Book review: It’s tough to tell crime from politics in Ace Atkins’ ‘The Shameless’

Ace Atkins latest novel 'The Shameless' focus on politics. It tells the reader the story of a Sheriff, who is aware of his states problem and has refused to give up on them.

Mississippi Sheriff Quinn Colson is a native of a fictional town of Jericho in Tibbehah County.

“He’d been sheriff now for nearly a decade and he still wasn’t sure the state was getting any better. It was the entire reason he’d retired early as a U.S. Army Ranger, believing he could make a difference, fighting corruption, drug running, and violence in his own backyard.”

The novel had a mix of different characters that in one way or the other affected Quinn and gave him a lot to work with as the Sheriff.

Into that mix of the usual homegrown characters Quinn deals with, Atkins tosses a couple of folks from the big city — Brooklyn, to be exact. Tashi Coleman and Jessica Torres are settling into Jericho to do research for their true-crime podcast, Thin Air. They’re digging into the disappearance 20 years ago of a local teenager, Brandon Taylor, who vanished while deer hunting. When he was found with a bullet through his head, his death was deemed a suicide, but his family doesn’t buy it.

It’s not just another cold case for Quinn. Brandon was a few years younger, but Quinn knew him in high school. And Brandon’s girlfriend then was Maggie Powers — now Quinn’s wife. Her young son, whom Quinn is about to adopt, is named after Brandon.

That’s a lot of plot lines, but Atkins keeps them running smooth and hitting on all pistons as the action accelerates. Could the different people's actions and the death of Brandon be related? You’ll be surprised.

Tribune News Service