A Waterstones Thriller of the MonthShortlisted for the Orwell PrizeA Sunday Times Book of the Year'Political crime fiction of the highest order' - SUNDAY TIMES'A propulsive and compelling novel' - GUARDIANNine-year-old Levi King knew he should have left for home sooner; instead he found himself all alone, adrift on the vastness of Caddo Lake.A sudden noise - and all goes dark. Ranger Darren Mathews is trying to emerge from another kind of darkness; his career and reputation lie in the hands of his mother, who's never had his best interests at heart.Now she holds the key to his freedom, and she's not above a little blackmail to press her advantage. An unlikely possibility of rescue arrives in the form of a case down Highway 59, in a small lakeside town.With Texas already suffering a new wave of racial violence in the wake of the election of Donald Trump, a black man is a suspect in the possible murder of a missing white boy: the son of an Aryan Brotherhood captain.In deep country where the rule of law only goes so far, Darren has to battle centuries-old prejudices as he races to save not only Levi King, but himself. 'One of America's finest novelists' - DAILY MAIL'A searingly exciting story' - SUNDAY EXPRESS