A "heartbreakingly resonant" thriller about the explosive intersection of love, race, and justice from a writer and producer of the Emmy-winning Fox TV show Empire ( USA Today ). "In Bluebird, Bluebird Attica Locke had both mastered the thriller and exceeded it."-Ann Patchett When it comes to law and order, East Texas plays by its own rules -- a fact that Darren Mathews, a black Texas Ranger, knows all too well. Deeply ambivalent about growing up black in the lone star state, he was the first in his family to get as far away from Texas as he could. Until duty called him home. When his allegiance to his roots puts his job in jeopardy, he travels up Highway 59 to the small town of Lark, where two murders -- a black lawyer from Chicago and a local white woman -- have stirred up a hornet's nest of resentment. Darren must solve the crimes -- and save himself in the process -- before Lark's long-simmering racial fault lines erupt. From a writer and producer of the Emmy winning Fox TV show Empire, Bluebird, Bluebird is a rural noir suffused with the unique music, color, and nuance of East Texas. One of CrimeReads's 10 Best Novels of the Decade Winner of the 2018 Edgar Award for Best Novel A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice A Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize A Washington Post 10 Best Thrillers and Mysteries of 2017 A Kirkus Best Mysteries and Thrillers of 2017 A Financial Times Best Book of the Year Best book of the year from Vulture, The Strand Magazine, Southern Living, Bolo Books, Publisher's Weekly, Book Riot, The Guardian , Lit Hub , The Boston Globe , Dallas News , Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , Minnesota Public Radio, Texas Monthly, The Daily Beast , and the South Florida Sun Sentinel Bluebird, Bluebird has the impeccable pacing, memorable characters, and deepening sense of mystery and dread we expect in the finest noir thrillers. But this novel is so much more. Darren Mathews, the black Texas Ranger at the story's center, is a man caught up in the complex and at times contradictory loyalties of geography, profession, race, and family. He is a brilliantly realized character and in his refusal to settle for easy answers, he leads himself and the reader toward the most elemental of contradictions: the inextricable link between hate and love. Attica Locke has written a marvelous novel.-- "Ron Rash, author of Serena and The Risen" "[A] deftly plotted whodunit whose writing pulses throughout with a raw, blues-inflected lyricism." -- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review)" "A heartbreakingly resonant new novel about race and justice in America." -- "USA Today" "Few contemporary writers have portrayed black Southern life with as much wit and heart-pounding drama...A dazzling work of rural noir." -- "Los Angeles Times" "Homing in on the intensity of Attica Locke's plot, J. D. Jackson delivers a narration full of soul and heartache...Jackson's sensitivity to Mathews' conflicting emotions offers listeners a painfully intimate glimpse of the lawman's psyche as the story of two racially charged murders in a small East Texas town unfolds. As the question of justice grows amid the criminal investigation, Jackson serves up plenty of drama. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award." -- "AudioFile" "In Bluebird, Bluebird Attica Locke had both mastered the thriller and exceeded it." -- "Ann Patchett, #1 New York Times bestselling author" "Listening to Bluebird, Bluebird on audio was definitely the way to go. JD Jackson pulled me right in, his fantastic narration nearly as compelling as the mystery itself." -- "BookRiot" "Locke's stupendous fourth novel is suffused with the blues...streaked with wit and hard-earned wisdom." -- "Chicago Tribune" "Reads like a blues song to East Texas with all its troubles...Reveals what lies at the heart of America's confusion over race." -- "Walter Mosley, New York Times bestselling author" "The book's hero, a black Texas Ranger, and his fight for justice make this a page-turner that brings Texas into sharp focus." -- "Bustle" -- Kirkus (Starred Review) a gripping page-turner with suspenseful hooks and an old-school, cinematic feel-- "The Riveter" timely thriller about race and justice-- "PureWow" [Locke's] mystery novels are top notch...the book's hero, a black Texas Ranger, and his fight for justice make this a page-turner that brings Texas into sharp focus.-- "Bustle" A great new book series . . . Entertaining-- "Charles Ealy, Austin American-Statesman" A native Texan herself, Locke knows how such racial animus can breed an atmosphere of dread, and she employs it deftly to spark suspense.-- "The Austin Chronicle" A quick course in plotting and nimble characterizations rooted in a vividly evoked setting-- "Nicole Lamy, New York Times Book Review" A rural noir suffused with the unique music, color and nuance of East Texas, Bluebird, Bluebird is a timely novel about the collision of race and justice in America.-