Sheriff Quinn Colson Chases a Trio of Bank Robbers in this Novel from Ace Atkins

There's an awful lot of stuff going down in the seventh novel by Ace Atkins, featuring Tibbehah County, Mississippi Sheriff Quinn Colson. In particular, a trio of bank robbers is wreaking havoc in the area. Disguising themselves by wearing Donald Trump masks, they hit their targets with military precision, their leader warning the bank's employees and customers that, "Anyone moves and I'll grab 'em by the pussy!"

The team is in and out in minutes flat; their escape routes are meticulously planned, and they leave no evidence of any consequence behind. The Tibbehah County Sheriff's Office and the other law enforcement agencies involved will have a tough time bringing these guys to heel.

While Quinn is busy chasing bank robbers and other ne'er-do-wells, his sister, Caddy, continues to run the mission and shelter that she established several books earlier. She's particularly worried about the fate of two teenage girls who have disappeared from the area after becoming involved in the local sex trades. She recruits Quinn's best friend, Boom, to help her search for the girls, and her search will ultimately get a lot of people into trouble.

Meanwhile, in the background, Tibbehah County remains, sadly, a cesspool of corruption and shady maneuverings, driven mostly by forces that remain in the shadows. Johnny Stagg, who used to run the county's vice out of his truck stop and his strip club, the Booby Trap, is now in prison. This does not mean, though, that the county is cleaning up its act. A tough-as-nails woman named Fannie Hathcock has taken over Stagg's operation and reopened the strip club as Vienna's Place. Having an operation like this in the middle of your county will tax the patience of any local sheriff, and Quinn Colson will be no exception.

I was hooked from the first scene and raced through this book. One of the pleasures of this series is that Atkins has created such a rich setting in the fictional Tibbehah County and has developed such a great cast of characters to populate it. The reader is immediately drawn into Quinn Colson's world and it's always great to be back. There's plenty of action and lots of tension; all in all a very good read.