Pleasantville

Pleasantville is the second novel by Attica Locke that I have been fortunate enough to have read. 

I loved The Cutting Season, which I read last year, and have always meant to get around to reading her first novel, Black Water Rising. So, being a part of the blog tour for Pleasantville was no hardship.

And I was not disappointed.  At first I was a little worried that I wouldn't have enough background information, not having read the previous novel about Jay Parker. But, although things in Jay's past are referenced, it is truly a stand alone novel.  

Pleasantville takes place in the mid 90s in Houston as Jay tries to raise his two children, his law practice takes a back seat, especially after his wife's death.  

However, the disappearance of a young girl (the third young girl to have disappeared in three years from Pleasantville), a break-in at Jay's office that looks like more than just a random crime, and possible corruption in an upcoming election  all tie together in a tangled and entertaining and suspenseful story.

Attica Locke's writing reminds me a bit of Stephen L Carter's  - very smart fiction written by and about African Americans.  Another great novel by Locke that has left me hoping for more.