Racial tensions are at the core of this elegant thriller, set in Shelby County, Texas. There is injustice here – institutional racism that has its roots in Texas’s history as a confederate state and continues today. Locke’s detective, Darren – a hard-drinking Texas ranger, separated from his wife – also happens to be black. In the differences between him and his colleagues, we learn of the racial inequalities of the locality. Darren understands how “criminality, once it touched black life was a stain hard to remove” and how an unkempt black man is “walking probable cause”. When a white woman’s body is found soon after a black man’s, however, Darren’s rigid understanding of race relations in Texas collapses: “The order of the killings… It didn’t fit any agreed-upon American script”. In slow yet gripping chapters, Locke studies the impact of racism on a small town and its people.
• Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke is published by Serpent’s Tail (£14.99). To order a copy for £12.74 go to guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99
