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Quinn Colson #6
The Innocents
She was just seventeen, a high school dropout named Milly Jones, found walking down the middle of the highway, engulfed in flames. Even in a tough Mississippi county like Tibbehah, it shatters the community, and it is up to Sheriff Quinn Colson, back on the job after a year away, and his deputy Lillie Virgil, to investigate what happened and why. Before long, however, accusations start to fly, national media and federal authorities descend, and what seemed like a senseless act of violence begins to appear like something even more disturbing—with more victims waiting in the shadows.
379 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 12, 2016
342 people are currently reading
1375 people want to read
About the author
Ace Atkins
71 books1,558 followersAce Atkins is the author of twenty-eight books, including eleven Quinn Colson novels, the first two of which, The Ranger and The Lost Ones, were nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel (he has a third Edgar nomination for his short story "Last Fair Deal Gone Down"). He is the author of nine New York Times-bestselling novels in the continuation of Robert B. Parker's Spenser series. Before turning to fiction, he was a correspondent for the St. Petersburg Times and a crime reporter for the Tampa Tribune, and he played defensive end for Auburn University football.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 280 reviews
February 10, 2017
I received a free advance copy of this for review from NetGalley.
It’s that time of year when Ace Atkins once again takes us on a tour of Tibbehah County, Mississippi, so I hope you’re ready to eat breakfast at Waffle House, shop at the Wal-Mart, kill an afternoon at a fishin’ hole, watch the local high school football team kick some ass, and then head over to the combination truck stop & strip club for a chicken fried steak and some wholesome entertainment.
Quinn Colson may not be the sheriff these days, but between gigs as a military contractor in Afghanistan he’s got plenty of things to keep an eye on back in his home town. His ne’er-do-well father is pitching a business idea that would mean asking one of his biggest enemies for a favor, his mother is angry that he’s even been talking to his formerly estranged dad, his romantic life is very complicated, and his sister has her hands full trying to run a faith based charity. And Quinn isn’t the only one with a full plate. His friend and former deputy, Lillie, is now the sheriff and dealing with a wide variety of small town crime, a tough as nails woman with shady connections has taken over the strip club with the assistance of a biker gang, a couple of bad boy teens seem on verge of turning into outright thugs, and a troubled young woman with a secret is so desperate to get out of town that she starts working at the nudie bar to make quick cash. When a horrible crime is committed that makes national news all of the citizens of Tibbehah find themselves affected by it.
Atkins continues to impress me with the way that he’s constructed a realistic rural environment populated with a variety of memorable characters that he then threads a crime story through. I also continue to marvel at how he can shift gears from writing the new Spenser novels in their Boston setting to this series and the style is markedly different between the two. The first person Spensers are naturally centered on the very urban private detective, but when he moves to Tibbehah County there’s a more relaxed rhythm as well as an opportunity for Atkins to write from the point of view of multiple characters. This pattern of getting a new Spenser story and then a Quinn Colson book a month or so later continues to be two events I circle on my reading calendar every year.
However, this one is probably my least favorite from this series so far. Usually there’s a central story with the other story threads spun off from it, but the motive and culprit behind the main crime thread this time seemed a bit obvious to me even though it’s played as a mystery. The things that happen in Tibbehah because of it are the more interesting angles, but a lot of these sub-plots are left dangling. That’s not out of the ordinary for Atkins who tends to leave a few threads uncut to pull on in the next book. However, this felt like most of it was in service of future stories like it was an episode of a TV show at mid-season trying to lay some groundwork for the finale.
Even Quinn feels more like a bystander than a main character in this which makes a certain amount of sense because he’s not the sheriff anymore, but some of the secondary characters also seem to have gotten lost in the shuffle. Quinn’s sister Caddy seems like she might play a role at a couple of points, but she just kind of vanishes from the story. There’s a subplot involving a Muslim clerk at a convenience store that also gets left behind in the third act.
This certainly isn’t a bad book, and I still enjoyed my annual visit to Tibbehah County while looking forward to more. It’s not necessarily a bad thing in an on-going series to leave some things hanging for future development, and it’s likely that Atkins will pay these off in the future. However, the emphasis on the set-up instead of pay-off made this a little unsatisfying when compared to the others of the series.
It’s that time of year when Ace Atkins once again takes us on a tour of Tibbehah County, Mississippi, so I hope you’re ready to eat breakfast at Waffle House, shop at the Wal-Mart, kill an afternoon at a fishin’ hole, watch the local high school football team kick some ass, and then head over to the combination truck stop & strip club for a chicken fried steak and some wholesome entertainment.
Quinn Colson may not be the sheriff these days, but between gigs as a military contractor in Afghanistan he’s got plenty of things to keep an eye on back in his home town. His ne’er-do-well father is pitching a business idea that would mean asking one of his biggest enemies for a favor, his mother is angry that he’s even been talking to his formerly estranged dad, his romantic life is very complicated, and his sister has her hands full trying to run a faith based charity. And Quinn isn’t the only one with a full plate. His friend and former deputy, Lillie, is now the sheriff and dealing with a wide variety of small town crime, a tough as nails woman with shady connections has taken over the strip club with the assistance of a biker gang, a couple of bad boy teens seem on verge of turning into outright thugs, and a troubled young woman with a secret is so desperate to get out of town that she starts working at the nudie bar to make quick cash. When a horrible crime is committed that makes national news all of the citizens of Tibbehah find themselves affected by it.
Atkins continues to impress me with the way that he’s constructed a realistic rural environment populated with a variety of memorable characters that he then threads a crime story through. I also continue to marvel at how he can shift gears from writing the new Spenser novels in their Boston setting to this series and the style is markedly different between the two. The first person Spensers are naturally centered on the very urban private detective, but when he moves to Tibbehah County there’s a more relaxed rhythm as well as an opportunity for Atkins to write from the point of view of multiple characters. This pattern of getting a new Spenser story and then a Quinn Colson book a month or so later continues to be two events I circle on my reading calendar every year.
However, this one is probably my least favorite from this series so far. Usually there’s a central story with the other story threads spun off from it, but the motive and culprit behind the main crime thread this time seemed a bit obvious to me even though it’s played as a mystery. The things that happen in Tibbehah because of it are the more interesting angles, but a lot of these sub-plots are left dangling. That’s not out of the ordinary for Atkins who tends to leave a few threads uncut to pull on in the next book. However, this felt like most of it was in service of future stories like it was an episode of a TV show at mid-season trying to lay some groundwork for the finale.
Even Quinn feels more like a bystander than a main character in this which makes a certain amount of sense because he’s not the sheriff anymore, but some of the secondary characters also seem to have gotten lost in the shuffle. Quinn’s sister Caddy seems like she might play a role at a couple of points, but she just kind of vanishes from the story. There’s a subplot involving a Muslim clerk at a convenience store that also gets left behind in the third act.
This certainly isn’t a bad book, and I still enjoyed my annual visit to Tibbehah County while looking forward to more. It’s not necessarily a bad thing in an on-going series to leave some things hanging for future development, and it’s likely that Atkins will pay these off in the future. However, the emphasis on the set-up instead of pay-off made this a little unsatisfying when compared to the others of the series.
February 5, 2017
There's a new sheriff in town, or in Tibbehah County, Mississippi, to be more precise. Ex-Army Ranger, Quinn Colson, who had returned from Afghanistan, been elected sheriff and begun cleaning up the county, has been voted out of office, the victim of a smear campaign conducted by his opponent. Colson's successor is murdered almost immediately upon assuming the office, and this leaves Quinn's trusted deputy, Lillie Virgil, as acting sheriff.
Looking for a change, Quinn goes back to Afghanistan to help train the government's forces. But after a year, he's back in Mississippi only to discover that a number of other changes have occurred. Thanks to Colson, Johnny Stagg, the crime boss and county commissioner who had run the county as his private fiefdom, is now in jail. The truck stop and strip club that Stagg had owned and operated is under new management in the person of Fannie Hathcock, a tough, no nonsense woman who is determined to hold her own against both Sheriff Lillie Virgil and the outsiders who want to muscle in on her operation.
Quinn returns to find that both his family and his love life are about as dysfunctional as they were when he left. In particular, his father, ex-Hollywood stuntman Jason Colson, has grandiose dreams of building a dude ranch on land adjoining Quinn's farm. The issue is complicated by the fact that the land in question is owned by none other than the imprisoned Johnny Stagg, who continues to be Quinn Colson's bitter enemy. The elder Colson attempts to entice his son into joining his grand schemes, and the reader can only hope that Quinn has better sense.
As all of this plays out, a young woman who was once the top cheerleader at the local high school takes a job working at Fannie Hathcock's renovated strip club. She's a natural on the pole and is pulling down huge tips until she is brutally murdered. The investigation into her death turns into a three-ring circus, and Lillie Virgil recruits Quinn Colson to come back to work for the county, this time as her deputy. As things spin out of control, even Lillie and Quinn working together may not be enough to hold back the chaos.
This is another very good entry in an excellent series. In his fictional Tibbehah County, Atkins has created a fully-formed world with believable characters who range from being extremely sympathetic to downright loathsome. Quinn Colson, in particular, is a very appealing protagonist, and it's always fun spending a few hours with him in his home county, even if it might not be a place where I'd enjoy living on a permanent basis.
Looking for a change, Quinn goes back to Afghanistan to help train the government's forces. But after a year, he's back in Mississippi only to discover that a number of other changes have occurred. Thanks to Colson, Johnny Stagg, the crime boss and county commissioner who had run the county as his private fiefdom, is now in jail. The truck stop and strip club that Stagg had owned and operated is under new management in the person of Fannie Hathcock, a tough, no nonsense woman who is determined to hold her own against both Sheriff Lillie Virgil and the outsiders who want to muscle in on her operation.
Quinn returns to find that both his family and his love life are about as dysfunctional as they were when he left. In particular, his father, ex-Hollywood stuntman Jason Colson, has grandiose dreams of building a dude ranch on land adjoining Quinn's farm. The issue is complicated by the fact that the land in question is owned by none other than the imprisoned Johnny Stagg, who continues to be Quinn Colson's bitter enemy. The elder Colson attempts to entice his son into joining his grand schemes, and the reader can only hope that Quinn has better sense.
As all of this plays out, a young woman who was once the top cheerleader at the local high school takes a job working at Fannie Hathcock's renovated strip club. She's a natural on the pole and is pulling down huge tips until she is brutally murdered. The investigation into her death turns into a three-ring circus, and Lillie Virgil recruits Quinn Colson to come back to work for the county, this time as her deputy. As things spin out of control, even Lillie and Quinn working together may not be enough to hold back the chaos.
This is another very good entry in an excellent series. In his fictional Tibbehah County, Atkins has created a fully-formed world with believable characters who range from being extremely sympathetic to downright loathsome. Quinn Colson, in particular, is a very appealing protagonist, and it's always fun spending a few hours with him in his home county, even if it might not be a place where I'd enjoy living on a permanent basis.
November 29, 2016
If you go for the southern noir/grit lit thing, then you shouldn’t miss this series by Ace Atkins. It may be referred to as the “Quinn Colson” series but it’s really so much more.
This book in particular sees a lot more from acting Tibbehah County Sheriff Lillie Virgil’s perspective and that’s what tipped it into five-star territory for me. As much as they would like it to be, “the world is not a boy’s club” and she doesn’t let much get in her way, even though it costs her in the end.
Like its predecessors, The Innocents is fairly dark in terms of its methods, motives, and language, so be warned. Uncluttered writing, authentic characters, and slow, southern dialogue all contribute to the gritty atmosphere that Atkins has developed in this town of Jericho, Misssissippi. The mystery is there but not at the forefront. In fact, the best thing about this story is how Lillie, Quinn and company go after the bad guys, rather than who the bad guys actually are. And then, just when I thought they had seen it all down there, Atkins throws a curveball and sets us up for the next installment.
Start with The Ranger and see how addictive this series can be.
This book in particular sees a lot more from acting Tibbehah County Sheriff Lillie Virgil’s perspective and that’s what tipped it into five-star territory for me. As much as they would like it to be, “the world is not a boy’s club” and she doesn’t let much get in her way, even though it costs her in the end.
Like its predecessors, The Innocents is fairly dark in terms of its methods, motives, and language, so be warned. Uncluttered writing, authentic characters, and slow, southern dialogue all contribute to the gritty atmosphere that Atkins has developed in this town of Jericho, Misssissippi. The mystery is there but not at the forefront. In fact, the best thing about this story is how Lillie, Quinn and company go after the bad guys, rather than who the bad guys actually are. And then, just when I thought they had seen it all down there, Atkins throws a curveball and sets us up for the next installment.
Start with The Ranger and see how addictive this series can be.
August 26, 2017
The Innocents, apparently, is Quinn Colson 6 – it is the first one I have read and has immediately sent me rushing towards the back catalogue -Quinn as a character immediately engaged me, this one set in Tibbehah, Mississippi it also had that small town southern noir feel that I have loved muchly in other novels.
Actually Quinn is not Sheriff in this novel – that falls to Lillie Virgil, a strong female role offset with another strong female roll in “Miss Hathcock” playing the good v bad roles and everything in between – the ongoing verbal battles between these two being one of the highlights of the read for me. Quinn is a returning character, back from overseas, not looking to reinstate himself into the police until a tragedy occurs that sets the whole town reeling and plenty of accusations flying, so he finds himself lured back into the mire.
The setting is so beautifully described that you could almost feel like you lived there yourself. I didn’t feel discombobulated by the fact that I had not read previous novels – I just got pulled right into it and everything that needed explaining was explained through subtle nuances of conversation and remembrance.
The characters are diverse, eclectic, often very quirky and the community dynamic is divisive and entirely fascinating. The crime itself doesn’t happen until well into the story – by then you have a real feel for this place and these people, enough that you feel you can make some genuinely good guesses as to the final resolution. Cleverly plotted and ultimately somewhat unexpected, Ace Atkins digs deep into the prejudices, realities and often criminal existence of this populace with a wonderfully vivid and distinctive prose.
Yep I think I’m a fan. And hey look I have 5 other books to add to my never ending and ever growing to be read pile. I’d say that’s a good day.
Highly Recommended.
Actually Quinn is not Sheriff in this novel – that falls to Lillie Virgil, a strong female role offset with another strong female roll in “Miss Hathcock” playing the good v bad roles and everything in between – the ongoing verbal battles between these two being one of the highlights of the read for me. Quinn is a returning character, back from overseas, not looking to reinstate himself into the police until a tragedy occurs that sets the whole town reeling and plenty of accusations flying, so he finds himself lured back into the mire.
The setting is so beautifully described that you could almost feel like you lived there yourself. I didn’t feel discombobulated by the fact that I had not read previous novels – I just got pulled right into it and everything that needed explaining was explained through subtle nuances of conversation and remembrance.
The characters are diverse, eclectic, often very quirky and the community dynamic is divisive and entirely fascinating. The crime itself doesn’t happen until well into the story – by then you have a real feel for this place and these people, enough that you feel you can make some genuinely good guesses as to the final resolution. Cleverly plotted and ultimately somewhat unexpected, Ace Atkins digs deep into the prejudices, realities and often criminal existence of this populace with a wonderfully vivid and distinctive prose.
Yep I think I’m a fan. And hey look I have 5 other books to add to my never ending and ever growing to be read pile. I’d say that’s a good day.
Highly Recommended.
March 25, 2018
Oh boy, this book was good, can't wait to read the next one!
July 5, 2020
After he returns from a war zone, Quinn Colson has to deal with his usual family and romance problems, as well as solve the case of who lit a high school cheerleader on fire.
Not bad, but as usual, the antagonists don't seem much of a threat. It seems like a placeholder novel, that culminates in a later book. Still very readable.
Not bad, but as usual, the antagonists don't seem much of a threat. It seems like a placeholder novel, that culminates in a later book. Still very readable.
May 26, 2016
This is the sixth book in the series featuring Quinn Colson, and it's the second one that I have read. Colson is back in Tibbehah County, Mississippi, after his freelance work with the military, and is again working with the acting Sheriff Lillie Virgil. Colson and Virgil make a good team, but it is all the other characters in this book that really give it color and atmosphere.
There are gradations of innocence with these people, and most of them can't seem to keep clean no matter what their intentions are (as evidenced by the last, sad scene in the book). The chief crime being investigated by the police is the murder of a teenage girl who has recently begun working at a strip joint. Even though I knew early on in the book who had killed her and why, I still enjoyed watching the investigation progress. There were other crimes along the way as well as racism and bullying, and also one unorthodox (but in my view justifiable) use of a water hose.
Fortunately, from my point of view, Colson's horrible girlfriend Anna Lee isn't in this book very much, but sadly not gone entirely. I really disliked her in the last book. I enjoyed this book very much and will probably read more of the series.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
There are gradations of innocence with these people, and most of them can't seem to keep clean no matter what their intentions are (as evidenced by the last, sad scene in the book). The chief crime being investigated by the police is the murder of a teenage girl who has recently begun working at a strip joint. Even though I knew early on in the book who had killed her and why, I still enjoyed watching the investigation progress. There were other crimes along the way as well as racism and bullying, and also one unorthodox (but in my view justifiable) use of a water hose.
Fortunately, from my point of view, Colson's horrible girlfriend Anna Lee isn't in this book very much, but sadly not gone entirely. I really disliked her in the last book. I enjoyed this book very much and will probably read more of the series.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
July 16, 2018
This is the first book that I have read in this series. Nothing like starting in the middle. I found the story to be like "Tobacco Road" and "God's Little Acre" meet the police procedural. Lillie & Quinn investigate the murder of a cheerleader turned exotic dancer. There aren't many people in this story who aren't at least partial scumbags. I doubt that Mississippi would us this to promote tourism. But if you have ever driven through Mississippi, why would you want to visit? Recommended.
October 19, 2016
Thanks to netgalley.com, Ace Atkins and the Penguin Group Putnam for the advance ARC for my honest review.
What an awesome book, totally enjoyed the latest Quinn Colson adventure and the Innocents is my favorite read of the year so far.
I really like the Quinn Colson character, he's blue collar, tough as nails, an ex-Ranger, ex-sheriff of troubled Tibbehah County, who now works training police in Afghanistan, family oriented and will think of nothing to help his friends.
Have to give huge props to Ace Atkins writing style. The same way Jim Beam makes their wicked good bourbon . Likewise with each book Atkins just gets better and better.
With each offering, he adds new ingredients to his books, offers something new in his writing, it's just not the same repetitive offerings and gets the readers imagination flowing to be right their for all the action.
Good or bad characters, man can Atkins ever just bring them vividly to life, he even makes bad dudes like Nito Reece seem like deep inside he's a good guy who just made some bad choices in his life.
Man I love books like the Innocents, that have intertwining storylines ripped right out of today's headlines, it has the fast pace I love, loaded with twists and turns, red herring offerings as to whodunnit, while the real bad guys hiding in plain sight, and hints of an old-time Western with the good verse evil in Northern Mississippi.
And be ready to be sucked right into the pages, your right their riding along with Quinn and Lilly as they chase after bad guys, or hanging out on the porch sipping Scotch with Quinn and his dad Jason, while steaks cook on the grill.
The other thing I like about Atkins books are, while the main characters top notch, he also has some great support characters in his stories.
With his Quinn stories, you got Lillie Virgil who just seems to take over the story or maybe it's that she makes the story all that much better. Definitely would make for some good reading, if he every decided to start a series with her, like the chemistry they have and she's probably the lady that Quinn should be dating. Bet she'd have him wrapped around her finger.
Then you have Quinn's dad Jason, his mom Jean, his troubled sister Caddy who seems to finally have it together, Hondo his dog and his nephew little Jason. They all add to the storyline.
The other cool thing with Atkins writing is that their's zero fluff, no needless characters, no cheat sheets required to keep up with the storyline and everything in his storyline helps tell the story.
Atkins should be in every reader's book case, he's that good of an author and just feel he deserves more recognition than he gets.
Author Bob Mayer refers to the big known publishing house authors as Airport Authors. Well Ace Atkins would be my favorite airport author, he can out write James Patterson and has a legend smilin' down on him.
What an awesome book, totally enjoyed the latest Quinn Colson adventure and the Innocents is my favorite read of the year so far.
I really like the Quinn Colson character, he's blue collar, tough as nails, an ex-Ranger, ex-sheriff of troubled Tibbehah County, who now works training police in Afghanistan, family oriented and will think of nothing to help his friends.
Have to give huge props to Ace Atkins writing style. The same way Jim Beam makes their wicked good bourbon . Likewise with each book Atkins just gets better and better.
With each offering, he adds new ingredients to his books, offers something new in his writing, it's just not the same repetitive offerings and gets the readers imagination flowing to be right their for all the action.
Good or bad characters, man can Atkins ever just bring them vividly to life, he even makes bad dudes like Nito Reece seem like deep inside he's a good guy who just made some bad choices in his life.
Man I love books like the Innocents, that have intertwining storylines ripped right out of today's headlines, it has the fast pace I love, loaded with twists and turns, red herring offerings as to whodunnit, while the real bad guys hiding in plain sight, and hints of an old-time Western with the good verse evil in Northern Mississippi.
And be ready to be sucked right into the pages, your right their riding along with Quinn and Lilly as they chase after bad guys, or hanging out on the porch sipping Scotch with Quinn and his dad Jason, while steaks cook on the grill.
The other thing I like about Atkins books are, while the main characters top notch, he also has some great support characters in his stories.
With his Quinn stories, you got Lillie Virgil who just seems to take over the story or maybe it's that she makes the story all that much better. Definitely would make for some good reading, if he every decided to start a series with her, like the chemistry they have and she's probably the lady that Quinn should be dating. Bet she'd have him wrapped around her finger.
Then you have Quinn's dad Jason, his mom Jean, his troubled sister Caddy who seems to finally have it together, Hondo his dog and his nephew little Jason. They all add to the storyline.
The other cool thing with Atkins writing is that their's zero fluff, no needless characters, no cheat sheets required to keep up with the storyline and everything in his storyline helps tell the story.
Atkins should be in every reader's book case, he's that good of an author and just feel he deserves more recognition than he gets.
Author Bob Mayer refers to the big known publishing house authors as Airport Authors. Well Ace Atkins would be my favorite airport author, he can out write James Patterson and has a legend smilin' down on him.
Read
July 31, 2016 You would think after all the mysteries I've read that I could figure out who the bad guy is right away. I didn't in this one but once their identity was revealed it made perfect sense. All the clues were there. I just believed one of the red herrings. Drats, foiled again.
This is the sixth Quinn Colson novel but the first one I've read. It was quite easy to follow as a stand alone even though you know you missed some background. The characters are all very vivid and I really didn't like his high school girlfriend, Anna Lee, who is still married but separated. Quinn comes from a quirky family. His father is a former stuntman and his sister runs a rescue camp where abused people can go to recover.
The plot is quite interesting. It centers around Milly Jones, a young woman, who takes up pole dancing for the money to get the heck out of town. She is found running down the highway one night engulfed in fire screaming for help. This is not a spoiler. It's in the book's blurb. What happened to Milly? How did she end up in this situation and who did it? I guessed wrong.
The prose is smooth and it was easy to keep the pages turning. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. That's the sign of a good book to me. This author also writes Robert Parker books. I have never read any of them not written by Parker but maybe emulating Parker keeps the writing sparse and succinct.
Here's what I didn't like. I never got a sense of place. It supposedly takes place in Mississippi. I didn't realize Mississippi had cowboys so it kept me thinking it was set in the West, someplace like Nevada or Montana. It really had a Longmire feel to me. The descriptions of the houses littered with trash, cars up on blocks and Confederate flags flying could have easily been in the West too. Other than talking about popping into Memphis, I never felt like it was a Southern setting.
Still it had a great plot, interesting characters and was well worth the read.
This is the sixth Quinn Colson novel but the first one I've read. It was quite easy to follow as a stand alone even though you know you missed some background. The characters are all very vivid and I really didn't like his high school girlfriend, Anna Lee, who is still married but separated. Quinn comes from a quirky family. His father is a former stuntman and his sister runs a rescue camp where abused people can go to recover.
The plot is quite interesting. It centers around Milly Jones, a young woman, who takes up pole dancing for the money to get the heck out of town. She is found running down the highway one night engulfed in fire screaming for help. This is not a spoiler. It's in the book's blurb. What happened to Milly? How did she end up in this situation and who did it? I guessed wrong.
The prose is smooth and it was easy to keep the pages turning. I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. That's the sign of a good book to me. This author also writes Robert Parker books. I have never read any of them not written by Parker but maybe emulating Parker keeps the writing sparse and succinct.
Here's what I didn't like. I never got a sense of place. It supposedly takes place in Mississippi. I didn't realize Mississippi had cowboys so it kept me thinking it was set in the West, someplace like Nevada or Montana. It really had a Longmire feel to me. The descriptions of the houses littered with trash, cars up on blocks and Confederate flags flying could have easily been in the West too. Other than talking about popping into Memphis, I never felt like it was a Southern setting.
Still it had a great plot, interesting characters and was well worth the read.
August 6, 2016
4.5
Another excellent outing in this series. Tibbedah County sure has some fine characters.
Delves into some very contemporary complex issues along with the remnants of the Old South.
Less than smooth ending (and how Colson's love live is evolving) keep this from a full 5 star.
Another excellent outing in this series. Tibbedah County sure has some fine characters.
Delves into some very contemporary complex issues along with the remnants of the Old South.
Less than smooth ending (and how Colson's love live is evolving) keep this from a full 5 star.
February 8, 2018
Book 5 in this series brought together all the threads from the previous 4 books. Book 6 offers nowhere near as much closure, and seems to be setting up future stories. The central story was good though and it is always great to catch up with Quinn and the rest of Jericho.
August 29, 2016
Great read. The ending was not what I expected.
September 17, 2016
Better than the previous book in the series.
February 5, 2017
And now for something completely different. At least different from all the literary fiction I've been reading lately.
No one could accuse Ace Atkins of writing literary fiction, but his books are well-written and are fast-paced reads. The Innocents, the latest in his Mississippi noir series featuring ex-Army Ranger Quinn Colson, is no exception.
I enjoy reading this series, first because it is well-written and carefully plotted, but also because I know from my childhood growing up in the area that Atkins writes about that he's got the place just right. The cadences of speech, the interactions between people, the insularity of that society, Atkins, who still lives in Oxford, Mississippi, understands it all and he writes about it with clear-eyed vision while retaining his empathy for his characters who live in this hidebound place. Which is all probably just a long way of saying that Atkins' characters are believable, and that is some of the highest praise you can give a writer.
As we meet Quinn Colson this time around, he has recently returned from Afghanistan where he had been working under a contract to train the Afghanis in police work. He took this job after he had lost the election for sheriff.
But almost as soon as the new sheriff was sworn in, he was killed. That left Colson's friend and chief deputy Lillie Virgil in charge and she is still the acting sheriff.
Colson returns to the messed up personal life that he had left behind. He's still carrying on his affair with a married woman, who is now talking divorce from her husband. His long estranged father, Jason, is back in town and has big dreams about establishing a dude ranch on property adjoining Quinn's. Unfortunately, that property is owned by Quinn's nemesis and now federal prison inmate, Johnny Stagg.
Quinn's sister, Caddie, seems to have straightened out her life and is now running a church/homeless shelter/food pantry called The River. And his mama is still the rock of the family and still in love with Elvis.
Evil still lurks in Tibbehah County. (Tibbehah is fictional but seems to be an amalgamation of Tippah and Octibbehah, both of which are quite real.) Even though Johnny Stagg is gone, there's a new owner of the local pole-dancing, lap-dancing, and assorted other activities club; she is a tough, no-nonsense woman named Fannie Hancock, and she immediately butts heads with Lillie Virgil.
But there is a greater evil abroad in this county. We don't see its black heart revealed until late in the book, although I admit I began to suspect the truth fairly early in the game. The impetus for getting to the bottom of this terrible corruption is another horrific event - the murder of a young woman.
Millie had once been the top cheerleader at the local high school, but she had dropped out and seemed on a fast track to nowhere. She came from truly awful family circumstances and the great tragedy of her life was the apparent suicide of her brother, Brandon. Then one night a trucker finds her walking down the highway engulfed in flames. He stops to help her and she's taken to the burn unit in Memphis but she does not survive her ordeal.
It looks like a torture/revenge killing. Lillie asks Quinn to come back and work for the sheriff's department in investigating the crime. He had been planning to return to Afghanistan but accepts her request, and we watch these two as they run down every lead in attempting to find a killer. In the end, they get help from an unexpected quarter in solving the mystery, but the truth is not something the people of Tibbehah County want to hear and soon the community is in turmoil.
Well, there's another election for sheriff coming soon and the candidates are lining up - one who (figuratively) wants to build a wall around Tibbehah County and one who wants to ban Muslim immigrants from the county and enforce the law according to the Ten Commandments. And then there's Quinn Colson, who Lillie has persuaded to stay and run for his old office. Wonder who'll win?
No one could accuse Ace Atkins of writing literary fiction, but his books are well-written and are fast-paced reads. The Innocents, the latest in his Mississippi noir series featuring ex-Army Ranger Quinn Colson, is no exception.
I enjoy reading this series, first because it is well-written and carefully plotted, but also because I know from my childhood growing up in the area that Atkins writes about that he's got the place just right. The cadences of speech, the interactions between people, the insularity of that society, Atkins, who still lives in Oxford, Mississippi, understands it all and he writes about it with clear-eyed vision while retaining his empathy for his characters who live in this hidebound place. Which is all probably just a long way of saying that Atkins' characters are believable, and that is some of the highest praise you can give a writer.
As we meet Quinn Colson this time around, he has recently returned from Afghanistan where he had been working under a contract to train the Afghanis in police work. He took this job after he had lost the election for sheriff.
But almost as soon as the new sheriff was sworn in, he was killed. That left Colson's friend and chief deputy Lillie Virgil in charge and she is still the acting sheriff.
Colson returns to the messed up personal life that he had left behind. He's still carrying on his affair with a married woman, who is now talking divorce from her husband. His long estranged father, Jason, is back in town and has big dreams about establishing a dude ranch on property adjoining Quinn's. Unfortunately, that property is owned by Quinn's nemesis and now federal prison inmate, Johnny Stagg.
Quinn's sister, Caddie, seems to have straightened out her life and is now running a church/homeless shelter/food pantry called The River. And his mama is still the rock of the family and still in love with Elvis.
Evil still lurks in Tibbehah County. (Tibbehah is fictional but seems to be an amalgamation of Tippah and Octibbehah, both of which are quite real.) Even though Johnny Stagg is gone, there's a new owner of the local pole-dancing, lap-dancing, and assorted other activities club; she is a tough, no-nonsense woman named Fannie Hancock, and she immediately butts heads with Lillie Virgil.
But there is a greater evil abroad in this county. We don't see its black heart revealed until late in the book, although I admit I began to suspect the truth fairly early in the game. The impetus for getting to the bottom of this terrible corruption is another horrific event - the murder of a young woman.
Millie had once been the top cheerleader at the local high school, but she had dropped out and seemed on a fast track to nowhere. She came from truly awful family circumstances and the great tragedy of her life was the apparent suicide of her brother, Brandon. Then one night a trucker finds her walking down the highway engulfed in flames. He stops to help her and she's taken to the burn unit in Memphis but she does not survive her ordeal.
It looks like a torture/revenge killing. Lillie asks Quinn to come back and work for the sheriff's department in investigating the crime. He had been planning to return to Afghanistan but accepts her request, and we watch these two as they run down every lead in attempting to find a killer. In the end, they get help from an unexpected quarter in solving the mystery, but the truth is not something the people of Tibbehah County want to hear and soon the community is in turmoil.
Well, there's another election for sheriff coming soon and the candidates are lining up - one who (figuratively) wants to build a wall around Tibbehah County and one who wants to ban Muslim immigrants from the county and enforce the law according to the Ten Commandments. And then there's Quinn Colson, who Lillie has persuaded to stay and run for his old office. Wonder who'll win?
November 22, 2016
Very good! I really liked that we got to know the victim a little bit before her death, and that all of the seemingly small characters in the beginning ended up being important in the end. Also, the book didn't just end once we found out who killed Milly (who did that was a surprise, another great thing about the book!). Rather, we find out that there is more to her death than just a sick killer. Initially, it seemed like this alone would be the focus of the next book. Then we got an answer for that, as well, but it seems like it may also be part of the next story... and I am pretty confident that there will be another one. This is the first book that I've read from this series, and I would be another, though I am a little hesitant about going back and reading ones before this. In the past, I've tended to not enjoy the series so much when I start late and go back.
Note: I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.
Note: I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.
June 20, 2016
Wow, I just sped right through this one. The story was great. Of course, it's Ace Atkins! I thought I knew the killer pretty early, but was I right? Sort of. There are a LOT of bad guys in this story and I mean bad. But what a good story it was, yes I'm saying it again.
This is definitely one you won't be able to put down, so don't start it at bedtime. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a little mystery with a lot of suspense.
Thanks Putnam & Sons and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review!
This is definitely one you won't be able to put down, so don't start it at bedtime. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes a little mystery with a lot of suspense.
Thanks Putnam & Sons and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review!
November 8, 2016
Great book -- why is Atkins trying to copy Robt B Parker when he writes so well himself?? This was my first Quinn Colson book and I loved it. Exciting from start to finish. SO much going on, so many characters, so much drama -- all in a small town in Mississippi where High School football is everyone's favorite pastime. Also got in a good bit of racist stuff, as well as molestation and other crimes. I hope hope hope that there is another Quinn Colson on the way.
July 27, 2016
Another fine novel by the prolific Mr. Atkins. The plot swirls around the murder of a young exotic dancer. Circumstantial evidence leads investigators in one direction, until the victim's diary surfaces and turns a small southern town upside down. The author has a perceptive eye for the nuances of life in the rural south.
July 13, 2016
A special thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Ace Atkins returns following The Redeemers (2015) to the Deep South with popular dark and gritty Quinn Colson #6 series THE INNOCENTS -highly controversial with an array of violent crimes exposed, in the underbelly of Jericho, Mississippi in Tibbehah County.
Does anyone ever escape Mississippi?
Working with Lillie Virgil, the first woman sheriff in the state, Quinn Colson and others sort through a web of intrigue and dark secrets, trying to bring justice to the town of Jericho. No easy task where there is more bad than good.
After a stint in Afghanistan where he trained local police, complex war-hero Quinn Colson returns to his hometown to help his former colleague and becomes a deputy.
Quinn Colson is still trying to work things out with his high school sweetheart, who’s taken her child and left her husband. Quinn’s father, Jason, a former Hollywood stuntman absent for most of his son's childhood, is back with a moneymaking land scheme that involves Johnnie Stagg, we met in the last book, now in prison.
We also catch up with Fannie, a strip club owner, from meth addicts, drug dealers, dirty politics, a self-righteous preacher, Elvis lovers, motorcycle biker gangs, wine boxes, Wally World, truck stops, molestation, racism, football, drug pins, a young girl turned stripper set on fire, and a beloved high school football hero Coach Bud Miles with secrets… all from the Bible belt.
Plus, a strained relationship between risk taker father Jason and son, Quinn.
There are several different plots, one being Milly Jones, local teenage, age eighteen, former cheerleader who writes in her journals. Secrets the town does not know. She wants her brother, Brandon’s suicide story told, making her way to Tupelo to meet an author, with high hopes.
From her dad’s meth time in jail, her mom and dad’s divorce, and her dad’s fat girlfriend, plus all her other issues. This town has secrets. She has to get away, and thinks if she can get to Tupelo to this author, possibly her story can be told. However, the trip to Tupelo to see a Southern Christian Romance author, was useless, and all the author wanted was $30 for the book, and then there was gas money.
Bummed by the disappointment, she makes her way back to the strip club (she has turned to in desperation for money) for her first night on the job at the Vienna Place Strip Club (former Booby Trap).. It is time for the pole.
However, she is desperate, and does not want to part with the house cut of the money she earns, and needs to keep it all. She heads out, and would send back the money to Miss Fannie, when she gets back on her feet, talk to her dad about the threats, and get right with Ordeen on the pills to get crazy Reece off her case. She needed breathing room.
As she drives away she wanted to see Joshua and heads North in her old Kia. However, she has car trouble. Twenty minutes later someone comes. She finds her way down the highway on foot, while engulfed in flames. Murdered. Burning flesh. The girl is dead.
A murder that occurs in "The Innocents" has a number of similarities to that of Jessica Chambers. (2014)
Fannie is not happy when Milly robbed her blind. Someone wanted to shut up the girl. She knew too much.
Colson and his boss, Sheriff Lillie Virgil, follow leads that point to a pair of black teenagers, reheating racial tension in a state infamous for racial tension. But the teenage guys have learned the identity of the real killer — and plan to inflict an awful form of punishment.
In the meantime, we have events surrounding the local coach also another related story: Dwight Bowling, former Alabama high school coach in molestation case and plenty of suspects in Milly’s murder, among all the other crimes and crazies. Everyone speculates, suspects, blame, lies, and secrets.
Southern-Gothic noir-crime fiction gets "down and dirty" with corruption, murder, and more ruthless criminals than you can count. Based on real events, a fictional account of some horrific crimes in the Deep South which sends this installment to the "top of the charts."
From eccentric well-developed characters to pitch perfect Southern wit, gritty dialogue, Atkins knows his way around the South. and crosses over to Memphis. With his true southern (Grit-Lit) and his continuation of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser popular series, (Boston) he has proven once again a talented versatile author.
From the atmosphere of Southern good, bad, and ugly, fans will enjoy his latest installment and dying for the next. From rural Mississippi, to gritty urban Boston something for everyone, no matter your taste.
In addition to the digital version, also purchased the audiobook, narrated by Macleod Andrews delivering an engaging performance.
The Innocents,’ A Conversation with Ace Atkins by Mark Rubinstein Huffington Post.
JDCMustReadBooks
Ace Atkins returns following The Redeemers (2015) to the Deep South with popular dark and gritty Quinn Colson #6 series THE INNOCENTS -highly controversial with an array of violent crimes exposed, in the underbelly of Jericho, Mississippi in Tibbehah County.
Does anyone ever escape Mississippi?
Working with Lillie Virgil, the first woman sheriff in the state, Quinn Colson and others sort through a web of intrigue and dark secrets, trying to bring justice to the town of Jericho. No easy task where there is more bad than good.
After a stint in Afghanistan where he trained local police, complex war-hero Quinn Colson returns to his hometown to help his former colleague and becomes a deputy.
Quinn Colson is still trying to work things out with his high school sweetheart, who’s taken her child and left her husband. Quinn’s father, Jason, a former Hollywood stuntman absent for most of his son's childhood, is back with a moneymaking land scheme that involves Johnnie Stagg, we met in the last book, now in prison.
We also catch up with Fannie, a strip club owner, from meth addicts, drug dealers, dirty politics, a self-righteous preacher, Elvis lovers, motorcycle biker gangs, wine boxes, Wally World, truck stops, molestation, racism, football, drug pins, a young girl turned stripper set on fire, and a beloved high school football hero Coach Bud Miles with secrets… all from the Bible belt.
Plus, a strained relationship between risk taker father Jason and son, Quinn.
There are several different plots, one being Milly Jones, local teenage, age eighteen, former cheerleader who writes in her journals. Secrets the town does not know. She wants her brother, Brandon’s suicide story told, making her way to Tupelo to meet an author, with high hopes.
From her dad’s meth time in jail, her mom and dad’s divorce, and her dad’s fat girlfriend, plus all her other issues. This town has secrets. She has to get away, and thinks if she can get to Tupelo to this author, possibly her story can be told. However, the trip to Tupelo to see a Southern Christian Romance author, was useless, and all the author wanted was $30 for the book, and then there was gas money.
Bummed by the disappointment, she makes her way back to the strip club (she has turned to in desperation for money) for her first night on the job at the Vienna Place Strip Club (former Booby Trap).. It is time for the pole.
However, she is desperate, and does not want to part with the house cut of the money she earns, and needs to keep it all. She heads out, and would send back the money to Miss Fannie, when she gets back on her feet, talk to her dad about the threats, and get right with Ordeen on the pills to get crazy Reece off her case. She needed breathing room.
As she drives away she wanted to see Joshua and heads North in her old Kia. However, she has car trouble. Twenty minutes later someone comes. She finds her way down the highway on foot, while engulfed in flames. Murdered. Burning flesh. The girl is dead.
A murder that occurs in "The Innocents" has a number of similarities to that of Jessica Chambers. (2014)
Fannie is not happy when Milly robbed her blind. Someone wanted to shut up the girl. She knew too much.
Colson and his boss, Sheriff Lillie Virgil, follow leads that point to a pair of black teenagers, reheating racial tension in a state infamous for racial tension. But the teenage guys have learned the identity of the real killer — and plan to inflict an awful form of punishment.
In the meantime, we have events surrounding the local coach also another related story: Dwight Bowling, former Alabama high school coach in molestation case and plenty of suspects in Milly’s murder, among all the other crimes and crazies. Everyone speculates, suspects, blame, lies, and secrets.
Southern-Gothic noir-crime fiction gets "down and dirty" with corruption, murder, and more ruthless criminals than you can count. Based on real events, a fictional account of some horrific crimes in the Deep South which sends this installment to the "top of the charts."
From eccentric well-developed characters to pitch perfect Southern wit, gritty dialogue, Atkins knows his way around the South. and crosses over to Memphis. With his true southern (Grit-Lit) and his continuation of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser popular series, (Boston) he has proven once again a talented versatile author.
From the atmosphere of Southern good, bad, and ugly, fans will enjoy his latest installment and dying for the next. From rural Mississippi, to gritty urban Boston something for everyone, no matter your taste.
In addition to the digital version, also purchased the audiobook, narrated by Macleod Andrews delivering an engaging performance.
The Innocents,’ A Conversation with Ace Atkins by Mark Rubinstein Huffington Post.
JDCMustReadBooks
March 22, 2021
More like a three and a half. It starts off kind of slowly, but starts to pick up about a third of the way in. This is an actual whodunnit but is somewhat easy to figure out. I am starting to see each book as a chapter in a epic story about this town and these people. The joy is the details into the people and the history of the area.
July 5, 2016
(I got this book from a Goodreads giveaway).
That said, it's a great read. Atkins knows his subject - Southern culture, black and white, the criminal schemes of various lowlives, the complexities of parental disappointments (the father of Quinn Colson, his protagonist is a former stuntman with Burt Reynolds and others, and Atkins name-checks movies like "Hooper'' and Hollywood names like Hal Needham at the same time he depicts just why Quinn has to walk down his own road.) I won't get into all the plot points, which you should discover for yourself, but the author, who lives in Oxford, Mississsippi, Faulkner's home town, these days combines the smarts of Elmore Leonard's "Justified'' sagas with more Southern verismilitude and a sympathetic sense of the complexities of race that call to mind George Pelecanos' works, set in a different geographic area.
Two quibbles: at one point he refers to "Graham Parsons,'' a minor misstep that would no doubt enrage alt.country fans, but was hopefully caught between galleys and the final product. And the identify of the villain of the piece is telegraphed a bit early. Still, the dialogue snaps, crackles and pops, and it's impossible to stop reading (I got through it in a setting and a half - would have been even sooner if other responsibilities hadn't come up). I've read some, but not all, of the other entries in the Quinn Colson series, so this definitely makes me come up for more. And I want to check out his work as the successor to the Robert Parker mantle - if anyone can come up to the standards of the Spencer saga and make it his own, Atkins seems like the guy. Four stars - as Joe Bob Briggs used to say: Check it out.
That said, it's a great read. Atkins knows his subject - Southern culture, black and white, the criminal schemes of various lowlives, the complexities of parental disappointments (the father of Quinn Colson, his protagonist is a former stuntman with Burt Reynolds and others, and Atkins name-checks movies like "Hooper'' and Hollywood names like Hal Needham at the same time he depicts just why Quinn has to walk down his own road.) I won't get into all the plot points, which you should discover for yourself, but the author, who lives in Oxford, Mississsippi, Faulkner's home town, these days combines the smarts of Elmore Leonard's "Justified'' sagas with more Southern verismilitude and a sympathetic sense of the complexities of race that call to mind George Pelecanos' works, set in a different geographic area.
Two quibbles: at one point he refers to "Graham Parsons,'' a minor misstep that would no doubt enrage alt.country fans, but was hopefully caught between galleys and the final product. And the identify of the villain of the piece is telegraphed a bit early. Still, the dialogue snaps, crackles and pops, and it's impossible to stop reading (I got through it in a setting and a half - would have been even sooner if other responsibilities hadn't come up). I've read some, but not all, of the other entries in the Quinn Colson series, so this definitely makes me come up for more. And I want to check out his work as the successor to the Robert Parker mantle - if anyone can come up to the standards of the Spencer saga and make it his own, Atkins seems like the guy. Four stars - as Joe Bob Briggs used to say: Check it out.
July 30, 2016
The best book in this series in a long time.
Quinn Colson is back in Jericho, Mississippi, after training local police in Afghanistan. He lost the sheriff's election and is now working as a US government consultant.
But his gritty backwoods home and all of his unresolved personal issues keep pulling him back. And when sheriff Lillie Virgil offers him a job as a policeman, he finds new reasons to stay for a little longer.
Ace Atkins writes a great mystery.
Quinn Colson is back in Jericho, Mississippi, after training local police in Afghanistan. He lost the sheriff's election and is now working as a US government consultant.
But his gritty backwoods home and all of his unresolved personal issues keep pulling him back. And when sheriff Lillie Virgil offers him a job as a policeman, he finds new reasons to stay for a little longer.
Ace Atkins writes a great mystery.
August 1, 2016
Another great book by this author. Hopefully Mr. Atkins can continue to churn out one Quinn Colson and one Spenser book per year. His characters in the Quinn Colson books are so well developed that it's like revisiting friends every summer.
August 8, 2016
People just don't like to believe the worst of others sometimes.
The secret that stays hidden, that is alluded to by recent high school graduate Milly Jones, is not at all what I expected.
The secret that stays hidden, that is alluded to by recent high school graduate Milly Jones, is not at all what I expected.
December 14, 2020
A cracking read that had me hooked from the off. The story revolves round the horrific of death Milly Jones & the investigation into her murder by acting Sheriff Lillie Virgil & Quinn Colson. The investigation puts a strain on the community & as the accusations fly there's some rather brutal scenes. Cruel & vicious though some of the actions were, they were totally in keeping with the characters being portrayed. The people, & indeed the whole atmosphere - & heat! - of this Mississippi town came over convincingly.
While billed as "A Quinn Colson Thriller", Lillie could have easily been the main protagonist, a tough talking, no-nonsense give as-good-as-she-gets type she came over as a credible character & one I enjoyed reading about. Fannie Hathcock (a cross, to my mind between Elsie Tanner & Dolly Rawlins) was also a strong creation. The men, were no less plausible but, with the exception of Quinn & Co...oh & Sammi...were a real unsavoury bunch.
The story is probably a good hundred pages or so in before poor Milly meets her brutal & untimely death. I liked this as I felt it helped establish a connection with her - more often than not, the first time we meet a victim it's as a corpse!
I gathered early on that there was history between many of the characters so assumed it was part of a series, maybe book 2. Well it's actually book 6 & I'm glad I didn't know that beforehand as I probably wouldn't have picked it up! What a treat I'd would've missed.
While billed as "A Quinn Colson Thriller", Lillie could have easily been the main protagonist, a tough talking, no-nonsense give as-good-as-she-gets type she came over as a credible character & one I enjoyed reading about. Fannie Hathcock (a cross, to my mind between Elsie Tanner & Dolly Rawlins) was also a strong creation. The men, were no less plausible but, with the exception of Quinn & Co...oh & Sammi...were a real unsavoury bunch.
The story is probably a good hundred pages or so in before poor Milly meets her brutal & untimely death. I liked this as I felt it helped establish a connection with her - more often than not, the first time we meet a victim it's as a corpse!
I gathered early on that there was history between many of the characters so assumed it was part of a series, maybe book 2. Well it's actually book 6 & I'm glad I didn't know that beforehand as I probably wouldn't have picked it up! What a treat I'd would've missed.
September 27, 2016
Not a bad read, some very nasty characters doing some very nasty deeds! The pattern with this series (which I don't really care for) is that when something big happens - like a take down, the chapter ends and the next chapter starts up a few days later with barely a recap of what exactly transpired.
Quinn Colson is a retired Army Ranger, and recently retired Sheriff of Jericho, Mississippi, but is convinced to come back as a Deputy to help Sheriff Lilli Virgil solve the horrific murder of a cheerleader. The same regular characters are back for this book, and a lot of women have Quinn on their minds - but Quinn really has eyes only for one - for a while. Lots of suspects and a few twists and turns and a red herring or two just to make this book interesting.
4 Stars and 2 thumbs up!
Quinn Colson is a retired Army Ranger, and recently retired Sheriff of Jericho, Mississippi, but is convinced to come back as a Deputy to help Sheriff Lilli Virgil solve the horrific murder of a cheerleader. The same regular characters are back for this book, and a lot of women have Quinn on their minds - but Quinn really has eyes only for one - for a while. Lots of suspects and a few twists and turns and a red herring or two just to make this book interesting.
4 Stars and 2 thumbs up!
August 4, 2016
The series of books that Ace Atkins has written about ex-Army Ranger Quinn Colson and his home in Tibbehah County, Mississippi, paints an amazingly detailed and nuanced portrait of the rural Deep South, a place full of beauty and corruption.
This book, the sixth in the series, is not the strongest entry and yet it has its distinct pleasures. Lillie Virgil, once Colson's chief deputy and now the acting sheriff, gets to be at center stage, and just watching her no-earth-left-unscorched approach to talking with people is a delight. In the opening scene of the book, she comes up with a hilariously unorthodox way to stop a meth-head who's stolen an ATV. Other longtime supporting players get their featured turns too, particularly Colson's sister Caddy.
Atkins also spends quite a lot of time building up the sheriff's office's new nemesis, Fanny, the madam who has taken over the Rebel Truck Stop and adjacent strip club once run by Colson's much-hated boss, former county supervisor and corruption kingpin Johnny Stagg. We see Fanny dealing with the bikers she uses as enforcers, the Native American who is her second in command, an interloper from Memphis and her big bosses in Biloxi, not to mention the victim in the case, an ex-cheerleader named Milly Jones. Stagg, now in federal prison as a result of what happened in the last book, gets a brief turn in the spotlight, working a deal with Colson's ne'er-do-well daddy, but it's not much, and Fanny quite honestly is not quite as much fun as Stagg was. She comes across at times as an evil version of Lillie.
Atkins deftly inserts one of the hot-button issues of American politics into the plot -- how fears of terrorism have led to antagonism toward Muslim immigrants -- and plays it out rather expertly. It's not central to the plot, but it doesn't feel shoehorned in, either.
The book has two weaknesses. One is the plot. It's so easily figured out that you'll spot the killers pretty soon after they're introduced, and you'll wonder all the way to the end why they are working together until, suddenly, they aren't. The other is that the one character who doesn't get much of a featured spot in the narrative is Quinn Colson himself. He's in transition here, trying to figure out his future both personally and professionally, and that uncertainty leaves him mostly acting as second banana to Lillie. His one moment of action-hero glory in the plot happens off-screen so the focus can remain on what Lillie does.
Fortunately, by the end, he's apparently figured out he wants to stay in Tibbehah and maybe even be sheriff again, and that's got me eagerly anticipating the next installment. Here's hoping Number 7 is a return to the brilliant form of "The Lost Ones" and "The Broken Places."
This book, the sixth in the series, is not the strongest entry and yet it has its distinct pleasures. Lillie Virgil, once Colson's chief deputy and now the acting sheriff, gets to be at center stage, and just watching her no-earth-left-unscorched approach to talking with people is a delight. In the opening scene of the book, she comes up with a hilariously unorthodox way to stop a meth-head who's stolen an ATV. Other longtime supporting players get their featured turns too, particularly Colson's sister Caddy.
Atkins also spends quite a lot of time building up the sheriff's office's new nemesis, Fanny, the madam who has taken over the Rebel Truck Stop and adjacent strip club once run by Colson's much-hated boss, former county supervisor and corruption kingpin Johnny Stagg. We see Fanny dealing with the bikers she uses as enforcers, the Native American who is her second in command, an interloper from Memphis and her big bosses in Biloxi, not to mention the victim in the case, an ex-cheerleader named Milly Jones. Stagg, now in federal prison as a result of what happened in the last book, gets a brief turn in the spotlight, working a deal with Colson's ne'er-do-well daddy, but it's not much, and Fanny quite honestly is not quite as much fun as Stagg was. She comes across at times as an evil version of Lillie.
Atkins deftly inserts one of the hot-button issues of American politics into the plot -- how fears of terrorism have led to antagonism toward Muslim immigrants -- and plays it out rather expertly. It's not central to the plot, but it doesn't feel shoehorned in, either.
The book has two weaknesses. One is the plot. It's so easily figured out that you'll spot the killers pretty soon after they're introduced, and you'll wonder all the way to the end why they are working together until, suddenly, they aren't. The other is that the one character who doesn't get much of a featured spot in the narrative is Quinn Colson himself. He's in transition here, trying to figure out his future both personally and professionally, and that uncertainty leaves him mostly acting as second banana to Lillie. His one moment of action-hero glory in the plot happens off-screen so the focus can remain on what Lillie does.
Fortunately, by the end, he's apparently figured out he wants to stay in Tibbehah and maybe even be sheriff again, and that's got me eagerly anticipating the next installment. Here's hoping Number 7 is a return to the brilliant form of "The Lost Ones" and "The Broken Places."
February 17, 2017
(3) Ever since he revitalized and renewed Parker's Spenser series I have been an avid Ace Atkins follower. This book is an octopus. There are at least 8 subplots going on at all times, each one with an incredibly colorful character at its mini-core. Our protagonist, Quinn Colson, is rather dull in comparison to all these other folks but that is necessary to keep things in check. A wild story, some of it easy to figure, some of it not, but all the tentacles coming into play make it a very enjoyable ride. Atkins is on my must read list and this book reinforces that decision.
July 28, 2016
Reviewed by Gemini
The Innocents is the second book that I have read by Ace Atkins regarding former Army Ranger Quinn Colson and the town of Jericho, Mississippi. It did not disappoint. The Innocents is a true testament to southern baptists, rednecks, white trash, racists, pedophiles, and crazy people all around. It is so incredibly over the top that I couldn’t put it down. The way that Ace Atkins portrays the citizens of Jericho is comical. They come off to be ignorant, bible-thumping degenerates. Considering that the main storyline involves a police investigation into a young girl’s murder by fire, it’s sad to say that I couldn’t stop laughing. It was difficult to take anything that happened too seriously because the way everyone talked and expressed themselves was nothing I had ever heard of before.
In short, Milly Jones had a secret regarding the death of her brother that she was desperately trying to get out into the open. Someone silenced her by bashing her in the head and pouring gas down her throat. Consequently, Quinn gets involved in the investigation as he is working temporarily as a Deputy for Interim Sheriff and friend Lillie Virgil. They end up crossing paths with Fannie who is the new owner of the newly renovated strip club called Vienna who is trying to make a name for herself. They also end up running afoul of her so-called enforcers in the biker gang. And of course, there are several other losers that are part-time drug dealers and all around thugs to consider. The list of suspects and lunatics grows throughout the book and that just keeps everything more entertaining due to various subplots that unravel along the way.
While I would say that The Innocents had a lot going on, it never stopped being engaging. Poverty, religion, and deception play a major role in the downfall of several people in town. Everything takes place in present day so it’s easy to relate to all of the issues. I look forward to reading more books by Ace Atkins.
**Received a copy from Penguin Group in exchange for an honest unbiased opinion.**
The Innocents is the second book that I have read by Ace Atkins regarding former Army Ranger Quinn Colson and the town of Jericho, Mississippi. It did not disappoint. The Innocents is a true testament to southern baptists, rednecks, white trash, racists, pedophiles, and crazy people all around. It is so incredibly over the top that I couldn’t put it down. The way that Ace Atkins portrays the citizens of Jericho is comical. They come off to be ignorant, bible-thumping degenerates. Considering that the main storyline involves a police investigation into a young girl’s murder by fire, it’s sad to say that I couldn’t stop laughing. It was difficult to take anything that happened too seriously because the way everyone talked and expressed themselves was nothing I had ever heard of before.
In short, Milly Jones had a secret regarding the death of her brother that she was desperately trying to get out into the open. Someone silenced her by bashing her in the head and pouring gas down her throat. Consequently, Quinn gets involved in the investigation as he is working temporarily as a Deputy for Interim Sheriff and friend Lillie Virgil. They end up crossing paths with Fannie who is the new owner of the newly renovated strip club called Vienna who is trying to make a name for herself. They also end up running afoul of her so-called enforcers in the biker gang. And of course, there are several other losers that are part-time drug dealers and all around thugs to consider. The list of suspects and lunatics grows throughout the book and that just keeps everything more entertaining due to various subplots that unravel along the way.
While I would say that The Innocents had a lot going on, it never stopped being engaging. Poverty, religion, and deception play a major role in the downfall of several people in town. Everything takes place in present day so it’s easy to relate to all of the issues. I look forward to reading more books by Ace Atkins.
**Received a copy from Penguin Group in exchange for an honest unbiased opinion.**
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