the setting, and the suspense all meld together to create an unforgettable story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

I loved Bluebird, Bluebird when I read it last year, and since then, I'd been looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I was so excited when I was approved for this on Netgalley!
This book was so great. I loved the complexity of the characters, and the way history, family, and location combined into a tangled know that I watched Darren Mathews unravel. I've read a bunch of mysteries this year, and this is definitely one of the best.
I'm eagerly waiting for the next book in the series, and if you haven't read these yet, you should. Highly recommended!

In this terrific followup to Bluebird, Bluebird, Texas Ranger Darren Mathews heads to Jefferson, Texas, to search for a missing child. Among the case's many complications: The child is the son of an imprisoned white supremacist. Mathews, who is African-American, must deal with the town's overt and covert racists to solve the mystery.

It's clear that Attica Locke, a native Texan, loves her home state and despairs for it in equal measure. Her Highway 59 novels capture a side of Texas that is too often missing in more mythical portrayals.

Heaven, My Home is a suspenseful, entertaining read. It's also a clear-eyed take on life in the age of Trump.

You can read my Q and A with the author here: https://www.dallasnews.com/arts-entertainment/books/2019/09/17/attica-locke-s-texas-lawman-is-on-the-case-again-in-heaven-my-home/?fbclid=IwAR2UZ_roXIO2bAxj1CzNzNndNpz7bAhrNuiLKWzd_yVweyk8wAACs2m1t5Y

*I received an early review copy of this book.

Thank you to Net Galley for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I can’t think of many novels that have as strong a sense of place as Locke’s Highway 59 novels. The setting of East Texas is as important to the story as any character or plot development. In this second novel in the series, Texas Ranger Darren Mathews finds himself back in East Texas to help find the missing son of a member of the Aryan Brotherhood. The search takes him through a web of lies and deceit at the hands of the boy’s family that kept me reading to the end. The ending suggests another novel is coming, and I will be anxiously waiting for it.

Description from review (full review available at BookBrowse.com): "In this timely follow-up to Bluebird, Bluebird, Texas Ranger Darren Mathews navigates racism in Trump-era America while investigating the disappearance of a child near the vast, haunting waters of Caddo Lake."

Rating: 4 shining East Texas stars

This is the second book in Attica Locke’s ‘Highway 59’ series. Her first book in the series, “Bluebird, Bluebird” totally blew me away with the plotline and the elegance of the writing in a murder mystery. “Heaven, My Home” is a wonderful second addition to the series. While I liked it a tiny bit less than the first book, this outing was just as thrilling as the first book.

Chronologically, this book starts just little after the conclusion of “Bluebird, Bluebird”. African American Texas Ranger, Darren Mathews, is called away from his desk job to investigate the disappearance of a 9- year-old boy that might be connected to the Aryan Brotherhood. Darren’s mother is blackmailing hm. He has formed a tentative détente with his wife Lisa. His boss wants him to nail down more crimes tied to the Aryan Brotherhood (ABT). This needs to happen before the next President is sworn in. The consensus is that the new Administration’s Department of Justice pursuit of hate crimes will diminish.

Under these conditions, Darren enters the town of Jefferson, Texas and the secluded lakeside settlement of Hopetown. Darren tries to track down Levi King, the missing 9-year-old. He also tries to figure out how to tie more crimes to the ABT. In Jefferson, that shouldn’t be too hard. He is conflicted about the state of his marriage, and he’s desperately trying to find the item that his mother is using to blackmail him. As in the first book, his life is a bit of a hot mess, but at his core Darren always wants to do the right thing. The right thing may not be the lawful thing, but it is always the just thing.

There is plenty of action in this book. The continued race-relations issues encountered by the African American and Native American characters in this book were disturbing. It is hard to believe that these things still go on today. I do however believe it. I loved that Caddo Lake and its history was actually a large part of the story. I liked the time spent describing the lake and the cypress forests. It is now some place that I’d like to see for myself with the right guide.

Occasionally it seemed that there was too much going on, and it took too long to get to the main core of the story. That is why I’m knocking off one star in my rating. I’d gladly recommend this to anyone who enjoys an intelligent police procedural mystery. This one has a flawed main character you can’t help but to root for. I am eagerly waiting the publication of the third book in this series. In order to get the fullest enjoyment of this series, I’d recommend starting with “Bluebird, Bluebird”. It's not absolutely necessary, but the nuances in this book will be better understood if you read the series in order.

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, Mulholland Books; and the author, Attica Locke, for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Heaven, My Home” by Attica Locke, Mulholland Books, 304 pages,
Sept. 17, 2019.

This is the follow-up to Locke’s outstanding “Bluebird, Bluebird.,” winner of the 2018 Edgar Award for Best Novel.

In the first novel, Darren Matthews, a black Texas Ranger, was suspended for going to the aid of a family friend who was being harassed by a white supremacist who was on his land. That supremacist was found dead two days later. Darren took the murder weapon and didn’t turn it in.

In “Heaven, My Home,” Darren’s mother is blackmailing him over the murder weapon that she found and hid. She wants more contact with Darren, who was raised by his uncles. Darren is trying to rebuild his marriage, but he is drinking too much. He is also being pressured by a district attorney who suspects he hasn’t been truthful.

Meanwhile, 9-year-old Levi King is in a boat on the Caddo Lake. His older sister, Dana, let him take it to visit a friend. He is late leaving his friend’s house for his home and now it is dark and the boat’s motor dies. His beloved grandfather is dead, his father is in prison and his mother, Marnie, has allowed her violent boyfriend, Gil Thomason, to move in.

Darren has been investigating white supremacists, the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. Levi’s father is big in the Brotherhood. Darren is assigned to find Levi in case some Brotherhood secrets come to light during the investigation.

While it isn’t as powerful as “Bluebird, Bluebird,” “Heaven My Home” is a good sequel. The plot and characters are well written. I recommend that the books be read in order.

In accordance with FTC guidelines, the advance reader's edition of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This second entry in the Highway 59 series shows promise for a long-running series. Texas Ranger Darren Mathews once again finds himself in the center of a case where race is a defining factor and time is of the essence in his attempt to find the missing son of a jailed Aryan Brotherhood heavy. Locke treats the fraught racial aspects of the case with thoughtful sensitivity and nuance. The reader feels for Darren, even as some of his choices are questionable. I appreciate the interplay between the ongoing narrative of Darren’s life, marriage, and family with the realities of working his assignment. I look forward to further entries in this series. I will recommend this title and series to mystery and thriller readers who like a complicated protagonist and topical social commentary.

Attica Locke's second installment of her Highway 59 series, which follows award-winning Bluebird, Bluebird, is every bit as compelling as the first. We follow Texas Ranger Darren Matthews as he investigates a missing child in another rural part of Northern Texas shortly after the events of Bluebird, Bluebird, which continue to haunt him.

Ranger Matthews is probably one of my favorite "detective mystery" main characters. He's deeply flawed but there's a constant undercurrent of him trying to do the right thing - even if it's not necessarily the legal thing. Heaven, My Home introduces the reader to several new characters, many of whom are pieces of work, especially the missing boy's grandmother, who seems more concerned with her legacy of power than with her missing grandchild. I also adored the setting of this new novel - Caddo Lake gave me great Louisiana bayou vibes while being distinctly Texas. Locke deftly incorporates fascinating history of the lake and the families that live there into her mystery.

And as in Bluebird, Bluebird, Locke's handling of racial tensions in this part of Northern Texas feels very realistic and balanced. Whereas Bluebird focuses on how racial issues can be warped in a small town where black and white members of a community have lived hand-in-hand their entire lives, Heaven explores racial injustice in terms of property, both pre-Civil War and modern day, in a town where the history is long.

If you enjoyed Bluebird, Bluebird, definitely check out Heaven, My Home. If you haven't read Bluebird, go read that first and come back to this one.

Attica Locke is a force to be reckoned with and the first mystery in the Highway 59 series, Bluebird, Bluebird was outstanding, so I jumped when I saw this, the second in the series available to review. My thanks go to Net Galley and Mulholland Books for the review copy. It will be available to the public Tuesday, September 17, 2019.

Darren Mathews is a Black Texas Ranger, and his work is to unmask and prosecute members of the sinister Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. When the story opens we see that our protagonist is still drinking; he and his wife Lisa, who were estranged during the last book, have reached a détente of sorts. He will still drink, but it will be civilized consumption in front of his wife. A glass of beer. There. See, was that so bad? He has it handled. In exchange, he agrees to bring his work off the road, and so he is assigned to a supervisory position directing other officers in pursuit of the ABT. He doesn’t want to drive a desk, but it’s a concession he makes for her.

But Darren has gotten himself into an awkward spot, a compromising one. His mother—a woman that did not raise him but with whom he has recently developed a relationship of sorts—says it’s a shame that nobody has found the .38 used to kill Ronnie Malvo. Mack, who is dear to Darren, is a suspect in that homicide, and his mother has the gun. He tells himself that his frequent contact with her is a sign that they have a closer relationship and that the money and gifts he brings her are a pleasure for him to provide. But it’s not true; actually, his mother is blackmailing him.

And before you know it, he’s drinking hard, anywhere and everywhere that Lisa can’t see it.

Everyone that reads a lot of fiction in general or mysteries in particular develops a mental list of things they are tired of seeing. I for one could die happy if I never saw another alcoholic protagonist; I am also weary of seeing mean mothers. Why does every author have to take a pot shot at motherhood? But for every item on my list, there’s an exceptional writer that gets a pass because their prose is so solid, their voice so clear and resonant, their pacing so flawless, their characters so credible. Locke is one of those writers. (And to be fair, there are other features on my no-no list that Locke avoids nicely.)

So there’s the iffy marriage; there’s the bottle; there’s the blackmailing mama. But that’s not the half of it. Darren is sent into the field, despite his protests and his promise to Lisa, because there’s a missing child--the child of a member of the ABT-- who has last been seen in a historically Black community, and the Rangers need a Black lawman to ease the way of the investigation. The Rangers don’t have a lot of Black officers to call out.

So next thing we know Darren is out in the boondocks, serving as a companion officer to a Caucasian sheriff that doesn’t really want much to do with Darren. In fact, the local power brokers, all of them white, are visibly uncomfortable in his presence, particularly when he enters private homes. And he knows that information is being withheld from him, not only by these people but also by Leroy Page, an elderly African-American man that was the last one to see Levi alive.

Locke is noteworthy for the way she creates a sense of disorientation, a smoldering murk that starts with the setting—swampy, dark, wet—and extends into the characters that withhold information and make remarks that are both overly general but also sometimes loaded with double meaning that he can’t decode. And into all of this mess comes his best friend Greg, a Caucasian FBI man that has been sent in to explore the possibility of a hate crime here.

Part of Locke’s magic is her perceptive nature and the way she segues political events into the storyline. And so the pages fairly vibrate with betrayal when Greg, who knows from Darren that Leroy has not been forthcoming and won’t permit a warrantless search of his home, says that Leroy is guilty of a hate crime. The current administration takes a low view of such matters, Greg points out, and after all, Leroy referred to him as the “HCIC; Head Cracker In Charge.” Darren takes exception:

“Cracker and nigger are not the same, and you know it,” Darren said.
“If we don’t prosecute hate crimes against whites—if that’s what this is,” Greg said, just to get Darren to hear him out, “if we don’t prosecute crimes against white lives to the degree that we do those against black lives—“
Darren laughed so hard the bourbon nearly choked him.
“They need to see the FBI taking every hate crime seriously.”
“So this is the Jackie Robinson of federal hate crime cases?”

It’s preposterous, of course. For one thing, as Darren points out, there’s no body. The child may be alive. But he is shaken by his friend’s behavior, and when Lisa drives out to visit on her day off, Darren is further concerned by how intimately she and Greg regard one another. It’s one more thing he doesn’t need, and at this point he has nobody left, apart from his very elderly uncle, who tells him the truth and isn’t hiding anything. He does his best to help Leroy, but Leroy doesn’t trust him and is also not telling him everything, and he’s forced to recognize that this elderly man that reminds him of his uncles and Mack is, after all, another stranger.

Meanwhile, Darren makes a decision that knocks up against the ethics that his upbringing and his profession demand.

The tension builds and there’s no putting this book down. I stayed up late because I couldn’t sleep until I knew the outcome, which I did not see coming.

Locke is brilliant and seems to me like a shoo-in for a Grand Masters Award. This book and the one before it are highly recommended.

“The three men rode in silence for what seemed like an eternity. It was raw beauty, floating through a forest of trees older than time itself, trees that seemed to stand sentinel against outsiders, against any man or woman who didn’t respect the lake’s history, who didn’t respect or understand what had been here before any of them on that boat had been born, before America was even an idea, before Mexico and Spain had a piece of it, before the French tried it too, before Texas was more than a word of kindness on a Caddo’s lips. Tayshas.”
There is the primeval lake and the evil that mankind does.
There is the beauty of the land and the greed for the land.
Tragedy moving forward in an unending cycle upon the land.
Our likeable Texas Ranger, Darren Mathews, alongside a joint task force investigating the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas
is to assist finding a missing boy, a nine year old son of a known captain of brotherhood Bill King, one in jail.
Darren has to peoples to reckon with in another county, a drive of two-hundred-plus miles to face insults in his investigations, ones that just can’t stand his being, and as he descends into terrible days of old and new in the Deep South, the new president coming to power was kicking up all kinds of words and sentiments with the complexities of many lives trying to live alongside each other the ingredients of a tragedy in a crucible of good and evil, he needs great supply of hope and resolution, in Hopetown, Marion County, with the web of prejudices, power, and monetary gain.

Darren has a few aspects of his life in the balance, his career, his marriage, and his integrity at stake, with secrets and events traversing and shifting in life, amidst a new president in the White House, shifting to a shape edge point at the point of tipping off and loosing control.

I liked this better than the debut novel.
A wonderful tale evoking the beauty of the land and very terrible matters, through the elements of fiction and great sentences, a timeline of humans evoked within the reader, with the power of words one can see and fell, maybe heart tremor and weep at, with a vividly memorable terrible beauty of a tale told with truths of the human condition in a framework of a mystery.

When nine-year-old Levi King goes missing in Jefferson in east Texas, Darren Matthews is sent to look into the case. As a black Texas Ranger, Darren seems an odd choice since Levi is the son of BIll King, a prominent member of the notorious Aryan Brotherhood of Texas(ABT) who is in prison for murder. But for some reason, Bill had requested Darren specifically and it is hoped that, by Darren being part of the investigation, he can convince King to confess to another killing. Darren is not sure he wants to help find the boy since he has already shown signs of sharing his father’s racism but he has his own reasons for becoming involved - reasons that make it imperative he gets King’s confession because Darren is being blackmailed for his own actions related to the murder and by his own mother.

Heaven, My Home is the second book in the Highway 59 series by author Attica Locke and it is one hell of a compulsive read. It follows right after the events that took place in Bluebird, Bluebird, the first book in the series and, although it isn’t necessary to have read this, it certainly helps because much of the action in Heaven is the result of what happened in Bluebird. Heaven also takes place right after the 2016 election of Trump and the rise of racism and the lack of desire to pursue cases against white supremacists by the new administration play a significant role in the story.

Heaven, My Home is a well-written, well-plotted, and completely engrossing mystery. it is a complex tale and Darren makes for a flawed but sympathetic protagonist. The story is somewhat pessimistic but, given the state of the nation right now, it is a fair assessment and depiction of politics under Trump. It grabbed my attention from the first page and kept it throughout. If I were to make a list of the best books I have read this year, Heaven, My Home will definitely be near if not at the very top of the list. The story ends with several unresolved issues suggesting there will be at least one more book in the series and I am already looking forward to see where the next installment takes us.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and Mulholland Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review</i>

At the risk of being THAT reviewer...I can't wait for the next book. But you did this to us, Ms. Locke. I hope the next one ties up all these frustrating loose ends at home!

Loved book 2 in the Highway 59 series- but you have to have read Bluebird, Bluebird first to fully enjoy. The closer together you read these the better; I spent too much time catching myself up. As always, it was wonderful jumping back in with Darren. He's such a realistic and flawed character- I swear he could be someone I know. There's a political angle to this but it didn't overly dominate the narrative. In fact, I thought the author did a great job painting a nuanced picture of what motivates the truly racist. Attica Locke's ability to bring the reader into a time and place is second to none. I dare you to get through this book without googling the various settings. All in all, this series gives great police procedural and characters so vivid they could be real. Recommend!

After reading Attica Locke’s BlueBird, BlueBird last year I became such a huge fan of her works that, when I found out that Heaven, My Home (Highway 59 #2) was to be released this year, I had to get my hands on a copy.

This book was everything!!! Right from page one my heart was racing with anticipation of what is going to happen next. Locke can take all my money now, I’ll buy anything she writes. If you are a fan of crime fiction, then I highly recommend this novel.

Thank you Mulholland Books & NetGalley for gifting this DARC in exchange for an honest review.

Attica Locke continues the story of Texas Ranger Darren Mathews. After the events in Lark Darren's life has settled down. His marriage is back on track, he's drinking less and he's assigned to the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) task force. Things are looking up, except for the little detail of his mother discovering evidence of a murder at his home and blackmailing him.

His role in the ABT task force sends him to Jefferson Texas, a town capitalizing on its Antebellum past. The son on jailed ABT kingpin Bill King is missing and Darren's boss wants him to use the child as leverage to get information on the Brotherhood. Within Jefferson is the freedman settlement of Hopetown, where the black and Caddo Indian residence live in relative harmony.

One thing this book does extremely well is illustrate the low level annoyance of constant microaggressions. He thinks he can work with the Jefferson sheriff, until he (the sheriff) nods in agreement when Bill King's mother says she's never had a black man as a guest in her home. His white best friend is trying to charge a black man with a hate crime to further his career. He's called son by multiple people who probably don't consider themselves racist. I think this quote says it best:
"Darren hated when white folks did that, when they acted like race was something that hadn't even considered until you brought it up."
While there is plenty of in your face racism in the book, this is generally condemned by society. But this "colorblind" low level racism is just as insidious, where being accused of racism is just as bad a racism itself.

In the background is the recent Trump election and his imminent control over the justice department. Will the Trump administration take the threat of the the ABT seriously? The future is unknown, meaning obtaining information about the organization more important than ever. I liked the inclusion of this real life event, as well as the horrifying James Byrd murder in the last book. The really hone in on the social commentary, which is just as important and interesting as the mystery.

My one qualm with the book is we really don't get to know the minor characters very well, like we did in Bluebird, Bluebird. While they're not exactly caricatures, I didn't particularly care what happened to them.

I have obviously very much enjoyed this series and can't wait for the next installment!

Locke's 2nd book in her series starring Texas Ranger Darren Matthews brings him a little further down Route 59 to a town where the 9 year old grandson of a jailed member of the Aryan Brotherhood has gone missing. Jackson has its own tangled history of the races, not unlike what Matthews found in his earlier case in Lark. He's just trying to solve his case without getting killed by the locals, not get thrown in jail for his involvement covering up the murder of Ronnie Malvo, and maybe save his marriage. Locke has a rare talent: she gives real heft to the characters and especially the places she writes about. You really feel the electric undercurrent of the scenes. All of the characters are flawed, but in meaningful ways. I'm really looking forward to seeing Darren Matthews again. Review from e-galley.

Texas Ranger Darren Mathews has gotten himself in to a whole lot of trouble: by protecting an old family friend, he may have committed a felony and implicated himself in a murder. Worse, his shifty mama has something on him and is engaging is some low-level blackmail, and Darren's wife and uncle are also meddling in his business. He is assigned to the task force investigating the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT), reviewing telephone records and correspondence from incarcerated ABT members. When the son of an ABT leader goes missing, Darren is assigned to assist the local police in the search for the missing child.

Very enjoyable mystery, fast-paced and complex. My only issue is the number of references to the first book in the series (Bluebird, Bluebird), since it's been a while since I read it, and I had to recall the various characters and incidents in that story. If you haven't read Bluebird, Bluebird, you should read that one first, since many of the characters from the first book recur in this one.

I heard that BLUEBIRD BLUEBIRD was a good book from several of my patrons. I was excited to be able to read this new book. This book was very good and it is not something that I usually read. I think this book will stick with me for a long time. I cant wait to go back and read the first one.

Oh Ms. Locke! How do you keep all the threads in your stories straight in your head? I really dislike the phrase "a lot to unpack" but it is so appropriate in regards to this book. Woven throughout what is theoretically a kidnapping story are themes of racism (both against African Americans and Native Americans - anyone who isn't White), marriage and fidelity, alcoholism, and the legacy of slavery. Add to that incredibly intricate characters such as the not-so-esteemed Ranger himself. He is not your traditional bad guy cop. There are so many layers and levels to his own sense of what is right and wrong that you can't work off the basic assumption that he is bad. He isn't. He is trying to take on a systemic problem and right it all on his own. My only problem with the story was how much the kidnapping itself was pushed aside. This was the worst missing child investigation I've ever read. No massive search parties. No dogs. No lake dredging. I realize that the Ranger may just not have been involved in those activities, but I was surprised that they weren't even brought up as having taken place. No one seemed to care that the boy was gone. But, I'd be lying if I didn't say I can't wait for the next book in the series!