The Broken Places

April 22, 2013
At the outset of bestseller Atkins’s strong third Quinn Colson novel (after 2012’s The Rangers), Jamey Dixon returns to his native Jericho, Miss., to start a church and preach the good word after being pardoned for a murder conviction. While Dixon has his critics—namely Ophelia Bundren, who happens to be the sister of the woman Dixon supposedly killed—he finds solace in the arms of Caddy Colson, who’s the sister of the local sheriff, Quinn Colson, Atkins’s laconic everyman. Quinn suspects Dixon of being nothing more than a huckster, yet he prefers to stay out of his sister’s affairs, even when Ophelia urges him to protect Caddy. But when two escaped convicts come seeking revenge on Dixon, the town of Jericho is thrown into turmoil and Quinn is forced to act to keep law and order—even if that means defending Dixon. Amid the full-throttle plot, Atkins never loses sight of his characters’ sensitivities. Author tour. Agent: Esther Newberg, ICM.

April 15, 2013
A small-town Mississippi sheriff fights criminals and corruption. Former Army Ranger Quinn Colson returned to Tibbehah County and took over the sheriff's job from crooked Johnny Stagg. Now his sister, a former wild child who recently returned home to reclaim her son and her life, is dating Jamey Dixon, who's been pardoned for murdering his wife. Claiming that he found Jesus in prison, Jamey's returned home to run a ministry out of an old barn. Things get a whole lot worse when two escaped convicts show up looking for Jamey, who they think has the money from an armored car robbery they never got the chance to collect before being caught. Jamey claims that Stagg kept most of the money after using the rest to bribe the governor to pardon Jamey. The cons don't care who has the money. They've already killed two federal agents and are willing to do whatever it takes to retrieve it. In addition to conducting a manhunt for the killers, Quinn is continuing a secret affair with the high school sweetheart who married another man. His sister believes in Jamey, but it's hard for Quinn to tell whether Stagg or Jamey is telling the truth about the stolen money. Then his hometown is struck by a tornado. Amid the devastation, Quinn digs deep into dark and dirty secrets and does what he must to protect his family. The third in Atkins' acclaimed series (The Lost Ones, 2012, etc.) is a high-tension thriller with a hero to rival Jack Reacher.

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May 1, 2013
Quinn Colson, Afghanistan War veteran turned hometown sheriff, returns for a third tale of crime fighting in Jericho, Mississippi, with criminals and natural disasters competing to wreak the greatest damage. Trouble has crept into Quinn's private life via his sister, Caddy, who has dived headlong into a relationship with recently pardoned murderer Jamey Dixon. Dixon, ordained a minister through a prison theology program, is preaching redemption at his new church, but many locals are skeptical. Before long, Dixon's return threatens the entire community. Two of his prison buddies escape, determined to retrieve the fortune they're convinced Dixon has stolen from them. At the same time, Jericho is hammered by a storm that shields the escapees and challenges Quinn to emerge as the community's leader. Atkins' voice is graceful and tense as he portrays Jericho's residents facing human and natural threats with a certainty that their community will prevail. Readers'-advisory opportunities abound with Atkins' habit-forming series, which shares a tremendous sense of (rural) place and powerfully nuanced characterization with those of James Lee Burke, Craig Johnson, and C. J. Box.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)