The main character in Bluebird Bluebird is a black Texas Ranger who works for the State on a variety of types of crimes.    He leaves East Texas to pursue a profession which escapes the small-town racism, injustice, suspicion, and the pervading code of silence.   But he returns to the town of Lark to investigate two murders.   The book is a murder mystery and thriller, but there is a gloomy atmospheric tension, well-developed characters, and some interesting plot twists, all captured in crisply-paced storytelling.

Dark family histories, white privilege, distrust of the poor, and wide cultural divides makes for dangerous paths when asking difficult questions and the threat of violence is never far off.

But the author also clearly cares about the area, and invites us to explore both the beauty and the darkness that is hidden in the small towns of East Texas, told in the trance-like rhythms like a blues song,  in prose that is plain, but raw.

“There were things you just didn’t do in Lark, Texas,” Locke tells us. “And picking apart bloodlines was one of them.” So enjoy your stay in Lark; but don’t ask anyone, “Who’s your daddy?” and expect to get out of town alive.”

This was a book I enjoyed reading, but it was never a comfortable experience.   It is recommended, but readers may find the story unsettling.