On a dark night, out on the Houston bayou to celebrate his wife's birthday, Jay Porter hears a scream. Saving a distressed woman from drowning, he opens a Pandora's Box. Not the lawyer he set out to be, Jay long ago made peace with his radical youth, tucked away his darkest sins and resolved to make a fresh start. His impulsive act out on the bayou is heroic, but it puts Jay in danger, ensnaring him in a murder investigation that could cost him is practice, his family and even his life. Before he can untangle the mystery that stretches to the highest reaches of corporate power, he must confront the demons of his past. A provocative thriller with an exhilarating climax, Black Water Rising marks the arrival of an electrifying new talent.
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'The writing is so beautifully controlled that it is difficult to believe that this is Locke's first foray into fiction' --Daily Mail
Book Description
Shortlisted for the Orange Prize, critically acclaimed in US and UK (fans include Ellroy, Pelecanos, John Harvey), Attica Locke's debut is now in paperback
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70 of 75 people found the following review helpful
By R. Shear
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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The debut novel of author Attica Locke, Black Water Rising, is an excellent and atmospheric read.
The novel is set in 1980's Houston and begins simply enough: Lawyer Jay and his wife Bernadine are on a boat on the bayou celebrating her birthday, when they hear gunshots and see a woman plunge into the water. Jay rescues her and drops her off at the local poice station.
From here the story spins into multiple plotlines, Jay investigating the mystery woman after the boat-captain turns up dead, Jay becoming involved in a strike of the black Houston dockworkers at the behest of his father-in-law and flashbacks to Jay's own polical past in the Black Power movement in the 1960's. This last thread resonates into the present as Jay's former girlfried from his radical days is now Mayor of Houston. Underlying all of this is the Oil industry and the sinister figures in it's upper echelons.
The other reviews for this novel have been very mixed, but for me, this multi-strand plot works very well, is wonderfully faced, and to the author's credit, the novel surpasses the simple crime thriller genre to capture an authentic slice of American history. The author clearly knows Houston and it's history inside out and is able to beautifully recreate the time and transport you there. It reminds me very much of the novels of JAMES LEE BURKE and his wonderful evocations of New Orleans.
This is not a generic, throwaway thriller with implausible twists that make you wince with embarrassment, like the recent books by Jeffrey Deaver, but a thought-provoking and haunting novel that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.
The novel is set in 1980's Houston and begins simply enough: Lawyer Jay and his wife Bernadine are on a boat on the bayou celebrating her birthday, when they hear gunshots and see a woman plunge into the water. Jay rescues her and drops her off at the local poice station.
From here the story spins into multiple plotlines, Jay investigating the mystery woman after the boat-captain turns up dead, Jay becoming involved in a strike of the black Houston dockworkers at the behest of his father-in-law and flashbacks to Jay's own polical past in the Black Power movement in the 1960's. This last thread resonates into the present as Jay's former girlfried from his radical days is now Mayor of Houston. Underlying all of this is the Oil industry and the sinister figures in it's upper echelons.
The other reviews for this novel have been very mixed, but for me, this multi-strand plot works very well, is wonderfully faced, and to the author's credit, the novel surpasses the simple crime thriller genre to capture an authentic slice of American history. The author clearly knows Houston and it's history inside out and is able to beautifully recreate the time and transport you there. It reminds me very much of the novels of JAMES LEE BURKE and his wonderful evocations of New Orleans.
This is not a generic, throwaway thriller with implausible twists that make you wince with embarrassment, like the recent books by Jeffrey Deaver, but a thought-provoking and haunting novel that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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Set in 1981 Houston, Texas, this brings together three stories of which two are inspired by real events. The semi-factual elements are the (by then) pretty much redundant civil rights movement as championed by Martin Luther King, and the longshoremen strike in Houston dock in the early years of the Reagan era. The fictional tale entwined within these revolves around black lawyer Jay Porter, who rescues a woman from what might or might not have been an attempt on her life, and his subsequent involvement in the various union protests which to a large extent centre on racial discrimination. Towards the second half of the story, the emphasis shifts towards high-level corruption within the oil industry, and their attempts to keep prices high at a time when demand falls short of supply and the big oil companies adopt some highly dubious measures to store unused oil, methods that endanger the lives of hundreds if not thousands of residents living close to the secret storage facilities.
I liked this. The writing style is at all times polished and even classy, and the author should be complemented for achieving this in a first-time-out publication. I think it's fair to say that I was interested in all of the real-life political threads, and can understand other readers finding the book less than gripping if this aspect holds no appeal to them. The fictional tale is quite good and upheld by consistently vivid character-creation and development. Most of the story is related in the present tense, something I always find a distraction, but in this case it was used as a deliberate instrument to aid the reader differentiate between the present-day events (in 1981) and the baggage that Jay Porter carries around with him dating back a decade or more. His relationships with his wife and his former sort-of-girlfriend and now Mayor of Houston are particularly well drawn.
I made what I now know to be the mistake of leaving this on my to-be-read shelf for about two years; it turned out to be a more than decent read, even if I'd lean more towards 'interesting' rather than thrilling. There are some exciting set-pieces though and these too were written very well. Overall, this gets the thumbs-up from me, and Attica Locke shows great promise for the future.
I liked this. The writing style is at all times polished and even classy, and the author should be complemented for achieving this in a first-time-out publication. I think it's fair to say that I was interested in all of the real-life political threads, and can understand other readers finding the book less than gripping if this aspect holds no appeal to them. The fictional tale is quite good and upheld by consistently vivid character-creation and development. Most of the story is related in the present tense, something I always find a distraction, but in this case it was used as a deliberate instrument to aid the reader differentiate between the present-day events (in 1981) and the baggage that Jay Porter carries around with him dating back a decade or more. His relationships with his wife and his former sort-of-girlfriend and now Mayor of Houston are particularly well drawn.
I made what I now know to be the mistake of leaving this on my to-be-read shelf for about two years; it turned out to be a more than decent read, even if I'd lean more towards 'interesting' rather than thrilling. There are some exciting set-pieces though and these too were written very well. Overall, this gets the thumbs-up from me, and Attica Locke shows great promise for the future.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By J. Willis
Format:Paperback
This book is set in Houston Texas during the 1980s. While on a boat ride with his wife, the main character Jay hears gun shots and a scream and then sees a woman fall into the water. Jay rescues her, but in doing so becomes entangled in a murder investigation.
This book for me can be summed up in one infuriating sentence; `If he'd only gone to the police in the first place the whole thing could have been cleared up a lot quicker.' This is what I kept repeating to myself every time Jay got himself in yet more trouble as his situation become more and more convoluted in a plot that seemed to involve everyone all the way up to the Mayor of Houston itself. No really, it goes up as far as the Mayor.
It would not be fair to just dismiss this book as a standard crime novel as there are other elements packed in there such as the civil rights movement, corruption in the oil industry and union strikes and despite all these plot elements the story is quite easy to follow. Unfortunately this also involved many secondary characters who were not fleshed out sufficiently; the motivation for the `bad guy' for example is never fully explained and even Jay himself at times just seems to be there as a plot device.
While Jay runs around trying to get himself out of the mess he put himself in (if only he'd gone to the police) there are flashbacks to his life as a student when he was involved in the civil rights movement which included some jail time and the town Mayor. Yes that's right, that pesky Mayor again who features quite a lot yet we learn little about her, except that everything seems to involve her at some point whether its some plot involving oil or Jays personal life.
I'm not entirely sure what the point of Jay's flashbacks were aside from giving background on his relationship with the Mayor as they didn't really connect with the main story. Yes, we got to see what Jay had achieved since his time as a student but we didn't really need chapters and chapters of flashback to let the reader know that.
The author gives a great sense of the heavy and claustrophobic atmosphere of Houston and maybe fans of crime fiction looking for something slightly different may find this appealing. This was shortlisted for the Orange prize and does have its fans but unfortunately as you may have guessed, I didn't like it.
This book for me can be summed up in one infuriating sentence; `If he'd only gone to the police in the first place the whole thing could have been cleared up a lot quicker.' This is what I kept repeating to myself every time Jay got himself in yet more trouble as his situation become more and more convoluted in a plot that seemed to involve everyone all the way up to the Mayor of Houston itself. No really, it goes up as far as the Mayor.
It would not be fair to just dismiss this book as a standard crime novel as there are other elements packed in there such as the civil rights movement, corruption in the oil industry and union strikes and despite all these plot elements the story is quite easy to follow. Unfortunately this also involved many secondary characters who were not fleshed out sufficiently; the motivation for the `bad guy' for example is never fully explained and even Jay himself at times just seems to be there as a plot device.
While Jay runs around trying to get himself out of the mess he put himself in (if only he'd gone to the police) there are flashbacks to his life as a student when he was involved in the civil rights movement which included some jail time and the town Mayor. Yes that's right, that pesky Mayor again who features quite a lot yet we learn little about her, except that everything seems to involve her at some point whether its some plot involving oil or Jays personal life.
I'm not entirely sure what the point of Jay's flashbacks were aside from giving background on his relationship with the Mayor as they didn't really connect with the main story. Yes, we got to see what Jay had achieved since his time as a student but we didn't really need chapters and chapters of flashback to let the reader know that.
The author gives a great sense of the heavy and claustrophobic atmosphere of Houston and maybe fans of crime fiction looking for something slightly different may find this appealing. This was shortlisted for the Orange prize and does have its fans but unfortunately as you may have guessed, I didn't like it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Boring
It started well but slowed right down and in the end I just could not wait to get it read. It was okay, could have been better.
Published 15 days ago by Miss V. Bryans
4.0 out of 5 stars
Integration not segregation
The Civil Rights Movement in the United States is examined from a completely different perspective in this debut novel. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Plucked Highbrow
4.0 out of 5 stars
Black Water Rising
The style of this book reminded me very much of Sara Paretsky's VI Warshawski novels (with a black male lawyer instead of a white female PI, with an added strand of black... Read more
Published 2 months ago by swazijohn
5.0 out of 5 stars
black water rising
have rad this book and it was amazing i am not much of a reader but couldnt put it down till it was finished
Published 4 months ago by simbasam
5.0 out of 5 stars
very good
very good pleased ( i will not write words that I do not want to write even to make it 17 words)
Published 5 months ago by G. poa
3.0 out of 5 stars
OK but a bit over-rated
Not much more to be said, see title of review. Nothing like as good as I imagined from reviews, or the opening chapter.
Published 5 months ago by temperson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good read
The book was a great price and appeared on my kindle immediately. I would definitely recommend readers to use this service
Published 5 months ago by Gerry
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Little Bit Disappointing
I wanted to like this book as the beginning was very promising. It was very well written and very atmospheric. However, the actual plot was all over the place and disjointed. Read more
Published 6 months ago by A Reader from Stockport
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good mystery with understanding of race issues
This book combines an understanding of how race issues both past and present influence lives in the US with a good mystery story.
Published 6 months ago by Marion New York
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
I bought this after searching on lovereading.co.uk with a slight thought that it could possibly be quite a good book, however, this is one of the best books I have read in a long... Read more
Published 6 months ago by JM
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