alexcarbonneau's review
4.0
A solid 4 stars.
Excellent episode in the life of Quinn Colson and the good (and not so good) people of Tibbehah County.
What I found interesting in this one is how Atkins focused a little more on the other characters of the book and gave them a little more playing time, allowing the reader to put itself in the shoes of almost all of the cast of "The Broken Places", but without denaturalizing his storytelling and the general feeling you can get out of a "Quinn Colson Novel".
As usual, Atkins nails the ending and leaves us wanting more.
All-in-all, a very good novel that I feel Atkins used to set up a lot more of Colson Novels (haven't read the remaining 3 yet...)
Excellent episode in the life of Quinn Colson and the good (and not so good) people of Tibbehah County.
What I found interesting in this one is how Atkins focused a little more on the other characters of the book and gave them a little more playing time, allowing the reader to put itself in the shoes of almost all of the cast of "The Broken Places", but without denaturalizing his storytelling and the general feeling you can get out of a "Quinn Colson Novel".
As usual, Atkins nails the ending and leaves us wanting more.
All-in-all, a very good novel that I feel Atkins used to set up a lot more of Colson Novels (haven't read the remaining 3 yet...)
lazygal's review against another edition
2.0
Set in Mississippi, this series follows former Army/local boy/now sheriff Quinn as he tries to corral his family and keep the peace. In this episode, his sister Caddy has taken up with a former convict, Jamey Dixon, (officially pardoned by the governor) who Found God and is establishing a church in town. Complicating this is a breakout from the prison, and the escapees are looking for Dixon because their leader shared information with his about a sunken Wells Fargo truck carrying a lot of money. Quinn has to find the escapees, who are on quite the spree, and protect his family. Being Mississippi and summer, there's a tornado to contend with - I suspect the clean-up from that will feature in the next book.
Is Dixon really "holy" now? Which side is Suggs on? Will Quinn get his men, or will they escape, or something else? And what about Quinn's complicated love life? Those questions - and more - are answered, albeit not cleanly, by the end.
The language is raw, the action rough, and the characters complicated. For some, this will be an addictive series. For me, however, one will be enough.
ARC provided by publisher.
Is Dixon really "holy" now? Which side is Suggs on? Will Quinn get his men, or will they escape, or something else? And what about Quinn's complicated love life? Those questions - and more - are answered, albeit not cleanly, by the end.
The language is raw, the action rough, and the characters complicated. For some, this will be an addictive series. For me, however, one will be enough.
ARC provided by publisher.
jaclynday's review against another edition
3.0
This book was recommended to me (AGAIN, no idea where, I can never remember) and I enjoyed it. A good little palette cleanser. It’s listed as a “Southern crime novel” and I was thinking, ho-hum, dime a dozen crime novel. Instead, I found it fairly suspenseful and got invested in the well-rounded cast of characters. If you like this genre or just want something really light to pass the time, have at it.
shelleyrae's review against another edition
4.0
The Broken Places is the third gripping book by Ace Atkins to feature former Army Ranger Quinn Colson, now Sheriff of Tebbehah County in rural northeast Mississippi.
"I say it's hell being Sherrif in the same town as your family"
Colson has to admit his younger sister, Caddy, is looking healthier and happier than she has in years, but he can't bring himself to trust it will last, especially since she has hooked up with pardoned ex-con turned preacher, Jamey Dixon. Convicted of murdering his girlfriend in a drug fueled rage, Dixon seems determined to prove he is a changed man, preaching forgiveness and redemption, but a trio of dangerous escaped criminals are headed Dixon's way, and they intend to retrieve what they believe to be theirs, come hell or high water.
In a small town like Jericho, Colson's personal and professional lives inevitably tangle and in The Broken Places this conflict is at the heart of the story. Caddy, having recently turned her own life around, is convinced Dixon deserves a second chance. Quinn doesn't believe Dixon is a reformed man but is at a loss as to how to convince his sister she is making a mistake. As Colson stews about his sister's love life, the town gossips about his regular meetings with county undertaker/coroner, Ophelia, unaware Anna-Lee, Quinn's childhood sweetheart now married to someone else, makes regular visits to his bed.
Few of the characters in The Broken Places are either entirely good or bad, Colson included, and it is this ambiguity that makes them so interesting. The veracity of Dixon's reform shifts as the story unfolds, and with the line between the truth and deception, lawfulness and justice often blurred, the reader is asked to make their own judgement about his, and others, behaviour.
There is plenty of fast paced action in this installment with the murderous escapees making their way to Jericho. The violence in the story is amplified by the storm bearing down on the town. When a violent tornado touches down, ripping through the county, the aftermath leaves some broken, and others free to start again.
Though Broken Places could conceivably be read as a stand alone, I wouldn't recommend it as familiarity with the primary characters adds depth to the story. I have grown quite fond of the series and am looking forward to the next installment. There is a frustrating years delay between each installments publication in the US and the Commonwealth, so while the fourth book, [b:The Forsaken|18693779|The Forsaken (Quinn Colson, #4)|Ace Atkins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385964173s/18693779.jpg|26542327], is already available in some markets, it will be May 2015 until I will be able to get my hands on it.
martyfried's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes, it's hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys in this story. Most of the bad guys seem to be really dumb, though. Or in the case of Quinn's arch enemy, Johnny Stagg, he's not as dumb but he makes up for it by being greedy and arrogant. But it's lots of fun, if you can handle a bunch of people getting killed. It will keep you guessing.
sunny76's review against another edition
4.0
Ace Atkin's books keep getting better. The characters are likable even though you sometimes wonder what the heck would they do that for! But it's a story and stories don't always have to be believable and people don't always make the best decisions in real life either. Thank goodness all small towns don't have people so corrupt!
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
For a long time, I was wary of starting Ace Atkins’ Quinn Colson series. I’m not from the south but my dad is and I used to vacation there a lot. I know how often southern folk are caricaturized. I also know how people will write off the south’s racist legacy in favor of being “complex” (looking at you Gregory Iles, although I’ve never made it past 20 pages of a Penn Cage book so maybe he gets better). I assumed Quinn Colson, ex-Army Ranger, would just be a typical cowboy-type for books written like old school westerns: man comes into town, gets the bad guy, sleeps with the girl, does some shots of whisky and rides out on his motorcycle (the modern day horse).
That’s not what these books are at all. Atkins is a veteran writer but most impressively, he knows how to write characters. His characters are steeped in the culture of the south, a culture the native Atkins knows well. But it’s never played for anything other than strong characterization. The heroes aren’t always heroes, but neither does Atkins venerate moral ambiguity. The villains aren’t always villains but you never forget they’re bad guys. Atkins takes the moralism of the deep south and helps the reader realize that beyond it, there is a real world. And this is how these people interact with one another in the real world.
This one is probably the best of the series, definitely an improvement on book two which I still thought was good aside from the Scary Mexican Cartel nonsense. You feel the tragedy laced to all of the characters, the complexity of the small county they live in, the claustrophobic nature the storm brings to folks who are used to having space. The climactic scene is intentionally non-derivative. Sadness is felt all the same.
The Quinn Colson series is a good one. I like these books.
That’s not what these books are at all. Atkins is a veteran writer but most impressively, he knows how to write characters. His characters are steeped in the culture of the south, a culture the native Atkins knows well. But it’s never played for anything other than strong characterization. The heroes aren’t always heroes, but neither does Atkins venerate moral ambiguity. The villains aren’t always villains but you never forget they’re bad guys. Atkins takes the moralism of the deep south and helps the reader realize that beyond it, there is a real world. And this is how these people interact with one another in the real world.
This one is probably the best of the series, definitely an improvement on book two which I still thought was good aside from the Scary Mexican Cartel nonsense. You feel the tragedy laced to all of the characters, the complexity of the small county they live in, the claustrophobic nature the storm brings to folks who are used to having space. The climactic scene is intentionally non-derivative. Sadness is felt all the same.
The Quinn Colson series is a good one. I like these books.
plantbirdwoman's review against another edition
4.0
It begins with a prison break. Three inmates from Mississippi's notorious Parchman Prison manage to abscond from the place. One in a big truck goes through the gates, while two others escape on horseback.
The two on horseback cut their way through the wire fence around the prison farm and manage to find a car to steal. Then they are on their way to North Mississippi, Tibbehah County and the little town of Jericho, where they plan to confront the man who they believe has the money from an armored truck robbery they pulled off before they were caught and sent to prison.
Meanwhile, in Jericho, Quinn Colson, the veteran of the war in Afghanistan who returned to his home town and was elected sheriff, is, one year later, still adjusting to his new life after several years as an Army Ranger.
His latest challenge is an ex-con named Jamey Dixon who was convicted several years before of killing a local woman. He had made use of his time in prison to earn a degree from a seminary through distance learning. Dixon has been pardoned by the outgoing governor and has returned to Jericho claiming to have been cleansed by Jesus from all his sins. He's trying to establish a ministry in the town, using an old barn as the meeting place.
The family of the woman that Dixon was convicted of killing still think he's guilty and unworthy of a pardon, but many seem to believe in his redemption. One of those, to Quinn Colson's chagrin, is his younger sister, Caddy, a troubled young single mother of a five-year-old son who has been trying to clean up her act and turn her wasted life around for the sake of her son. She completely believes in Dixon and they are planning a life together.
Colson's own love life is not exactly a paragon of rectitude. In fact, it is quite messed up as he continues an affair with his high school sweetheart who is now married to a local doctor with whom she has a daughter.
So, we have a typical small Southern town where everybody knows everybody and everybody's business and most of them are related in some way.
Ace Atkins is a talented writer and he has a genuine ear for North Mississippi speech and for human relationships there. I speak as one who grew up in the area. I recognize these people and I could hear their voices in my ear as I read The Broken Places.
This was the third installment in Atkins' Quinn Colson series and it is definitely my favorite so far. All of the books have been very well written, but this one shows an even stronger sense of place than the earlier two. Moreover, the plot is well conceived and the action is non-stop. It is a real page-turner, one that you don't want to put down once you are into it.
The story of the escaped convicts and their quest to regain their ill-gotten loot moves along briskly with a few dead bodies littering their progress, but then, in the middle of it all and in the middle of law enforcement's search for the killers, a massive storm hits the little town of Jericho, almost destroying it. The search for the hardened criminals takes a back seat to an emergency situation that requires all the resources that the town, the state, and nearby communities can provide.
The miscreants couldn't care less about an emergency situation. They just want their money and a way to get out of town to freedom. It all heads for a showdown - bad guys against good guys.
After all the complications of the plot, Atkins provides the reader with a satisfying climax, and still manages to keep us in suspense as to Colson's fate following the showdown, giving us a reason to look for the next book in the series. His strategy sure worked on me.
The two on horseback cut their way through the wire fence around the prison farm and manage to find a car to steal. Then they are on their way to North Mississippi, Tibbehah County and the little town of Jericho, where they plan to confront the man who they believe has the money from an armored truck robbery they pulled off before they were caught and sent to prison.
Meanwhile, in Jericho, Quinn Colson, the veteran of the war in Afghanistan who returned to his home town and was elected sheriff, is, one year later, still adjusting to his new life after several years as an Army Ranger.
His latest challenge is an ex-con named Jamey Dixon who was convicted several years before of killing a local woman. He had made use of his time in prison to earn a degree from a seminary through distance learning. Dixon has been pardoned by the outgoing governor and has returned to Jericho claiming to have been cleansed by Jesus from all his sins. He's trying to establish a ministry in the town, using an old barn as the meeting place.
The family of the woman that Dixon was convicted of killing still think he's guilty and unworthy of a pardon, but many seem to believe in his redemption. One of those, to Quinn Colson's chagrin, is his younger sister, Caddy, a troubled young single mother of a five-year-old son who has been trying to clean up her act and turn her wasted life around for the sake of her son. She completely believes in Dixon and they are planning a life together.
Colson's own love life is not exactly a paragon of rectitude. In fact, it is quite messed up as he continues an affair with his high school sweetheart who is now married to a local doctor with whom she has a daughter.
So, we have a typical small Southern town where everybody knows everybody and everybody's business and most of them are related in some way.
Ace Atkins is a talented writer and he has a genuine ear for North Mississippi speech and for human relationships there. I speak as one who grew up in the area. I recognize these people and I could hear their voices in my ear as I read The Broken Places.
This was the third installment in Atkins' Quinn Colson series and it is definitely my favorite so far. All of the books have been very well written, but this one shows an even stronger sense of place than the earlier two. Moreover, the plot is well conceived and the action is non-stop. It is a real page-turner, one that you don't want to put down once you are into it.
The story of the escaped convicts and their quest to regain their ill-gotten loot moves along briskly with a few dead bodies littering their progress, but then, in the middle of it all and in the middle of law enforcement's search for the killers, a massive storm hits the little town of Jericho, almost destroying it. The search for the hardened criminals takes a back seat to an emergency situation that requires all the resources that the town, the state, and nearby communities can provide.
The miscreants couldn't care less about an emergency situation. They just want their money and a way to get out of town to freedom. It all heads for a showdown - bad guys against good guys.
After all the complications of the plot, Atkins provides the reader with a satisfying climax, and still manages to keep us in suspense as to Colson's fate following the showdown, giving us a reason to look for the next book in the series. His strategy sure worked on me.
jeffterpsfan's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0