Synopses & Reviews
"One of the best crime writers at work today."Michael Connelly The electrifying new novel in New York Timesbestselling author Ace Atkinss acclaimed series about the real Deep South.
He is only in his early thirties, but now Quinn Colson is joblessvoted out of office as sheriff of Tibbehah County, Mississippi, thanks to the machinations of county kingpin Johnny Stagg. He has offers, in bigger and better places, but before he goes, hes got one more job to dobring down Staggs criminal operations for good.
At least thats the plan. But in the middle of the long, hot summer, a trio of criminals stage a bold, wall-smashing break-in at the home of a local lumber mill owner, making off with a million dollars in cash from his safe, which is curious, because the mill owner is wealthybut not that wealthy. None of this has anything to do with Colson, but during the investigation, two men are killed, one of them the new sheriff. His friend, acting sheriff Lillie Virgil, and a dangerous former flame, Anna Lee Stevens, both ask him to step in, and reluctantly he does, only to discover that that safe contained more than just moneyit held secrets.
Secrets that could either save Colsonor destroy him once and for all.
Review
“I have always been impressed with (jealous of) how easy Ace Atkins makes it look.
The Ranger is by far his best work…I hope Quinn Colson and Lillie Virgil stick around for a good long time.”—Michael Connelly
“Atkins has written a bunch of great thrillers, but this one sets up a series that should push him to the top of the bestseller list.”—John Sandford “A dark, headlong crime story set in the Mississippi hill country and teeming with corrupt officials, murderous meth dealers and Southern femmes fatales.”— St. Petersburg Times
Review
Praise for CLAWBACK:
"This reads like a made-for-TV movie with a pleasing mix of action, sleuthing, clever tricks, a slow-developing romance, and far-out chase scenes. A great start for what one hopes is a series character, this will appeal to anyone who likes a fast-moving thriller leavened by wit.”— Library Journal
"Cooper, 'a former financial executive,' vividly renders a gossip-fueled world where self-important one-percenters begin to carry guns to protect themselves from murderous “peasants,” anarchists, and jihadists. Clawback has intriguing characters, knowing insights into the Wall Street demimonde, a blistering pace, lots of action, and some over-the-top derring-do that may attract Hollywood."— Booklist (starred review)
“By mid-tale, Cade’s gone hand-to-hand more than once, dodged a shoot-out and arm-wrestled a helicopter before jumping into the Hudson River to save himself. Cooper’s characters will probably populate sequels… There’s much snappy, half-cynical repartee reminiscent of 1930s Hollywood cinema, including snarks about the necessity of gun control, and a firefight aboard a mega-yacht followed by a jet ski-Zodiac water pursuit. Cooper sets the action in New York City, a locale he has down pat, from neighborhood diners to the only place it’s legal to live on your boat. Arm a Hollywood hero with a Beretta and disposable cell, point him at a Gordon Gekko–type, and this book’s big screen ready.”— Kirkus
"Engaging ... Cooper clearly knows the investment world.”— Publishers Weekly
"Mike Cooper’s Clawback is fantastic. If Tom Wolfe could channel Robert Ludlum, he would have written this novel. Think Bonfire of the Vanities meets The Bourne Identity and then kick it way, way up. Action, suspense, and tons of insider information. This is my kind of thriller and I can't wait for the next one. If you like Nelson DeMille, you will love Mike Cooper."— Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Full Black
“Clawback is a great guilty pleasure. It has vivid but convincing action, a sympathetic protagonist with a specialty we haven't seen before, and plentiful antagonists we all have reason to despise. Buy it.”— Thomas Perry, Edgar Award-winning and bestselling author of The Butcher’s Boy
"Sharp, invigorating and remarkably assured, Mike Cooper's financial thriller Clawback has done the unthinkable: it's made Oliver Stone's Wall Street look downright naïve.” — Josh Bazell, author of the New York Times bestselling Beat the Reaper
“Better than a bank with wheels, Clawback reads like a rollercoaster on a financial graph! Mike Cooper’s debut novel has a narrative that’s breezy and light, kind of like the fire that backdrafts under a door before it blows off the hinges.”— Craig Johnson, bestselling author of Hell is Empty
"Clawback is smart and savvy, and paced like a bull market rally! Silas Cade is part Jack Reacher, part Seal Team Six in the Madoffian canyons of power and greed."— Andrew Gross, bestselling author of Reckless
"Intriguing...Clawback is definitely worth the investment."— Associated Press
"Required reading"— New York Post
Review
Praise for The Broken Places
“The Broken Places again shows what a powerful storyteller Atkins is. His affinity for solid plotting shines and his characters are so believable that you expect to run into them at the local diner.” —Sun-Sentinel (South Florida)
“Ace Atkins killing honesty sets a new standard for Southern crime novels.” —The New York Times Book Review
Review
Praise for The Forsaken
“Articulate characters [and] a densely layered stack of stories. Atkins finds his natural-born storytellers everywhere. Its all music to these ears.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
“Atkins excels in solid pacing, effective dialogue and compelling characters . . . [he] shapes Quinn not as a superman, but as a flawed man who wants to do the right thing for his hometown . . . The excellent Quinn Colson novels, as illustrated in "The Forsaken," are the true showcase for Atkins' storytelling skills.”—Associated Press
“A darkly exciting thrill ride.”—Tampa Bay Times
“Quinn is facing a seemingly impossible string of complications in this fourth series installment, but somehow all these layers of catastrophe make sense together, a testament to Atkins ability to capture small-town life. The dive into Jerichos dark past makes for great reading as Atkins rolls through a handful of perspectives, propelling the storys threads toward an adrenaline-laced, Wild West-style conclusion.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Atkins is at the top of his game in Quinns fourth appearance, filled with nonstop action and moral ambiguities. The sheriffs many flaws only enhance his human appeal.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Lean prose, solid pacing, and a compelling lead distinguish bestseller Atkinss gritty fourth Quinn Colson novel . . . That Quinn resembles the late Robert B. Parkers Spenser—both are uncomplicated, principled men unafraid to use violence to protect themselves and others.”—Publishers Weekly
Praise for The Broken Places
“Ace Atkins killing honesty sets a new standard for Southern crime novels.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
“Ace Atkins Quinn Colson novels have been exceptional from the start . . . whether readers are new to the series or fans from the start, The Broken Places will touch them the way all great novels do, profoundly.”—Shelf Awareness
“The action is stark and gripping, the Southern locale suitably atmospheric and the bevy of characters convincing.”—The Houston Chronicle
“Atkins continues to combine sturdy character studies with an action-packed tale about the contemporary issues of war veterans and small-town corruption . . . The Broken Places again shows what a powerful storyteller Atkins is.”—Tulsa World
“[Atkins] scores again . . . Readers new to Atkins will see why Robert B. Parker's estate chose him to continue Parker's celebrated Spenser series.”—USA Today
“Atkins just gets better and better . . . I will throw down against anyone who disagrees with the statement that Atkins is one of our best American authors. Period . . . No matter what literary genre you might favor, The Broken Places is a book you should read and will not forget.”—bookreporter.com
“Atkins voice is graceful and tense . . . Atkins habit-forming series [shares] a tremendous sense of (rural) place and powerfully nuanced characterization with those of James Lee Burke, Craig Johnson, and C. J. Box.”—Booklist
“A high-tension thriller with a hero to rival Jack Reacher.”—Kirkus
“Supercool. ‘Manly writing akin to Elmore Leonards Detroit Westerns.”—Library Journal
“Amid the full-throttle plot, Atkins never loses sight of his characters sensitivities.”—Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
From the acclaimed, award-winning author comes an extraordinary new series about a real hero, and the real Deep South. "With terrific, inflected characters, and a dark, subtle sense of place and history, The Ranger is an exceptional novel." -John Sandford
"One of the best crime writers at work today." -Michael Connelly
Ace Atkins returns with an extraordinary new series. Northeast Mississippi, hill country, rugged and notorious for outlaws since the Civil War, where killings are as commonplace as in the Old West. To Quinn Colson, it's home-but not the home he left when he went to Afghanistan.
Now an Army Ranger, he returns to a place overrun by corruption, and finds his uncle, the county sheriff, dead-a suicide, he's told, but others whisper murder. In the days that follow, it will be up to Colson to discover the truth, not only about his uncle, but about his family, his friends, his town, and not least about himself. And once the truth is discovered, there is no turning back.
Synopsis
Fans of Justified and James Lee Burke will love Mississippi lawman Quinn Colson
The first Quinn Colson novel from the author of The Lost Ones, The Broken Places, and The Forsaken
After years of war, Army Ranger Quinn Colson returns home to the rugged, rough hill country of northeast Mississippi to find his native Tibbehah County overrun with corruption, decay, meth runners, and violence. His uncle, the longtime county sheriff, is dead. A suicide, hes told, but otherslike tomboy deputy Lillie Virgilwhisper murder.
In the days that follow, its up to Colson to discover the truth, not only about his uncle, but about his family, his friends, his town, and himself. And once its discovered, theres no going back for this real hero of the Deep South.
Synopsis
In Die Hard style, Silas Cade takes his atypical brand of "auditing" from Wall Street to Main Street Fans of Lee Child's Jack Reacher and Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp will want to add Silas Cade to their lineup. Cade, the tough-guy auditor antihero introduced in Clawback, employs a brand of financial reform that comes with plenty of firepower. Needing a respite from Wall Street, Cade jumps at a job opportunity in western Pennsylvania—but finds that Main Street is just as dirty.
The job seems easy enough—check out a Pittsburgh manufacturer and file a report—but Cade quickly discovers corruption at every level. His revelations catch the attentions of hair-trigger Russian mobsters and a blonde assassin named Harmony. Cade’s estranged brother is dragged into the fray as the tension builds to bullet-riddled showdowns across defunct steel mills, forests, and Appalachian fracking fields.
Cooper again delivers a timely plot involving Wall Street greed, financial corruption, and the plight of blue-collar workers.
Synopsis
In Die Hard style, Silas Cade takes his atypical brand of "auditing" from Wall Street to Main Street Fans of Lee Child's Jack Reacher and Vince Flynn's Mitch Rapp will want to add Silas Cade to their lineup. Cade, the tough-guy auditor antihero introduced in Clawback, employs a brand of financial reform that comes with plenty of firepower. Needing a respite from Wall Street, Cade jumps at a job opportunity in western Pennsylvania—but finds that Main Street is just as dirty.
The job seems easy enough—check out a Pittsburgh manufacturer and file a report—but Cade quickly discovers corruption at every level. His revelations catch the attentions of hair-trigger Russian mobsters and a blonde assassin named Harmony. Cade’s estranged brother is dragged into the fray as the tension builds to bullet-riddled showdowns across defunct steel mills, forests, and Appalachian fracking fields.
Cooper again delivers a timely plot involving Wall Street greed, financial corruption, and the plight of blue-collar workers.
Synopsis
The extraordinary new novel in New York Times-bestselling author Ace Atkins' acclaimed series about the real Deep Southa joy ride into the heart of darkness” (The Washington Post).
Thirty-six years ago, a nameless black man wandered into Jericho, Mississippi, with nothing but the clothes on his back and a pair of paratrooper boots. Less than two days later, he was accused of rape and murder, hunted down by a self-appointed posse, and lynched.
Now evidence has surfaced of his innocence, and county sheriff Quinn Colson sets out not only to identify the strangers remains, but to charge those responsible for the lynching. As he starts to uncover old lies and dirty secrets, though, he runs up against fierce opposition from those with the most to loseand they can play dirty themselves.
Soon Colson will find himself accused of terrible crimes, and the worst part is, the accusations just might stick. As the two investigations come to a head, it is anybodys guess who will prevailor even come out of it alive.
Synopsis
After years of war, Army Ranger Quinn Colson returns home to the rugged, rough hill country of northeast Mississippi to find his native Tibbehah County overrun with corruption, decay, meth runners, and violence. His uncle, the longtime county sheriff, is dead. A suicide, he’s told, but others—like tomboy deputy Lillie Virgil—whisper murder.
In the days that follow, it’s up to Colson to discover the truth, not only about his uncle, but about his family, his friends, his town, and himself. And once it’s discovered, there’s no going back for this real hero of the Deep South.
About the Author
Ace Atkins is the author of the Quinn Colson novels
The Ranger,
The Lost Ones, and
The Broken Places. Atkins was also chosen by the Robert B. Parker estate to continue the highly popular Spenser novels. A former journalist who cut his teeth as a crime reporter in the newsroom of
The Tampa Tribune, he published his first novel,
Crossroad Blues, at 27 and became a full-time novelist at 30. While at the
Tribune, Ace earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination for a feature series based on his investigation into a forgotten murder of the 1950s. The story became the core of his critically acclaimed novel,
White Shadow, which earned raves from noted authors and critics. In his next novels,
Wicked City, Devil's Garden, and
Infamous, blended first-hand interviews and original research into police and court records with tightly woven plots and incisive characters. The historical novels told great American stories by weaving fact and fiction into a colorful, seamless tapestry.
The Ranger represents a return to Ace's first love: hero-driven series fiction. Quinn Colson is a real hero--a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan--who returns home to north Mississippi to fight corruption on his home turf. Ace lives on a historic farm outside Oxford, Mississippi with his family.