The Forsaken

I thing the latest installment in the Quinn Colson saga, THE FORSAKEN, was by far the most gripping, and emotional. After a brutal shoot out that left the sheriff of a border county dead, both Sheriff Quinn Colson, and his Deputy Lillie, are in hot water. The DA is talking about a Grand Jury, and a possible indictment, confident the shooting was less than justified. Additionally, Diana Tully has come forward, and needs Colson\’s help. Nearly thirty years ago she was raped, shot, left for dead . . . and her friend was murdered. The murderer was never officially caught. Officially. The town rallied against the violent crime. They had a baseline description of the suspect. Male, black. Seemed like all they needed. The town covered up the hanging, and burning of a body, but assured the families justice had been served. The problem is, after the town murdered the man they though responsible for the henious crimes, Diana saw the rapist/murderer again. Could the town have lynched the wrong man? Colson\’s digging for truth unearths unwanted answers about his own past. He learns far more about his father than perhaps he ever wanted, or was ever ready to know. A tight, compelling read. THE FORSAKEN was about as intense as a book can be. I couldn\’t find out what happens next fast enough. If you enjoy Lee Child\’s Jack Reacher books, or Craig Johnson\’s Walt Longmire tales . . . You. Will. Love. Ace Atkins! Phillip Tomasso, Author of the Severed Empire Saga, and The Vaccination Trilogy

I truly love this series. This was one of those books I just couldn\’t put down – one chapter led to the next, to the next – and on until I read the last line. And then I was upset because the story was over and I knew that finding a new story was going to be tough because there just aren\’t that many intelligent authors out there. What did I love about this book? The characters, who are palpably real and who talk to each other like real people. The plot line which intrigued, kept me guessing, and had real depth. The ideas behind the good guys and the bad guys that mirror real life struggles with good and evil, and greater evil. The very real struggle with politics, public safety, and the very sad but understandable trait of human nature to vote for what sounds good but isn\’t. The story started a little slowly, but picked up a few chapters in and dragged me back to this town and its flawed, but very human people. This book shows the difficulty a good man has when trying to combat a corrupt businessman with political cronies, and the even more difficult task of bringing an ugly past to light – especially when that past is roaring back into town making even the corrupt businessman look good. I would give one warning with this book – there is a lot of swearing – something that usually puts me off, and might bother some readers. However, in the context, and considering the people using the language, it brings more reality to the story. This is a good book – a great book. My only real problem is that I have to wait months until the author\’s next book in this series comes out.

Another fine novel from Ace Atkins. Atkins has written a couple of other series, which have some good books but are uneven. In this Quinn Colson series, he started strong and has maintained a high level of writing through this third book. The writing is good, the characters remain interesting, the plot is sufficiently original, and the depiction of the action and the landscape excellent. Colson is back at home, a sheriff in a small town which may, or may not, truly want him back now that he\’s taking the job very seriously, unlike his predecessors. This novel goes back and forth in time, giving us glimpses of Colson\’s past and his father as well as the way racial hatred could spontaneously erupt into violence. But the evil of the past was not eradicated, and it comes face to face with the modern face of evil as the book moves along. Colson, a former Ranger who served in Afghanistan, and his few friends face a battle on two fronts not unlike those that Colson thought he left behind overseas. It takes a surprising ally to help him out. Atkins has hit his stride and this has become one of those series where I regret reading the novel when it first comes out, knowing how long it will be until I get my hands on the next one.

Ace Atkins is one of the most underrated writers in the industry. He\’s done an outstanding job of taking over the Spenser character created by Robert Parker and I find Quinn Colson to be one of the more interesting lead characters I have read. Atkins keeps his stories moving not a lot of fluff. This is the fourth book I\’ve read in the Colson series and I will definitely read them all

I\’m a real Atkins fan. I have read almost all of his books and I rate him among my favorite authors. He is usually a clever fellow. This book was a bit of a letdown. The good news is that his characters and location are interesting. The dialog is good and appears to be the real southern deal. Ace made it easy for those who had not read earlier books in the series to ease into this book by bringing in lots of details from the other books. Although the book did not move quickly or show off his clever writing skills, it kept my interest level tweaked. The ending was a bit of surprise but seemed real abrupt and unsatisfying. At the end of the day, I was tired of many of the characters, the result of a overdoes of them ( being in all the books). . .

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