Black Water Rising
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Product Description
Review
'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 2010, critically acclaimed in US and UK (fans include Ellroy, Pelecanos, John Harvey), Attica Locke's debut is now in paperback
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
50 of 53 people found the following review helpful
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.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There's really not much here that hasn't been done much much better elsewhere. The central plot - big corporation doing bad things - is a pretty tired cliche anyway and Locke brings nothing new to it, unless you count slowing down the pace so much that events that finer writers would get us through in a chapter or two take up the whole book.
The secondary narrative, about the central character's involvement in the civil rights movement, doesn't really amount to that much either.
A note from the writer at the end explains the origin of the opening scenes; the opening is a very effective set piece but, actually, knowing that it is based in reality only seems to underline how lacking in engaging imaginative detail this book is.
The secondary narrative, about the central character's involvement in the civil rights movement, doesn't really amount to that much either.
A note from the writer at the end explains the origin of the opening scenes; the opening is a very effective set piece but, actually, knowing that it is based in reality only seems to underline how lacking in engaging imaginative detail this book is.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The writer has tried to write a crime/political thriller based on the Civil Rights Movement in the USA. In order to fully understand the content one needs quite a bit of knowledge of this subject. As for the book itself I found it to be 427 pages of an introduction to a really interesting story that one never gets to know about.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
John Harvey to thank for this
I bought this book because John Harvey indicated that he had found it helpful whilst writing his latest novel "Good Bait" - I can see why. Read more
Published 3 months ago by John Fordyce
You really must read this book
Read this book over two days. It was a great read, a well written, often funny, suspense-filled literary thriller, with a super and unobtrusive dose of African-American history. Read more
Published 4 months ago by avidreaderlondon
Houston has a problem
Set in 1981 Houston, Texas, this brings together three stories of which two are inspired by real events. Read more
Published 5 months ago by OEJ
Far fetched and not that great
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... Read more
Published 6 months ago by J. Willis
excellent
don't know what book some of the other reviewers have been reading but clearly not the same one i just sat and read cover to cover in one sitting. Read more
Published 6 months ago by byekitty
Feels like a lecture
I found Black Water Rising a chore to read. The pace is slow and parts of the book reminded me of lessons on race relations in America. Read more
Published 10 months ago by ReaderWriter
Good, but missed a chance to be brilliant
More political thriller than crime thriller. An outstanding read until near the end.
From reading other reviews, it's clear that one persons "detailed character and... Read more
From reading other reviews, it's clear that one persons "detailed character and... Read more
Published 11 months ago by MarkZ
Black Water Rising
I thought this book was OK, but found it irritating that the hero's paranoia prevented normal communication and rational action. Read more
Published 12 months ago by rae
Stuck in the mud!
I downloaded this with great expectations as I love reading new authors, however this book made very little impression on me and to be honest I got bored quite quickly. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Blue Moon
Really difficult to get into
It wasn't what I expected. Was very very slow. A number of times I gave up on the book but then came back as thought I have paid for it so should finish it. Read more
Published 15 months ago by UA
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