Following last year’s The Innocents, Quinn Colson is back as Sheriff of Tibbehah County, Mississippi, in Ace Atkins’ The Fallen.
Three friends have taken up robbing banks as a hobby, and they’re becoming increasingly good at it. Rick, Jonas, and Opie have learned when, how, and where to strike, and they’re knocking off banks all across the South.
Wearing Donald J. Trump masks, the robbers enter Jericho First National Bank just as a Wall-Mart delivery truck is about to make a deposit. Carrying AR-15s, they issue patrons a comical yet stern warning. Inside, Rick fires a round into the ceiling to get everyone’s attention before delivering their catchphrase, “Anyone moves and I’ll grab ’em by the p–” well, you know the rest (the line was from the now infamous audio tape of Donald Trump, which was taken before he was elected president).
Colson, after hearing of the crime, wants nothing more than to take a run at the three idiots who keep knocking off banks and getting away with people’s hard-earned cash. However, his hands are full with a number of other issues. Chief among them are the disappearances of two teenage girls, Tamika Odum and Ana Maria Mata, and numerous complaints about a strip club Fannie Hathcock runs just outside the city.
As the story unfolds, Quinn begins to see similarities between the bank robber’s actions and the way they carry themselves, and his own training that he received courtesy of the United States Army. While the newfound revelation helps Quinn understand the criminals in a sense that he recognizes now how they operate in such a disciplined manner, it also means that catching them will be much harder–and definitely more dangerous–since they’ve had military training.
Though the missing girls and dangerous bank robbers would be enough to fill the pages, Atkins throws in even more problems for Quinn to navigate around–creating the type of multi-layered, interweaving plot that Michael Connelly is known for with his Harry Bosch series. While Quinn isn’t exactly a Southern Bosch, Atkins has quickly made him the face of one of the strongest crime franchises in the game today.
From start to finish, Atkins treats readers to a nonstop ride of suspense and action, with numerous colorful characters who drive the plot onward. One of today’s most notable crime novelists, Ace Atkins packs a season’s worth of storylines into a single episode–making The Fallen his most complex and satisfying novel yet.
Book Details
Author: Ace Atkins
Series: Quinn Colson #7
Pages: 368 (Hardcover)
ISBN: 0399576711
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Release Date: July 18, 2017
Book Spy Rating: 6.5/10
Order Now!