Ace Atkins delivers rousing thriller with The Innocents
The heart of Ace Atkins' novels featuring former Army Ranger Quinn Colson looks at a community populated by people who want to do the right thing but whose good intentions are often thwarted by the evil that flows through the Mississippi town of Jericho.
Horrible crimes come to Mississippi's Tibbehah County, and Atkins delves deeply to thoughtfully illustrate how people cope with these intrusions and how Quinn's sense of justice infuses his actions.
The Innocents picks up a year after Quinn lost his re-election as sheriff. He then returned to Afghanistan as a civilian helping train the local police force. Now back in Jericho, Quinn is adrift, trying to figure out what is going on with his girlfriend who may not be getting a divorce, and contending with his estranged father, who has grandiose ideas about developing land adjacent to Quinn's farm. His nemesis, the corrupt businessman Johnny Stagg, is in federal prison, but even more ruthless criminals may have moved in.
