Attica Locke—a writer and producer of FOX’s Empire —delivers an engrossing, complex, and cinematic thriller about crime and racial justice Los Angeles Times  Book Prize Finalist (Mystery/Thriller) Edgar Award Nominee (Best First Novel) The Orange Prize for Fiction (Shortlist) “A near-perfect balance of trenchant social commentary, rich characterizations, and action-oriented plot.... Attica Locke [is] a writer wise beyond her years.”
—  Los Angeles Times “Atmospheric… deeply nuanced... akin to George Pelecanos or Dennis Lehane....  Subtle and compelling.”
—  New York Times “ Black Water Rising is a stylish, involving literary thriller with a strong emphasis on human politics and character. An auspicious debut from Attica Locke.” - George Pelecanos, author of The Turnaround “What a ride! Black Water Rising is a superlative debut; a wonderful treatise on the Texas 1980s; the best bad town novel in some time. Attica Locke is a stand-out in every imperative-young-writer way.” - James Ellroy, author of American Tabloid and L.A. Confidential “[A] deeply nuanced story . . . As Scott Turow has done, Ms. Locke uses small, incremental deceptions to draw her main character into big and dangerous mistakes . . . Subtle and compelling.” - New York Times “Locke gives readers a well-paced suspense tale. . . . Let’s hope Locke has more novels in her. Any author who can make readers actually like a low-rent lawyer has talent to spare.” - St. Louis Post-Dispatch “A crackling thriller from Attica Locke. . . . Locke’s writing is sharp and authentic; you can practically hear the Southern drawl emanating off the page . . . a writer we’ll need to keep an eye on” - Sacramento Book Review “Black Water Rising [is] a strong and whip-smart debut from Attica Locke. Set in the author’s native Houston, it’s both a compelling mystery and a sharp, literate portrait of the social layers within that city’s black community.” - Seattle Times “[An] extraordinary debut. . . . This kind of racial authenticity and insight is rarely seen in the genre outside of Walter Mosley and Dennis Lehane. Plus, [Locke] really knows how to build suspense.” - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “This is the first novel by Locke, a screenwriter; it is, Charles McGrath said in The Times , ‘even better’ than the slick book its author set out to write.” - New York Times, Paperback Row “Attica Locke is a vivid storyteller. . . .Without pretence, she provides an engaging story about one man’s enduring struggle for justice and equality. It’s a must for your summer reading list.” - Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers “Locke deftly moves between past and present action . . . [putting] her in the company of master thriller writers such as Dennis Lehane or Scott Turow. Black Water Rising is a near-perfect balance of trenchant social commentary, rich characterizations, and an action-oriented plot that . . . moves rapidly toward some explosive revelations . . . Attica Locke [is] a writer wise beyond her years.” - Los Angeles Times “Locke deftly moves between past and present action . . . [putting] her in the company of master thriller writers such as Dennis Lehane or Scott Turow. . . . Attica Locke [is] a writer wise beyond her years.” - Los Angeles Times “This debut thriller charges out of the gate, boldly establishing Locke as a name to look out for in years to come.” - Sarah Weinman, National Post “A strong and whip-smart debut from Attica Locke. . . . a compelling mystery . . . The good, the bad, the subtle but relentless humiliation―it’s all vividly there.” - Seattle Times “[An] atmospheric . . . deeply nuanced story . . . with a serious, stirring moral urgency akin to that of George Pelecanos or Dennis Lehane. . . . As Scott Turow has done, Ms. Locke uses small, incremental deceptions to draw her main character into big and dangerous mistakes . . . Subtle and compelling.” –The New York Times” - New York Times “A crackling good Houston-based mystery that captures the spirit of the boomtown era of the early 1980s . . . Intriguing . . . In the guise of a summer mystery, [Locke] subtly examines the history of race relations and the transition to an integrated America.” - West University Examiner “Publishers like to pepper their hypewithwords like ‘superlative,’ ‘auspicious,’ ‘universal,’ and ‘dazzling’ (all used about this book), claims that are usually ignored. This time, though, they’re absolutely right. If you only read one suspense novel this summer, make it Black Water Rising.” - Mystery Scene Magazine “Locke shines . . . this is a rare occasion where the hype is deserved. . . . Locke seamlessly weaves history, suspense, and passion in this promising tale that will linger long after this season.” - Essence “Locke’s debut thriller ends in a satisfying whirlwind of drama.” - Library Journal “ Black Water Rising reads like a hard-boiled thriller, but the real trick resides in Locke’s ability to personalize an overlooked part of American history and show how