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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Three May Keep A Secret, If Two Are Dead, June 9, 2009
In her debut novel, Black Water Rising, Attica Locke gives us a literary thriller that grabs us from the opening page to the last page. It is Houston, Texas 1981 and Jay Porter, a struggling lawyer without two pennies to rub together, is about to take his pregnant wife on a boat ride on the bayou as a birthday celebration. As if they both have foresight of what is to come, each is hesitant for their own reasons on whether they should take this trip. Jay wonders if this will meet his wife's expectations. Bernie, his wife, wonders if the boat will survive the trip but she does not want her husband to be disappointed. But those thoughts are thrown aside as Jay pulls a drowning woman out of the water. He knows this is the right thing to do, but his inner voice and past tells him, he should not have gotten involved with a white woman running away from the black side of town. After leaving the woman on the police station steps, Jay and Bernie go home. But Jay cannot leave well enough alone, and wants to know more about this woman and as each clue he uncovers brings danger to him and his family, Jay wonders if he can turn away before he is drawn back into his past which he was barely able to survive.
This book provides us with a wonderful treat as besides the mystery story to be solved, there is the story of how Jay became the person that he is. It is a story about young people taking charge to bring about social change in the 1970s and how the establishment used their power to make sure that this change did not happen. This storyline is blended seamlessly with the mystery story and shows us that while things change the more things remain the same. The author did an excellent job of presenting time and location. The reader is transported to Houston and along with the heat and humidity will feel Houston's growing pains as she comes into her own as an oil power town. There are a variety of characters, some you will love and some you will dislike. However, I would like to have learned more about Bernie, as at times I did not understand her behavior, especially when she was in danger.
I enjoyed this book and while the action in the book is centered in the 1970s and 1980s, it is very current with our times as we examine the connection between government, business and energy and the struggle between greed and doing what is right. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy thrillers, mysteries and storylines with contemporary themes.
Reviewed by Beverly
APOOO BookClub
March 18, 2009
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
This Water Falls Then Finally Crests, October 4, 2009
Although I didn't find the "literary thriller" that I expected based on the glowing reports by paid critics and several reviewers here, `Black Water Rising' is a good, no, very good political drama. The story is rich in the history of the turbulent 70s through the booming 80s in Houston. And, Locke both draws a visual map of the city and develops a complex protagonist in Jay Porter. Alas, after the vividly portrayed beginning with a birthday celebration that is interrupted by Jay Porter's saving a stranger in distress, the story drags until nearly the middle of the book. Then, as this reader was set to labor through a mediocre book, the momentum quickly picks up with a realistic conversation between Jay and Stokely Carmichael that captures the cadence and syntax of the well-known social activist. The best written scene follows with an accurate picture of a campus protest rally that turns into a melee. At this point, Locke starts to show her screenwriting chops by invigorating the dialogue and action. When Ainsley, the character that takes his case all the way to Washington, talks about the mine's closing and developers buying up the land, it's like reading recent headlines about the financial schemes that brought our economy to the edge. An especial strength of the writing is how Locke fixes the time and place with details of the period, e.g., public conduct (indoors, the union men tucked their work caps under their arms), technology (the rotary phone) and music (by Otis Redding, the Dells, et al.). In recovering the pace that she started in the beginning, the writer finally delivers the promised suspense. By the end of the story, the multiple plotlines have been tied together. However, too much is left unresolved and the drama comes to an abrupt end.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
terrific historical legal thriller, June 10, 2009
In 1981 Houston, black attorney Jay Porter has a lot of information on a recent homicide, but has several reasons not to share his knowledge with the cops. Besides not trusting the police, an offshoot of growing up in the city's slums, Porter knows if he speaks up he goes under the spotlight, and he has a lot to hide. Back when he was nineteen in 1970 he was on trial for inciting a riot and for conspiracy to commit murder of a federal agent; he knows he was fortunate that there was a juror who lived near his future father-in-law's church. He didn't even know Bernie who is now his wife or her dad Reverend Boykins at that time, but they and his flock were there for him. He wants his felonious history to remain concealed and a tryst with Mayor Cynthia Maddox to stay secret as he is beginning to make it in the middle class and wants the best for his wife and their new child.
On the other hand, Porter also realizes by his silence, an innocent man is being condemned. Although his conscience bothers him, he weighs being the Good Samaritan against the impact on his family and his career.
This is a terrific historical legal thriller that brings to life Houston in 1981 as the civil rights movement remains strong but not quite as effective as it had been. Jay is a fabulous lead character as he decides to let the innocent dupe take the fall rather than challenge the city's powerful, but each time he shaves his conscience bothers him. Although too many subplots that help anchor time and place take away from the main theme, sub-genre fans will enjoy this strong character driven tale as Jay has nothing to lose materially with silence, but everything to lose with speaking out.
Harriet Klausner
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