I liked this novel by Attica Locke, which I believe several of y’all reviewed already, but it didn’t quite live up to my expectations. Her other two, starring Jay Porter in Houston, were much more interesting. But she told a good story here nonetheless. “Mothering, she learned the hard way, was about loss as well as love.” Caren’s family has lived on Belle Vie, in Louisiana, for generations. Nowadays, it’s a plantation house that provides school tours, puts on outdated plays and hosts the occasional […]
Jay Porter is back
Fifteen years after the events of Black Water Rising, Jay Porter is back to defend the powerless, and uncover the odd conspiracy or two, in his hometown of Houston, Texas. [Spoilers for Black Water Rising] It’s been 15 years since Jay won a huge (HUGE) settlement against Cole Oil, but he still hasn’t seen a dime. It did give a boost to his practice, which now focuses primarily on environmental law, but he’s about ready to close it down — as soon as his last case gets settled. But, […]
“Money, it turns out, is the new Jim Crow.”
My library has a long waiting list for The Cutting Season, which a few of y’all have recommended. So I downloaded Attica Locke’s other two novels, Black Water Rising and its sequel, Pleasantville, on audiobook while I wait. I’ve finished Black Water Rising, which was excellent, and I’m halfway through the equally well-written Pleasantville. So now I’m even more impatient to read The Cutting Season! Black Water Rising, set in Houston in the early 1980s, stars Jay Porter — a African American attorney struggling to keep his criminal defense practice alive. […]
Same as it ever was
4.5 stars. I just can’t keep myself away from mystery books this year. And why would I even want to with fare as good as this? Attica Locke’s The Cutting Season was a really good book and I’m super excited to read her first book because I’ve heard it’s even better. Caren is a middle-aged black woman raising a young daughter on what used to be a Louisiana sugar plantation called Belle Vie. Her family worked the land for decades and Belle Vie is in […]