Bluebird, Bluebird

Its main character is an African-American Texas Ranger, Darren Matthews, from the eastern part of the state.

He investigates the death of another African-American, a Chicago lawyer named Michael Wright, in the town of Lark.

The novel has the subtitle "A Highway 59 Novel" as the story takes place around that route; Locke herself had family members living in communities along that road.

[1] Neely Tucker of The Washington Post wrote that the setting "feels stuck in a sepia-toned time warp.

"[2] Esi Edugyan of The Guardian wrote that the work is "a narrative of exhilarating immediacy" which has "hallmarks of modern crime fiction" with some of its own character.