The Revelators

First off – I am a fan of Ace Atkins. His Spenser series has taken up where Robert Parker left off fairly smoothly. And while I enjoyed the other \”Ranger\” series, this one was disappointing. I\’ve mentioned this before but the use of \”big ass\” or \”wide ass\” to describe trucks, guns, women, breakfast etc only makes sense when it is spoken by a character thereby leading the reader to believe that apparently that is local vernacular and how people in Mississippi speak. But it makes no sense for the narrator to keep repeating \”big ass\” since he is speaking directly to the reader and not as a character. Other minor objections – I don\’t need to know the specific brand of cigar Quinn lights up. He has been lighting these for many novels and we all know he likes good cigars. Just say \”Quinn lit a cigar\” is enough already. Quinn\’s relationship with Maggie is boring. I find myself skimming ahead when there are interactions between them. The ending of this novel was disappointing. SPOILER ALERT – In the previous story, Quinn was beaten up and shot. This one ends with him head butting the corrupt sheriff then running to the hospital to help his wife give birth? Are you kidding me? There should have been a major gunfight with Quinn, Boomer, and Lily and the corrupt sheriffs deputies and the Watchmen . Instead we have to read how Quinn is telling Maggie she\’s doing great and keep breathing. If there\’s a movie, will Quinn be played by Alan Alda? This is a SUSPENSE/CRIME novel. How about some action? And Lily Virgil\’s character should have slapped the living crap out of Frannie instead of bringing her down with one shot. That would have been a cathartic ending. While we\’re on the subject, Lily would be a much, much more interesting and sexy love interest for Quinn. Quinn\’s domestic life is putting me to sleep. I assume this is the end of the series or do we now have to witness Quinn changing diapers while lighting up one of those gourmet \”big ass\” cigars. What\’s next, is Jack Reacher going to settle down and live in a gated community?

Revelator: one that reveals the will of God. I\’m still thinking about who the revelators are in this latest in Ace Atkin\’s Quinn Colson series. And what better mark of a good book than one that stays with you for awhile, or forever? Sheriff Quinn Colson\’s Tibbehah County is still a hot mess of corruption and intrigue. Quinn\’s a mess, too, as 10 months later he\’s still hurting and rehabbing from the multiple gunshot wounds he nearly died from at the end of Shameless. He\’s about to be a new dad, on the edge of losing his sheriff-ing job due to the aforementioned corruption, and teaming up with good friend Boom (and a few other good guys, including our favorite law enforcement professional, Lillie) in their continuing fight to drive drugs, human traffickers, crooked politicians and wayward women out of their town. If I said there was something biblical about this series, maybe that\’s imbuing Mr. Atkins\’s work with a gravity that seems misplaced to some. But as I think about the title of this book and its place with others in the series–The Lost Ones, The Broken Places, The Forsaken, The Fallen, The Sinners, etc.–The Revelators seems a natural progression, and downright apocalyptic in a New Testament kind of way. Caddy might agree with me. Ace Atkins has once again written a funny, revealing, violent, can\’t-put-down story that pays homage and earns its place in a long line of southern writers. Stop whatever you\’re doing and get on back to Jericho. The walls come tumbling down in this one.

Once again, Ace Atkins knocks it out of the park with The Revelators. Recovering from recent injuries inflicted by the slimy underworld of Tibbehah County, Quinn Colson is faced with the absence from his sherriff\’s office, and the unscrupulous temporary replacement bent on taking over. This is a story of corruption, the struggle for recovery, and of family. The book is infuriatingly difficult to put down and pages seem to turn themselves. This is definitely one of Atkins\’ best to-date, if not the best. Perfect timing for the cure for those old pandemic blues. Well worth the reading experience.

Sheriff Quinn Colson, of Tibbehah County, Mississippi, continues to recover from being shot earlier during an ambush. While he is laid up, Gov’na Vardaman orders an investigation into the ongoing crime in Tibbehah. While the investigation is going on, the Gov’na appoints an interim sheriff, who arrives in Jericho with a team of deputies. One soon suspects that the interim sheriff and his deputies are on the wrong side of the law. Fannie Hathcock heads up the crime syndicate in the county. With Sheriff Colson laid up, her operations expand. Fannie has a lot of businesses going on, from entertainment, prostitution, trading in stolen goods and the list goes on and on. Sheriff Colson, as he recovers, starts looking into this growing crime. He does it quietly with the assistance of some friends and some federal law enforcement officers. It does not take long before events simply explode. “The Revelators” is the tenth novel in the Quinn Colson Series by author Ace Atkins. For this reader, it was a slow start into this novel. It was like what could Quinn Colson do that he had not done in the previous nine novels? Well, he is now married to Maggie and they are expecting a new child. A chicken processing plant in Tibbehah gets raided and the undocumented workers from Mexico and Central America are taken away, while their American born children remain in Jericho. That creates a new angle for the reader, especially because Mississippi is notorious for hiring illegals to work at low wages in chicken processing plants. Soon all these various activities from Fannie Hathcock to some powerful people being involved with the crimes and even the ownership of the raided chicken plant, all come together. In the end, this reader enjoyed the novel, yet remains uncertain about possible interest in future novels in the Quinn Colson series. This reader has read all ten.

What interests me about this guy is his voice(s). I first came across him as the further standard bearer of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novels – he’s done quite a few after ol’ Bob took the final fall – and absolutely spot on they are too. Pace, rhythm, wit, characterisation, that particular compassion/passion when it comes to relationships that is such a joy of Parker’s writing – fab. 10/10. So I looked for more from him and came up with his Quinn Colson series, which I guess are a little less Compelling, but only a little, set as they are in true redneck MAGA country of northern Mississippi. But doesn’t take long to know we’ve struck gold here too – a completely different and entirely genuine voice, showing true affection for what could easily be seen as one of many of the US’s a*****e towns. Racism, poverty, illegal immigrants – the Colson stories have got them all, with a few choice peckerwood comedians and plenty of gut busting violence. Colson’s sexually ambivalent sidekick Lillie Virgil reminds me of James Lee Burke’s Helen Soileau, partner and then sheriff of the redoubtable but deeply compromised Dave Robicheaux. So we turn to Atkins’s ‘blues’ series with blues historian / amateur sleuth Nick Travers – kicking off with the search for the truth of the death of the King of the Delta Blues Singers, Robert Johnson – you know, the one who sold his soul to the devil to play guitar? Deep disappointment. Blues and crime writing are 2 of my many addictions, so we’re well set here thinks I. Not a bit of it. Wholly fails to engage, writing clunky, plotting weak… I’ve done two and had to give up. Sorry Ace, you’re great aNd I’m sure you love the blues as much as I do, but those books just don’t hit the note. Meanwhile. The Revelators totally kicks ass. Can’t wait for the next QC.

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