Shortlisted for Orange Prize for Fiction 2010.

Derek writes: Attica Locke is a great discovery for us crime readers and Black Water Rising is a great debut thriller. Set in Houston in 1981, it's the story of Jay Porter, a lawyer who might have come straight from a Dennis Lehane novel - struggling to make ends meet, a one man band with his biggest hope for a client a low rent call girl. This client, if she can ever get her shit together, might just be awarded a settlement that will keep Jay afloat for another month. His wife is heavily pregnant and as the book opens Jay is taking her on a moonlight cruise on the bayou, but he can't even pull that off properly. The boat is tired and dingy; Jay and Bernie the only two passengers. Jake's American Dream is a simply one - his wife, his baby - and in the child he sees a new start for himself. Then the humid night air is shattered by a scream and Jay, against all his instincts and his better judgement, impulsively dives into the bayou and saves the life of a drowning woman. So begins a spiral that drags Jay even lower, pulling him into a murder investigation that entangles his past with the money from the big end of town. Beautifully crafted with a fine sense of place, Jay Porter and his struggle for justice will stay with you long after you turn the last page of this stunning new book.

Born in Houston, Texas, Attica Locke has worked in both film and television for over ten years. She has written movie scripts for Paramount, Warner Bros., Disney, Twentieth Century Fox and most recently completed an adaptation of Stephen Carter's The Emperor of Pictures. She now lives in Los Angeles. Black Water Rising is her first novel.