Title: The Sinners by Ace Atkins
Quinn Colson Series Book Eight
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 384 pages
Book Rating: C+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
In the new novel from New York Times-bestselling crime master Ace Atkins, violence comes in many forms…and this time it may be more than Quinn Colson can handle.
The Pritchards had never been worth a damn–an evil, greedy family who made their living dealing drugs and committing mayhem. Years ago, Colson’s late uncle had put the clan’s patriarch in prison, but now he’s getting out, with revenge, power, and family business on his mind. To make matters worse, a shady trucking firm with possible ties to the Gulf Coast syndicate has moved into Tibbehah, and they have their own methods of intimidation.
With his longtime deputy Lillie Virgil now working up in Memphis, Quinn Colson finds himself having to fall back on some brand-new deputies to help him out, but with Old West-style violence breaking out, and his own wedding on the horizon, this is without a doubt Colson’s most trying time as sheriff. Cracks are opening up all over the county, and shadowy figures are crawling out through them–and they’re all heading directly for him.
Review:
In The Sinners, the eighth installment in Ace Atkins’ Quinn Colson series, a feud between two gangs who traffic drugs spawns murder and violence.
Just as Sheriff Quinn Colson is poised to make a big change in his personal life, Heath Pritchard (who was arrested by Quinn’s predecessor and uncle, Hamp Beckett) is released from prison. Heath is ready to resume the pot operation that landed him in jail and he shows up unannounced on the family farm where his nephews Tyler and Cody currently live. Tyler and Cody are dirt-track racers who have continued the family tradition of growing and selling pot and they are about to find themselves in a mess of trouble with brothel owner, Fannie Hathcock and the Dixie Mafia’s goons.
Just as Quinn is attempting to sort out what happened to Fannie’s right hand man, Ordeem Davis, Colson’s best friend Boom Kimbrough discovers the trucking firm he is working for is involved in drug and human trafficking. With an all out war about to explode in Tibbehah County, Quinn requests help from the DEA who sends agent Nat Wilkins and the USMarshalls which reunites him with his former co-worker Lillie Virgil. Will Colson find justice for Ordeem Davis? Will Boom find the evidence he needs to take down the syndicate that is trafficking drugs and women?
This latest addition to Quinn Colson series has plenty of action, but Quinn and his crime fighting cohorts are firmly in the background as the rival factions wrestle for control. Cody and Tyler are more interested in their upcoming races while newly released Heath spews racist rhetoric as he tries to convince his nephews the business rightly belongs to him. Fannie manipulates events behind the scenes to rid herself of the two lowlifes who are now her “partners”. Boom wants nothing more than give up his trucking job, but Nat convinces him it is in everyone’s best interest for him to go undercover to find the evidence the DEA needs to take down the organization.
The Sinners is an action-packed novel that is interesting but slow-paced. With the focus on the warring factions, the good guys do not have much on-page time until the novel’s conclusion. Fans will enjoy this latest outing and readers will be eager for the next release in the series since the novel’s ending heavily foreshadows what Quinn will most likely face in book nine of Ace Atkins’ Quinn Colson series.
