Black water rising

About 3 hours ago I finally completed this novel. What I had hoped to finish in a week took me approximatley three to finish due to the sheer volume of words Attica Locke has used to cultivate Black Water Rising.

Set in Texas in 1981 the story begins on a bayou that holds an eerie secret to tell. Although I'm not usually partial to thrillers what kept me reading this novel was the consistant use of the present tense throughout. It is noticable to tell that Locke has used her writing abilities to make the sentences short and sweet where nesscary to keep that pace of the heartbeat racing as you turn each page.

Not many writers have the gift of writing a novel directly fit for the movie screen but Attica has carefully done so and reading Black Water Rising made me feel like I was the only person in screen one of my local cinema with a never ending tub of popcorn to accompany me. Although the novel circles around the main character, Jay, there are many other characters within the book that all play a crucial role in the final outcome. Comparitativley, in regards to other novels I have read the number of main characters are usually far less than that in Attica's novel. However, she capably finds a way of linking all of them creating a fuller and more bountiful novel.

Black Water Rising is carefully entwined politically and historically but is yet still so relevant with it's resounding message. As a virgin thriller reader, I would not hesitate to pick up Attica's next novel if it followed suite- no wonder the book has accolades after it already.