The Ranger (Quinn Colson) - Hardcover

Ace Atkins is the author of the Quinn Colson novels "The Ranger," "The Lost Ones," and "The Broken Places." Atkins was also chosen by the Robert B. Parker estate to continue the highly popular Spenser novels. A former journalist who cut his teeth as a crime reporter in the newsroom of "The Tampa Tribune," he published his first novel, "Crossroad Blues," at 27 and became a full-time novelist at 30. While at the "Tribune," Ace earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination for a feature series based on his investigation into a forgotten murder of the 1950s. The story became the core of his critically acclaimed novel, "White Shadow, " which earned raves from noted authors and critics. In his next novels, "Wicked City, ""Devil's Garden," and "Infamous," blended first-hand interviews and original research into police and court records with tightly woven plots and incisive characters. The historical novels told great American stories by weaving fact and fiction into a colorful, seamless tapestry.
"The Ranger" represents a return to Ace's first love: hero-driven series fiction. Quinn Colson is a real hero--a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan--who returns home to north Mississippi to fight corruption on his home turf. Ace lives on a historic farm outside Oxford, Mississippi with his family.

Best known for historical thrillers like Infamous, Atkins kicks off a new series with a solid action-packed yarn featuring U.S. Army Ranger Quinn Colson. When Colson returns home to Jericho, Miss., from his most recent tour of duty in Afghanistan for his uncle's funeral, he's surprised to learn that his uncle, former sheriff Hampton Beckett, shot himself to death. An old friend, Deputy Lillie Virgil, suspects that Beckett was actually murdered. Colson's efforts to prove that theory bring him up against both the violent and the corrupt. During Colson's time away, his rural community has been overrun with meth dealers, whose blight affects those close to him. The contours of the story line are a bit too familiar—the prodigal son returning home to clean up the town—and the setup for sequels is predictable, but the author's superior prose will carry most readers along and raise hopes for more original plotting next time. Greg Iles fans will find much to like. (June)