Book Review & Giveaway: Black Water Rising by Attica Locke

I was sent a book by Harper Collins to read.


It is a thriller from a new author Attica Locke. The book is Black Water Rising. The story grabbed me right away and I quickly became invested in the characters. Set in Houston in the 1980’s it is the story of a young black attorney named Jay Porter that becomes entangled in a murder mystery that he wants no part of. While taking his pregnant wife on a boat cruise up the bayou for her birthday he hears a woman scream and hears a splash in the water and then a cry for help.
All Jay can think of is that he doesn’t want to get involved in whatever mess is in the water but his wife is looking at him expecting him to do something so he does. He dives in and rescues a white woman who is half-drowned.
Jay isn’t cold hearted but he was caught up right in the middle of the Civil Rights movement in the 60’s and he learned some hard lessons, like keep your head down and mind your own business.
Now he is caught up in a situation where even though he really doesn't know anything he is being threatened  that he had better keep his mouth shut while being offered a huge amount of cash if he does just that.
There is so much more to this novel than just the mystery of the woman on the boat. We get to see into Jay’s past as a young college man swept up in the civil rights movement and we also are thrust right into a power struggle between union workers on the docks and the movers and shakers of Houston in the 80’s.
As a white woman I can never truly understand the struggles of a young black man growing up in a place like Texas in the 60’s trying to work and support a family in the 80’s, but the novel gave me a better understanding.
I hope MS. Attica Locke writes many more books!
I have one ARC of Black Water Rising to giveaway to a lucky reader.

Paperback: 427 pages

Publisher: Harper (June 9, 2009)

Language: English

GIVEAWAY RULES
Must be 18 or older
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P.O. BOXES, PLEASE
--EMAIL CONTACT MUST BE INCLUDED
IN COMMENT OR ON YOUR PROFILE SO I CAN FIND YOU
--ALL ENTRIES MUST BE SEPARATE TO COUNT
This giveaway will run through midnight on July 29, with winner being announced July 30. Winner will be chosen using Random.org from all valid entries and notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to contact me before another winner is chosen.
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