After the events of Bluebird, Bluebird, Darren Matthews is stuck in an office in Houston compiling evidence on the Arryan Brotherhood of Texas. His marriage has found stability, but his mother is blackmailing him about the location of the weapon used in the grand jury investigation. He appeases her with money, but it is a rickety relationship.

His short almost respite is entangled when Darren’s boss sends him to work a disappearance case in East Texas, close to the Louisiana border. Sure they want to find this young boy, but the Rangers would like to use this case as leverage to get info out of the Aryan Brotherhood father and his mother’s wanna-be white supremacist boyfriend. Darren enters the small town as an outsider. Things with his mother go haywire and this current case is messier than it seems. Darren is forced to cover multiple fronts while trying to control his drinking and understand the many layers of history and race in Marion County.

Wow! As impressed as I was with Bluebird, Bluebird, this mystery is an absolute page-turner. Its depth and immediacy to current politics and our conflicts as a nation are staggering. Locke’s writing possesses the raw energy of a man’s pursuit of a higher power. Towards justice or a moral compass. The honest ever-changing reflections that ring true for any person dealing a life’s conflicts wrapped in the history that is both familiar and of our nation.

If you are looking for a series of books to hold you in your seat and satisfy that regional mystery itch, the Darren Matthews books are awesome. I cannot recommend Heaven, My Home enough.

A black Texas ranger investigates the Aryan Brotherhood when a little boy goes missing. A bumpy start for me which may be because I haven't read the first book in the series. But once things came together, the tension and mystery prevailed. Locke is especially talented at describing g place and food. This is a politically charged novel which takes place right before Trump takes office. He racial tension and small town MAGA mindset come to life. I will be reading the next book in the series.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

Attica Locke's sequel to Bluebird, Bluebird is simply phenomenal, confirming her growing stature in the field of literary crime, although I do recommend reading the first in the series before reading this. Texas Ranger Darren Matthews is feeling the threats and pressures of his previous actions, as his manipulative mother, Bell, blackmails him, a mother he has ambivalent feelings towards, it was William and Clayton who had raised him, but he feels an inner need to connect with Bell, even though she is taking him for a ride. His marriage to Lisa seems to have got on track again, at the price of counselling and his move to a desk bound role in the ABT (Aryan Brotherhood of Texas) taskforce run by Lieutenant Fred Wilson. In Jefferson, a 9 year old boy, Levi King, is out at night in a ramshackle craft on Lake Caddo, frightened that he will never make it home. Levi is far from being an angelic child, his father is the notorious Bill King, the head of the ABT, serving time in prison.

An apparently reformed Bill is worried about Levi's disappearance, and that little effort has been made to find him. Wilson sees an opportunity to gain valuable intel on the ABT as he dispatches Darren to nearby Jefferson, with its main industry of a tourism reselling its antebellum glory days that hadn't gone down well with black people the first time round. Old Hopetown is a dying community of blacks and native America Indians that have lived and supported each other on land owned by the elderly Leroy Page, a community facing constant harassment and abuse from white supremacists living in their trailers. Levi's mother seems convinced her son is with his rich and powerful grandmother, Rosemary King, a woman intent on freeing her son from prison but will little interest in Levi. On the assumption that Levi is now dead, Page is charged with his murder even though there is no body. In a Jefferson that is a snake pit of thieves and liars, Darren is made to feel less than welcome, the locals feel free to abuse and behave disgracefully towards him, but he is convinced Levi is alive and sets out to find him with the hope this will alleviate the problems he is facing.

Locke sets the novel in the immediate aftermath of Trump's election and a Texas in which the repercussions are being keenly felt by a despairing Darren amidst the rising tide of homegrown terrorists, racial violence, intimidation, abuse and killings. He has little expectation that the situation can be dealt with, unlike his boss, prior to the new administration taking over, there are just too many of them, an ever growing tribe of emboldened racists crawling out from everywhere and anywhere, both overt and covert. In an atmospheric, richly detailed, and well researched narrative, Locke takes us into the troubling state of small town America and Texas on the cusp of a Trump presidency, presaging much of the horror we have since seen unfold in the nation. Amidst this background, the complex mystery of Levi, and Jefferson engages and absorbs, while the flawed Darren proves to be an excellent central protagonist struggling to keep hold of a firm sense of his own identity. Superb storytelling that I recommend highly. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

This is the second in the series about Texas Ranger Darren Matthews, the follow up to the hugely successful “Bluebird, Bluebird”, the Hwy 59 series.

This book is every bit as good as the first. It combines mystery with some family drama and historical myth and facts about East Texas.

Darren is back on the job as a Texas Ranger but he has been tied to his desk. He has been continuing his investigation into the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, (often referred to as the ABT) trying to find out the leaders (captains) and collect names of members and what they have been up to and are planning. He agreed to the desk job to appease his wife who didn’t want him on the road and gone from home for long periods of time.

An incident in the east Texas town of Jefferson has his superior requesting that he go to investigate. There is a missing 9 year old boy, the son of a leading white supremacist, there is the feeling that there is a connection between the ABT and the child’s disappearance. Darren is an African American and again faces racism and prejudice in this small town.

What makes this book extremely interesting is the complicated threads between a group of Native Texas Indians who live alongside a group of African Americans in land surrounding Caddo Lake, there are also a group of ABT families living close by on this extended stretch of land.

I had listened to the first book in this series but now reading the second I can appreciate even more the brilliance of Ms. Locke’s writing. Her descriptions of the town, the immense Lake and all of its hidden bayous had me completely immersed in the feel of the raw nature in this area and all of it’s hidden secrets. “Inside the forest they were floating through, there was no sound beyond the tinkle of lake water against the sides of the boat, no world beyond Caddo Lake, Darren had never seen anything like it.”

Darren uses all of his resources and wits to try to find the missing child, “something had rooted his boots in place, some bits in this story that didn’t add up, that played like Russian nesting dolls---open one mystery and find another and another and another and another”. This is just what the reader will experience, so many mysteries, so many secrets, it was great!

I would highly recommend that you read the first book as this is in many ways a continuation of Bluebird, Bluebird. We will continue to watch Darren as he struggles with his marital problems, drinking habit and whether he can rein in his natural instincts enough to work within the laws of the Texas Rangers. I felt that I learned so much about the history of the area and the people who live there. What a great mystery, masterfully written!

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley.

Heaven, My Home picks up a short time after the conclusion of Bluebird, Bluebird with Texas Ranger Darren Mathews back to work after his suspension is lifted -- but this time behind a desk.  He's trying to make things right with his wife and has chosen to stay off the road while working to put together a federal case against the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas.  

It's not just the desk job and his fragile marriage stressing Mathews out these days.  His own mother is now blackmailing him after finding a damning piece of evidence in the case that had him on suspension in Bluebird, Bluebird.  

In the midst of his personal drama, Mathews is called to investigate the disapperance of nine-year-old Levi King in the small lakeside town of Jefferson.  Levi's father is a key player in the Aryan Brotherhood and he's currently serving hard time.  It's possible someone has taken his boy to get to him but when Mathews arrives in town, he finds more than a few complicated layers to peel back and local history that has impacted several generations on Caddo Lake.

Locke has crafted yet another intricate and compelling crime novel in the Highway 59 series!  The country noir vibe is still strong, there are multiple plot points that are creating higher stakes, and I'm just as invested in Mathews' personal life as I am in his current case!  Locke skillfully describes racial tension and attitudes in Texas and how it drives Mathews personally and professionally.

This is a series you definitely need to read from the beginning to understand the characters and ongoing plot.  I recommend it to readers who enjoy country noir, mystery, and crime.

Huge thanks to Mulholland Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.  Heaven, My Home is scheduled for release on September 17, 2019.

Wow! Talk about timely. Darren Matthews has been working on a Texas Ranger task force investigating the Aryan Brotherhood. But there’s about to be a changing of the guard in Washington. There’s a real concern that the incoming Trump Justice Department might “mistake the Aryan Brotherhood for some sort of honor guard”.

What makes this interesting is that Darren’s new investigation has him looking for the missing son of the head of the ABT. The father is locked up in prison. Oh, did I mention that Darren is black?

I really appreciated the first book in this series. I do think it helps to have read book 1, “Bluebird, Bluebird” because there are definitely plot points that carry over.

I listened to Bluebird, Bluebird, so I don’t think I really appreciated the power of Locke’s writing. Reading this book, it really awed me. This is not your typical mystery.

Darren is a wonderful character, but I also appreciated the depth of others, like Greg and Marcus.

This story moves along at a good clip. There are multiple themes here, but underlying all of them is the tense race relations of East Texas. The history of the region is well researched and interwoven with the present day stories.

The book ends with a bit of a cliffhanger, which hopefully means there will be a third in the series.

My thanks to netgalley and Mulholland Books for an advance copy of this book.

I loved the first book in this series but “Heaven, My Home” is even better! I feel like we are getting to the meat of the story with Darren, a Black Texas Ranger, on the case of another racially motivated crime. Searching for a missing white boy puts him in deep with the kid’s family of White Supremacists. It’s a complicated and twisty plot which requires a fair bit of thought and attention but the payoff is worth it. I was not anticipating the boy’s fate and in the end I was surprised. I love how most of the characters are good and bad and it’s difficult to tell which way they will turn. This makes everything unpredictable as you never know who to trust, and even the characters who have earned trust sometimes screw up. In a story focused on black and white when it comes to morality it’s all shades of grey.

What really stands out about this series is the strong sense of place. The writing is so evocative of East Texas that I feel like I’ve been there. The food, the cypress forests, the swamps; it is all painted so vividly that I can almost feel the sun on my shoulders while reading. The other big theme in this series is the absolutely brutal rampant racism. It’s shocking and horrendous. Many times I was livid and just as often I was sad. What a horrible state affairs have developed under the legacy of slavery. There’s still a long way to go in eradicating ignorance and hate and I don’t think it will happen anytime soon. Just a note: This story is set between the last American presidential election and Trump taking office and emphasizes the increase in hate crimes seen by law enforcement in that period. The police and the Rangers lament that it will be much harder to investigate and prosecute the Aryan Brotherhood with Trump as president. This is a story very much rooted in the present social and political miasma.

The character development of Darren has been stellar. I may not agree with all of his choices, especially the one at the end of the book, but he’s been established by the story so well that I feel like I understand him and his sometimes questionable actions. I’m very excited to see where Darren ends up for his next case!

Thank you to Mulholland Books for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

Texas Ranger Darren is sent to a rural town to search for a missing boy. But before he goes, he’s told his real mission: to investigate the boy’s white supremacist family and the town’s rising tension around race.

Attica Locke is incredible, and this is just the kind of crime novel that I love to dig my claws into. Darren is an imperfect protagonist, and his questionable choices and family drama often get in his way. But he's also trying to do his best in complicated situations. And I love that Locke creates real life, messy crimes and communities. She doesn't shy away from the racism, poverty, and class issues that plague rural Texas. Locke is one of the best crime writers today, and I'll read anything she writes. If you haven't read Bluebird, Bluebird yet, get on it!

Once again Attica Locke does not disappoint. While I preferred Bluebird, Bluebird slightly, Heaven My Home was still incredible. Similar to Attica Locke’s other books, it was incredibly atmospheric. I could feel the atmosphere that she created. Heaven My Home pulls in all sorts of directions. At times I wanted slap Darren across the head, while simultaneously feeling proud of his rebelliousness/idiocy/bravery/boldness. I can’t wait for the third in the Highway 59 series. Thank you NetGalley and Mulholland Books for the advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm afraid that there is a lot of information that is going over my head as I did not read the first one in this series. The writing itself is good, and I enjoy a lot of Locke's turn of phrases, however the dynamics between the various characters and the protagonist's backstory remain a mystery, so much so that I don't see the point in reading this.
You should definitely pick this one up if you've read the FIRST one.

Yaaassss! Another great Attica Locke. I’ve been really loving the “grit lit” being published these days. I may have liked this second Darren Matthews installment better than the first. But, keep bringing them!!

I picked up this book and could not put it down! I had to know what happened to Levi and how Darren was going to be involved. I did not know this was the second book in the series to "Blackbird, Blackbird", but I did not feel that it impacted the story in any way that I had not read the first one. However, I will be going back and reading "Blackbird, Blackbird" just to make sure.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The hero Texas ranger from Attica Locke's Bluebird, Bluebird returns to deal with unfinished business from the first novel as well as find a missing boy. Engaging and thoughtful, Heaven, My Home is also a timely exploration of the deep roots of white supremacists in Texas and the rest of America. Best for readers who like to think as they read.

Texas Ranger Darren Matthews is back and in more than a little trouble of his own making. Struggling personally with his relationships with his mother and his wife, Darren is unhappy with his job (to appease his wife he agreed to take a desk job) and his life generally. When a new case arises in East Texas, he happily heads back out into the field to attempt to gather evidence against a known White Supremist, a leader of the Texas branch of the Aryan Brotherhood. Darren is a tortured soul (occasionally a bit too tortured), but he makes a good protagonist. Heaven, My Home builds a lot on Bluebird, Bluebird and leaves more than a few unresolved issues when it ends.

Locke is at her finest when describing the wilds of East Texas – Caddo Lake, the town of Jefferson, and the uneasiness in which whites, blacks and Native Americans cohabitate there. Her ability to place readers in Darren’s shoes as he experiences racism in East Texas and even from his boss in Houston following the 2016 election is masterfully and skillfully done. Race can be a tricky conversation in today’s world, and I felt Locke helped me understand some issues I may not have previously thought about. To me, that was the best takeaway from Heaven, My Home.

A small caveat for me as a Houstonian was her descriptions of the city early on. I certainly live in a different city than she described.

While Bluebird, Bluebird is still my favorite book of hers, Heaven, My Home is thought-provoking and uncomfortable in a good way.

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It's a well written and interesting book even if it's out of my comfort zone.
I appreciated the style of writing, the well written and fleshed out characters, and the realistic descriptions of the place with its issues and cons.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Darren Matthews, the Texas Ranger who starred in Locke' s first Highway 59 mystery, Buried, Bluebird,, is in a bad way even before nine year old Levi King disappears. Darren' s marriage is foundering and his mother is playing him with her own particular kind of game, which could cost him his life, or at least his career, if she tightens the pressure on him, which she's likely to do it off sheer cussedness. To make things worse for Darren, the boy is the son of a clan of white supremacists - as an African American lawman who's been tracking racial violence for some time, enlisting the help of the boy's parents in finding him isn't going to be easy. Locke' s writing simmers with subsurface violence as nostalgia for antebellum Texas clashes with contemporary racism and an honorable man who lives by the code of the Rangers is caught in the middle n

Race is always front and center in this second “Highway 59 Mystery” book following the work of black Texas Ranger Darren Matthews. In this episode, he is investigating the disappearance of a 9-year old white boy whose father (now incarcerated) was big in the Aryan Brotherhood. At the outset, it seems likely that the boy will be following in his father’s footsteps based on his early and nasty harassment of his black and native American neighbors. Set in the time period of the Trump election, the plot tangles together potential hate crimes, peculiarities of East Texas geography, and convoluted connections to history, family, and communities whose borders are not always what they seem. The latter is where Locke really shines.

The writing is good, the characters have real depth (FYI the black characters are far more sympathetic than any of the white ones). Darren Matthews is a great lead — strong, competent, and human -- driven from an intense moral core. I appreciated his constant struggles with the morality of his actions, coupled with an awareness of his own flaws.

I read an advance reader copy and did find the writing to be a little muddier and in need of editing than the first novel (which I thought was spectacular). This is a solid mystery — convoluted plot, deep characters, good writing — but it doesn’t achieve the literary level of book one in which I found many, many, lines of perfect craft and deep beauty (see my review of the first novel — Bluebird, Bluebird — at:https://bibliobloggityboo.com/2018/11/07/bluebird-bluebird-by-attica-locke/)

Thank you NetGalley and Mulholland Books for this arc.

I'd read Bluebird, Bluebird and looked forward to reading this follow up book. This was not a comfortable read for me. I felt for Darren through out the book and his life was imploding all around him, his marriage, his relationships with his mother and uncle as well as with his best friend, troubles and dissatisfaction with his job as a Texas Ranger, etc. The pace of this book was fairly steady, action, revelation and reflection time for Darren, followed by more action, more revelations and more reflection time. Darren seemed to prefer taking action before thought. Seemed to be a much younger man in that respect than he actually was. Racial prejudice was the underlying theme in this story and Darren's realization of his own prejudicial attitude was near heartbreaking. While he did manage to rescue the missing boy that had sent him deeper into East Texas, that resolution came at a very high cost for him.

Heaven, My Home is part 2 of Highway 59 series, but to me it felt like book 1 and this book are actually one story.
This book is about Texas Ranger Darren Matthews. As a black man and as a ranger he deals with racisme and difficulties in doing his job in Texas.. He gets send to rural Texas to investigate a missing child, who's father is a white supremacists and Darrens real target.

Attica Locke is an amazing writer and she paints a beautiful, but realistic, picture of Texas. She writes very elegant and the story becomes alive right in front of you. However, the books are labelled as crime or mystery, but to me it didn't feel like either. There is not a lot of mystery and there are no exciting twists or turns.