Guide Me Home by Attica Locke
A Review By: AT
In the final novel in the “timely and evocative” (NPR) Highway 59 trilogy, from Edgar Award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author Attica Locke, Darren Matthews is pulled out of an early retirement to investigate the disappearance of a Black college student from an all-white sorority and soon finds nothing is as it seems.
Texas Ranger Darren Mathews isn’t sure he’s been a good cop, but believes he’s got a shot at being a good man—if he manages to dodge the potential indictment hanging over his head and if he, from here on out, pledges allegiance to the truth. It’s a virtue the country appears to have wholly lost its grip on, but one Darren sees as his salvation. He is in the midst of remaking his life with the woman he loves, hoping for the peace of country living at his beloved farmhouse, when he is visited by someone who couldn’t hold the truth on her tongue if it was dipped in sugar, a woman who’s always been bent of tearing his life apart. His mother. Armed with a tall tale about a missing Black college student, Sera (whose white sorority sisters insist she isn’t missing at all). Darren must decide if his can trust his mother is telling the truth—and what her ulterior motive may be, and what if that motive has to do with a grand jury deciding his fate.
Darren gets his hooks into the investigation, along the way discovering things about Sera’s family and her hometown that are odd at best, vaguely sinister at worst. Hamstrung by local law enforcement and the Texas Rangers who likewise doubt the account of a missing girl, if Darren wants answers, he’ll need help from the person whom he swore to never trust again—his mother.
In this emotionally stirring conclusion to the singular Highway 59 series, set three years after the events of Heaven, My Home, Darren reckons with his life’s purpose as he’s forced to choose between his own peace and the higher call to do good.
Review Notes:
Audio Book Publication Year: 2024
An installment in a Series? Yes
Narrator (s): JD Jackson
A compelling final installment!
This is one of my favorite series, penned by one of my favorite authors, and narrated by one of my favorite narrators. Suffice it to say, I hated this ride had to come to an end, but I enjoyed every second of this finale. The writing is gripping, the story relatable, timely, and expertly narrated by Jackson. These are characters I've come to know and love, so it's sad to see the series come to an end, but I look forward to what is to come from Locke in the future.
Full of intrigue, emotion, and heart, this is definitely an audio experience no one should miss, but make sure you start at book 1 and enjoy the entirety of this journey.
Reading Recommendation? Yes!
Rating: NORTH STAR RATING
Content Warnings? Physical abuse/violence
