Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Black Water Rising” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Black Water Rising

(Jay Porter #1)

Attica Locke,

Dion Graham (narrator)

3.50 · Rating details · 5,392 ratings · 829 reviews

Attica Locke—a writer and producer of FOX’s Empire—delivers an engrossing, complex, and cinematic thriller about crime and racial justice

Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist (Mystery/Thriller)
Edgar Award Nominee (Best First Novel)
The Orange Prize for Fiction (Shortlist)

“A near-perfect balance of trenchant social commentary, rich characterizations, and action-oriented plot ...more

Get A Copy

Audio CD, 0 pages

Published June 9th 2009 by HarperAudio

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Black Water Rising, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.50 ·

Rating details

· 5,392 ratings · 829 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Black Water Rising

Jun 30, 2017 Joe Valdez rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-suspense

Until time travel becomes widespread, I recommend Black Water Rising, a historical mystery that marked the publishing debut of Attica Locke in 2009. Neither the story or the dialogue enthralled me straight away, skirting so close to reality that it feels more like eyewitness news reporting than storytelling, like a Texas Monthly article from the '80s. But as the novel unfolded and the uncanny details of another place, time and experience began to unravel, I was transported somewhere else. Only t ...more

flag 81 likes · Like · see review

Feb 01, 2017 Lauren rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: crime

Is this my first great crime novel read of the year? I think it is.

Black Water Rising is superb. Set in Houston in the early eighties, it begins when Jay Porter--a struggling ambulance-chaser and traumatized former idealist--takes his wife, Bernie, on a late-night boat ride through the bayou as a birthday present. It isn't going well--the boat he's hired is much shabbier than he was led to believe, and the man he thought would be captaining it has left an untrustworthy cousin in his stead--and t Is this my first great crime novel read of the year? I think it is.

Black Water Rising is superb. Set in Houston in the early eighties, it begins when Jay Porter--a struggling ambulance-chaser and traumatized former idealist--takes his wife, Bernie, on a late-night boat ride through the bayou as a birthday present. It isn't going well--the boat he's hired is much shabbier than he was led to believe, and the man he thought would be captaining it has left an untrustworthy cousin in his stead--and then, miraculously, it is: the night is lovely, the refreshments seem to pull everything together, and Jay maybe has a win on his hands. Then they hear a struggle and some gunshots and Jay rescues a white woman from the water. Obviously they should call the police, but the boat's temporary captain doesn't have a license and Jay, whose civil rights activism in college once angered authorities enough to have him arrested on trumped-up charges, is likewise leery. They settle for dropping the woman off in front of the police station, where she can walk in... or not.

This kicks off a tangled but naturally-unfurling set of complications both past and present, as the mystery around that night seems to uneasily begin to coalesce with Houston's oil-driven economy, racial tensions, and ambitious mayor. Even the flashbacks--and I am generally an avowed enemy of flashbacks--are well-done and significant, showing us Jay as a passionate and charismatic student leader and crusader for justice. Those qualities are still there within him, even if they've been buried by justified paranoia and cautiousness, and Black Water Rising is in part a novel-length struggle over whether or not Jay's actions in the present will bring him back to the values of his past. And that's in addition to wondering whether or not his one-time girlfriend (now also his mayor) sold him out to the cops and trying to figure out what happened that night on the boat--and what happened to get to that.

Locke does an excellent job revealing the solution to her mystery in stages, and even if you can guess the nature of it--and with historical perspective, you probably can--you probably can't quite guess the ins-and-outs of it or the ramifications it will have for Jay, for whom the stakes are high. That same smoothness--and even that same sense of suspense--is replicated in the prose itself, which is evocative but unshowy:

Monday mornings at the civil courthouse are usually slow going. The place lacks the focus or feeling of purpose of the criminal courthouse, a building that practically crackles with the electric energy of righteous indignation, a feeling running under everything, even the most mundane office tasks, that something huge is at stake. There are murderers and rapists in the hallways, crooks and thieves roaming the building; there are handcuffs and officers with guns. The spectacle alone is enough to fill everyone with a sense of heroic purpose, or at least a heated feeling of excitement. In a civil courtroom, there is only one thing at stake: money. Questions of right or wrong, who did what to whom, are stripped of their morality here and reduced to a numerical equation. What is your pain worth? What's the going rate for sorrow? If it's not your money or pain that's at stake, it's kind of hard to get too fired up about the proceedings, nor do they draw much of a crowd.

Debut novels can be rough and debut crime novels can be rougher, can sometimes get out into the world with weak writing as long as they have a good hook. Black Water Rising has sophisticated storytelling and a polished style and it's almost impossible to believe it was Locke's first published novel. (She's also a veteran scriptwriter, but the talents aren't always the same: clearly she's good at both.) And Black Water Rising was blurbed by Ellroy and Pelecanos. I can't believe it took me this long to read it, but at least my unconscionable delay means I have two other novels of hers waiting for me. ...more

flag 32 likes · Like · see review

Sep 11, 2017 Ioana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, politics, fiction, us-history, labor-hist

I picked this book out of a 'used bin' at the library bookstore for $1, expecting a "hard boiled thriller" in the vein of Dennis Lehane, as the accolades on the back cover promise. Turns out that's pretty far off in terms of a description: a psychological 'whodunnit' this isn't, and neither is it much of a paced thriller - these expectations, I imagine, are what brings the average rating of this book down so low (for GR, a 3.37 ain't good). And yet, the top reviews all give this between 4-5 star I picked this book out of a 'used bin' at the library bookstore for $1, expecting a "hard boiled thriller" in the vein of Dennis Lehane, as the accolades on the back cover promise. Turns out that's pretty far off in terms of a description: a psychological 'whodunnit' this isn't, and neither is it much of a paced thriller - these expectations, I imagine, are what brings the average rating of this book down so low (for GR, a 3.37 ain't good). And yet, the top reviews all give this between 4-5 stars, which does not surprise considering this book is actually quite brilliant and so unique in its genre.

On the surface, this is a mystery of sorts: a couple, on a night out on the river in Houston, hear gun shots, screams, and moments later fish a seemingly wounded wealthy white woman out of the water. The young(ish) man, Jay, an attorney and former activist in the Civil Rights movement (in the late 1960s and 1970s), is pulled, unwillingly at first, into investigating this woman's story and the events of this fateful night. But really, the book isn't so much about the investigation as it is an exploration of the tumultuous landscape of Houston in the 1970s-80s: turns out, Jay has served time (in short, for his activism and for being suspected of 'inciting riots' in the days when the FBI was framing young black men and infiltrating black resistance groups). And, because of this history, Jay is reluctant and afraid of being involved with this wealthy white woman's case - he knows he may well be fingered for the crime that occurred that night.

The white woman's case is one that reaches into the upper echelons of power in Houston - into the mayor's office (another white woman, one with whom Jay has personal history), into the boardrooms of the oil tycoons and developers in the city, into the parlor rooms of the most established Houston families. Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Jay continues to work his other cases in order to eek out a meager living out of his one-room attorney's office: that of a black sex worker who has been hurt in an encounter with a powerful white man; that of a dock-workers' strike and that of the beating of a young black man by white union workers. From union politics to the role of the church in the black community of Houston to oil monopolies and more, Black Water Rising paints a complex, vibrant, historically rich portrait of the era.

If you're reading this expecting a 'thriller' you probably will be disappointed; if, however, you take it as what it is, a historical study of a city in transition, an exploration of the legacies of segregation and racism, and a window into the turmoil of local politics and power, you will be blown away.

...more

flag 31 likes · Like · see review

Jan 31, 2016 Tooter rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3.75 stars. Not quite as good as Pleasantville. There were a few civil rights history sections that slowed the plotline for me. Otherwise, she's a wonderful author.

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Apr 23, 2010 Stacey Peters rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: thrillers

There aren't very many African American mystery writers out there, so this novel was a welcome surprise. The author really did her research. The plot was well executed, with tidbits of historical relevance that helped set the stage. The main character, a tortured soul, complex and yet compelling, has checked out of life for the most part just going through the motions from one day to the next. Wake, work, wife, wake, work, wife. Shaky family foundations, married, but unable to trust his pregnant ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Feb 22, 2011 switterbug (Betsey) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

In this adroit debut thriller, Attica Locke delivers the goods with an understated and assured confidence. The cadence, as well as the story, is brisk and balanced. She avoids the pitfalls of many debut authors, i.e. the prose is not self-conscious or cloying, and the story develops with a natural ease. Her sentences are a joy to read, as they are poised, with a sense of the poetic, and well scrubbed. This is a novel with political overtones and racial conflicts; however, Locke executes her narr In this adroit debut thriller, Attica Locke delivers the goods with an understated and assured confidence. The cadence, as well as the story, is brisk and balanced. She avoids the pitfalls of many debut authors, i.e. the prose is not self-conscious or cloying, and the story develops with a natural ease. Her sentences are a joy to read, as they are poised, with a sense of the poetic, and well scrubbed. This is a novel with political overtones and racial conflicts; however, Locke executes her narrative without pounding in the polemics or preaching to the choir. In this restrained and mostly character driven story, the corporate controversies develop with a refined intelligence, building with a controlled and subdued temperance. Moreover, Locke paints a keen portrait of Houston's Third Ward of 1981, a place where political activism in the African American community has declined since its days of Carl Hampton and the Black Panther activism of the 70's, as many black business owners and homeowners have moved to the suburbs.

Jay Porter is a young, thirtyish lawyer with a very pregnant wife, Bernie, living in the Third Ward and trying to pave a career. He has a tenebrous past that is revealed gradually within the arc of the story. At the beginning, we know he feels clouded and frustrated with how his career and life is unfolding, and there is a palpable tension between Jay and his wife. He tries, on her birthday, to surprise her with a boat ride on Buffalo Bayou in Houston. What stars off as a romantic quest turns into an uninvited adventure, as Jay saves a drowning woman and gets pulled into a quagmire of murder and dirty politics. Things get murkier as Bernie's father, a respected Reverend, beseeches Jay to get involved with the looming strike of the longshoreman dock workers. Although Jay was an activist for black power and equality in his college days, he does not want to get involved with this racially divided conflict. "This is not my fight," he murmurs over and over to himself. "This has nothing to do with me."

The thorny history of the Third and Fifth Wards, as well as Houston's power boom of the 70's and early 80's, informs Locke's superb story of human politics. She weaves Jay's past into the present with a lyrical control and economy of words, creating page-turning tension for the reader. This isn't about dead bodies piling up or gratuitous shoot-outs with larger-than-life characters. The characters in Locke's story are authentic, conflicted, and wholly believable. Jay's fight to provide for and protect his family and to forge a meaningful life are the gripping forces of this novel.

Locke skillfully blends the Houston climate and geography into the mood of the characters and the action of the story. The tone is pitch-perfect and the events progress with a measured intensity. Locke's gift for character and narrative kept me fastened to the novel from the arresting opening pages to its credible and transitional end. I eagerly look forward to her next novel. BLACK WATER RISING is distinctly open for a follow-up. ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Feb 23, 2012 Clif Hostetler rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: novel

This murder-mystery-thriller novel provides a portrayal of 1980s Houston, Texas through the eyes of a young African American lawyer who has a past history of involvement in the black power movement of the late 60s. It is one man's personal journey told through flashbacks of past experiences intermixed with the current story that occurs during the Reagan administration of the 1980s. The time may be post civil rights legislation, but racial feelings are still raw. From the perspective of the main ...more

flag 13 likes · Like · see review

Apr 16, 2015 James rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Excellent. Would recommend to anyone. Try to listen to it. It is read by Dion Graham and he is the best! I would put this book into my category as one I would not like to listen too because the writing is so very good. But, again, Graham is great. I didn't not give it 5 stars because I reserve that for my favorite books. This comes very close.

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

Mar 25, 2019 Lois rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: poc-pov-char-or-peripheral-char, black-books, audio-book, kindle-unlimited-or-scribd, african-diaspora-interest, person-of-color-author, books-i-own-digital-copy, mystery-thriller, books-i-read-in-2019

This dragged in a few places but overall I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.
Jay is a former member of SNCC who gets frustrated and forms a Black Panther style Black Liberation group in the 70's. COINTELPRO begins to convict his friends on trumped up charges, out right murdering Fred Hamilton.
Jay is arrested, beats his charge and goes to law school. 10 years later he's noticing that the few comrades of his that slipped through the government's fingers are still being watched.
Into this tension drops ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Jul 04, 2016 Monica **can't read fast enough** rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: aa-fiction

A good read that felt realistic. I'll be reading more from her. Review to come.

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Jun 17, 2020 Dorothy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: thrillers, historical-mysteries

I read Attica Locke's acclaimed book, Bluebird, Bluebird, in 2017 and promised myself that I would read more. Finally, with Black Water Rising, I'm beginning to fulfill that promise to myself.

This book is actually Locke's first published novel. It came out in 2009 and was nominated for all sorts of awards including the Edgar Award for Best First Novel by an American Author. The book is set in Locke's hometown of Houston, Texas in 1981. We moved here a few years later and I can attest that her re ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Aug 16, 2009 Margaret rated it really liked it · review of another edition

good crime mystery.back drop of civilrights movement.

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Mar 01, 2015 Taryn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Attica Locke is one of those rare thriller writers who not only brings unrelenting action but throws in a hefty side of hard-hitting themes. I don't know that I've ever read another thriller that gave me this much to mull over afterwards. Usually I finish crime novels all like, “That was a fun and interesting diversion. Tra la la,” but not this time.

Locke's main character, attorney Jay Porter, is a complicated and tortured man. As the book opens in 1981, Jay is stable, married, awaiting the arri Attica Locke is one of those rare thriller writers who not only brings unrelenting action but throws in a hefty side of hard-hitting themes. I don't know that I've ever read another thriller that gave me this much to mull over afterwards. Usually I finish crime novels all like, “That was a fun and interesting diversion. Tra la la,” but not this time.

Locke's main character, attorney Jay Porter, is a complicated and tortured man. As the book opens in 1981, Jay is stable, married, awaiting the arrival of his first child, but his life is about to be thrown into total chaos.

It begins when Jay witnesses a crime he won't fully understand until much later. Most people would go to the police to report what they saw, but Jay is wracked with residual paranoia from his college days, when he was active in the Black Power movement. He narrowly evaded significant prison time then, and he's terrified of getting involved in anything now that could land him back on the wrong side of the law. So he keeps his mouth shut, like he's always done. This time, though, trouble follows Jay as if it were tied to his ankle. He's involved whether he wants to be or not, and he has no idea who he's dealing with or how high up the corruption goes.

There are so many big ideas in this story—the oil industry, environmentalism, workers' rights, civil rights, collective bargaining, industrialization, government spies—it's no wonder it takes over 400 pages for Locke to tell it. What is a surprise is how quickly she makes those pages fly by.

I was fascinated by Jay's character, but I hardly had any time to reflect on his choices and motivations because something exciting was always happening. There are so many jaw-dropping, heart-pumping scenes throughout the book. Usually that's not my thing; I often find myself sighing with boredom and skimming through action-heavy sequences, but not with Black Water Rising. The tension is incredible.

And here's some good news: a second Locke novel, Pleasantville, featuring Jay Porter is scheduled for release April 21! You can bet I've already joined the hold list at my library for that one.

More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Jul 23, 2016 Linda Robinson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Texas 1981. That's the first line in the book. I love first lines like this. All you say in your head is. Okay. Orient yourself to that year there. It was a volatile year around the world. Ronald Reagan was shot. Bernadette Devlin was shot. Lech Walesa and Solidarity were churning up Poland. The first 5 cases of AIDS were identified as some kind of pneumonia. And Jay Porter was busy being a personal injury lawyer in private practice, trying to keep body soul wife career and life above the water ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Sep 01, 2012 Elizabeth rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: poc-author-fiction, mystery

3.5 star read rounded up to 4 stars

well-written mystery set in houston w/prime details and tension reflecting the reagan years. houston is mired in trouble with rising oil ("black water") prices & union problems. jay porter is a black attorney who has a radical past & is understandably reluctant to get involved after rescuing a woman & hearing gunshots in the night. he struggles to act even knowing that it is the right thing to do. as jay reckons with past events that have formed his fears & dis ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Feb 28, 2014 LL rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Moved a little slow, a lot of twists and turns, but a good read. Enjoyed the complexity of the lead character Jay Porter, a man with many demons.
The ending was a little flat, left me wondering what, thats it??? Guess it will pick up in Locke's followup, "Pleasantville".

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Aug 13, 2009 Marie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, people-of-color, mysteries, southern

Considering this is Locke's first novel, it is an excellent effort. She paints Houston in the early '80s as a greedy, oil-hungry place divided into rich and poor, black and white. Her main character has a tormented past that continues to follow him around, sometimes in his mind.

It's a novel of redemption and hope, in the end. It's a good solid story, but at times I found myself getting a bit bogged down in the details. It could have gripped me more and drawn me in deeper.

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

May 20, 2017 Mark rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, mystery, thriller

This was a debut novel for Locke, immersing us in the racial politics of Houston in the 1980s.

At the center of this story is Jay Porter, a struggling black lawyer who is awaiting his first child and who has a troubled past as a civil rights activist who was betrayed by some internal snitches. On a steamy evening, he takes his wife Bernie for a low-rent cruise along the bayou that bisects the booming oil city, and when they are almost done, they hear gunshots and a woman's cry for help. Soon, th ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Jan 09, 2011 Andy Weston rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Great story set in Houston Texas in the 80s - I had just spent a week there with my brother, so very applicable.
Good strong characters - though it does seem the novel is just getting going at the end!! Maybe there will be a second book?

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Sep 28, 2010 Sarah Weathersby rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: african-american, kindle

Somehow I thought this book was a mystery. But the real mystery is Jay Porter...why he doesn't connect with his wife whom he loves, who loves him, and on whom he hangs his whole future.

There is that mysterious rescue of a woman from drowning in the bayou; a young man gets beat up by union guys who supposedly support the strike; oil seepage in the back yard of a kook who did a a one-man march on Washington; why is somebody following Jay or is he just paranoid from his "militant" days in the 70's. ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Oct 16, 2011 MargeryK rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, bookgroup

What a terrible read. Have joined a new reading group and this was the library's offering. I really don't understand how it became shortlisted for the Orange Prize last year. Must've been a bad year.

I normally never feel inclined to give-up on a novel, but was sorely tempted to ditch this book.

The voice is clunky, she focuses on irrelevant incidences, for instance:

"she keeps an eye on the chicken thawing in the sink, and when she gets bored with that, she shuffles across the kitchen floor, tak ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Jul 02, 2009 Kathy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult

The writing was well done and the characters well developed but this is not a book I will recomend to many of our customers. The biggest problem I had is that the main character was one of those characters in movies and books that I hate because they always seem to make the wrong choices, keep everything to themselves, and wind up getting deeper and deeper into trouble. You find yourself screaming, go to the police already. However, in the end, going to the police may not have helped him. All th ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Nov 29, 2015 Vicki Seldon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It took me quite a while to finish this novel, not because it wasn't good. On the contrary, Attica Locke is a wonderful writer. What took me so long was that Ms. Locke managed to craft a thriller that also conveyed so well the anxiety and paranoia felt by members of the black community as they continued the struggle for equal rights in the Houston of the post- civil rights era. A young black lawyer, once a college activist and now a family man struggling to stay afloat, gets mixed up in murder, ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Mar 11, 2016 DeB MaRtEnS rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-mystery, adventure-thriller

Very atmospheric, deeply layered and intense; the malevolence in the novel is palpable and the tension becomes increasingly taut, making it difficult to put this book down before the back cover is closed. Highly recommended.

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Mar 02, 2013 Ayelet Waldman rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It's been a long long time since I read a mystery. Pretty well out of love with the genre, I'm afraid.

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Mar 11, 2016 Juliette rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: diversity-fiction, women-writers, mystery, 2016

None of the criticisms of this book dissuade me from giving this a good rating. Sure, the plot seems to be lost with divergent plot lines, but Locke ties all her lines in the end. Sure, I felt that the book went on for too long, and it felt like Locke ran out of steam around page 300, but that wasn’t enough for me to dislike the book. I’m not sure that this book will stimulate Houston’s tourism industry.
Even so, I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a book about race relations in America None of the criticisms of this book dissuade me from giving this a good rating. Sure, the plot seems to be lost with divergent plot lines, but Locke ties all her lines in the end. Sure, I felt that the book went on for too long, and it felt like Locke ran out of steam around page 300, but that wasn’t enough for me to dislike the book. I’m not sure that this book will stimulate Houston’s tourism industry.
Even so, I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a book about race relations in America that masquerades as a mystery novel.

"A colored lawyer?” he asks.
Because it’s the easiest answer and because he doesn’t have time to rehash the entire civil rights movement on this man’s front porch, Jay says, “Yes.”
The old man nods, as if this is perfectly acceptable to him.
He pushes the screen door open in a wide arc, opening the house to Jay. “Well, come on, then,” he says. “I guess you’re as good as any other.”

I am conflicted about Locke’s hero, Jay. Above all, he is a good guy. He strives to do the right thing. He is a small-time lawyer who is trying to provide for his pregnant wife, the wonderful, waddling Bernie. (view spoiler) He was falsely accused (view spoiler) when he was a college student during the Civil Rights era, and, since then, he is distrustful of the government. He tends to keep secrets from Bernie, including the details of that trial when he was a student. He drinks and drives a lot. He’s not very responsive to his one client; that's a shame because they have a hilarious courtroom scene.

The events of the novel begin on Bernie’s birthday. Jay rents a little, dilapidated boat for her, and they cruise along the river. Towards the end of the cruise, they hear a woman’s cry for help and two gunshots.
Their witness of the crime is the start of one element of the novel. Jay is drawn into his own investigation . . . because he is a good guy.
There is also a strike brewing in Houston. The dockworkers want to be paid for their extra work. To be honest with you, I didn’t realize that this was important to the story, and I didn’t pay them much mind.
However, the travails of the workers mirror Jay’s past in the Civil Rights era. Through flashbacks, we learn that he, too, worked to achieve basic rights for people. His methods were not the methods of Dr. King, though, and I learned more about the other rights groups (with dubious alliances and misrepresented methods) of the time than I truly knew before reading this book.

Money, it turns out, is the new Jim Crow.

...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Oct 06, 2016 Udeni rated it really liked it · review of another edition

"But his friends weren't Interested in personal tragedy, they were out to save a race of people. There was a war going on; this was no time for baby sisters and family squabbles."

A combination of the personal and the political is what gives this thriller its edge. Jay Porter is the ex-civil rights activist, haunted by a traumatic childhood and pursued by unknown assailants through the bayous and suburbs of Houston.
I read the book much more carefully than I would the typical thriller. There are m ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Apr 05, 2016 Thomas DeWolf rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Having read Locke's "The Cutting Season" last year, I picked up this one at the library and loved it. So much going on within and around the story. Great characters and story mixed brilliantly with issues of race, politics, family, and humanity.

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

May 12, 2010 Staci rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-reads

My thoughts:
This was a very solid debut book!!! I enjoyed reading this, as it brought to mind the reasons why I used to read Grisham's earlier works. Some have compared this author to Lehane and Turrow, but not having read either one I can only compare the author's writing to Grisham. I love the little guy versus the big bad corporations and corrupt politicians scenario. Another aspect that I enjoyed was the mini-history lesson on civil rights and the grittier, more violent side of the activists ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jul 01, 2013 Jeanette rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Almost a 5.

Excellent plot, context and characterizations.

Houston and Attica Locke- I am a huge fan.

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Challenge Fac...: Rachel & Sunshine007 - Black Water Rising	3	9	Nov 18, 2016 10:33AM
THE NAACP IMAGE AWARDS 2010	24	22	Jul 27, 2014 09:05PM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Mystery

217 users

Fiction

177 users

Mystery > Crime

65 users

Thriller

62 users

Cultural > African American

36 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

35 users

See top shelves…

About Attica Locke

Attica Locke

1,209 followers

Attica Locke is a writer whose first novel, Black Water Rising, was nominated for a 2010 Edgar Award, a 2010 NAACP Image Award, as well as a Los Angeles Times Book Prize and was shortlisted for an Orange Prize in the UK.

Attica is also a screenwriter who has written movie and television scripts for Paramount, Warner Bros, Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, HBO, Dreamworks and ...more

Other books in the series

Jay Porter (2 books)

Books by Attica Locke

More…

News & Interviews

The Hottest Romances of July

Some people love books. Some people fall in love. And some people fall in love with books about falling in love. Every month our team sorts thro...

Trivia About Black Water Risin...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Black Water Rising

“I think the hope has always been that you see what you see, and you take us anyway, for who we are,” the Rev says. “Not that we all go around pretending we’re the same. I don’t see how that helps anybody.” Carlisle” — 3 likes

“At the Sugar Oaks Plantation, there are lawn jockeys at attention on the clipped lawn in front of the clubhouse. They are not black so much as they are tan—not exactly white, but rather some reassuring shade of brown, the universal color of good service. They are meant as a reminder that somebody, somewhere, is working harder than you.” — 2 likes

More quotes…