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The Broken Places (A Quinn Colson Novel Book 3) Kindle Edition

by Ace Atkins (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 1,949 ratings

Book 3 of 11: Quinn Colson

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In the third gripping crime novel in Ace Atkins’s New York Times bestselling series, small town sheriff Quinn Colson takes on deadly criminals and even deadlier weather...

A year after becoming sheriff of Tibbehah County, Mississippi, Quinn Colson is faced with a pardoned killer’s return to Jericho. Jamey Dixon now preaches redemption and forgiveness, but the family of the woman he was convicted of killing isn’t buying it. They warn Quinn that his sister’s relationship with Dixon could be fatal. Others don’t think the new preacher is a changed man, either—a couple of dangerous convicts who confided in Dixon about an armored car robbery believe he’s after the money they hid. So they do the only thing they can: break out and head straight to Jericho, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.

Colson and his deputy, Lillie, have their work cut out for them. But they don’t count on one more unwelcome visitor: a tornado that causes havoc just as the manhunt heats up. Communications are down, the roads are impassable—and the rule of law is just about to snap.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Quinn Colson, Afghanistan War veteran turned hometown sheriff, returns for a third tale of crime fighting in Jericho, Mississippi, with criminals and natural disasters competing to wreak the greatest damage. Trouble has crept into Quinn’s private life via his sister, Caddy, who has dived headlong into a relationship with recently pardoned murderer Jamey Dixon. Dixon, ordained a minister through a prison theology program, is preaching redemption at his new church, but many locals are skeptical. Before long, Dixon’s return threatens the entire community. Two of his prison buddies escape, determined to retrieve the fortune they’re convinced Dixon has stolen from them. At the same time, Jericho is hammered by a storm that shields the escapees and challenges Quinn to emerge as the community’s leader. Atkins’ voice is graceful and tense as he portrays Jericho’s residents facing human and natural threats with a certainty that their community will prevail. Readers’-advisory opportunities abound with Atkins’ habit-forming series, which shares a tremendous sense of (rural) place and powerfully nuanced characterization with those of James Lee Burke, Craig Johnson, and C. J. Box. --Christine Tran

Review

Praise for The Broken Places

“Ace Atkins’ killing honestly sets a new standard for Southern crime novels.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

“Ace Atkins’ Quinn Colson novels have been exceptional from the start...whether readers are new to the series or fans from the start, The Broken Places will touch them the way all great novels do, profoundly.”—Shelf Awareness

“The action is stark and gripping, the Southern locale suitably atmospheric and the bevy of characters convincing.”—The Houston Chronicle

“Atkins continues to combine sturdy character studies with an action-packed tale about the contemporary issues of war veterans and small-town corruption...The Broken Places again shows what a powerful storyteller Atkins is.”—Tulsa World

“Atkins’ voice is graceful and tense...Atkins’ habit-forming series [shares] a tremendous sense of (rural) place and powerfully nuanced characterization with those of James Lee Burke, Craig Johnson, and C. J. Box.”—Booklist

“A high-tension thriller with a hero to rival Jack Reacher.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Supercool. ‘Manly’ writing akin to Elmore Leonard’s Detroit Westerns.”—Library Journal

More Praise For Ace Atkins’s Quinn Colson Series

“In Quinn Colson, bestselling author Ace Atkins has created an American hero in a time when we need him.”—C. J. Box

“Ace Atkins’s Quinn Colson series is, quite simply, the best in crime fiction today—and also so much more. With a rich cast of characters, and a hero we can count on, these are tales of morality and desperation, of shocking violence and the enduring resilience of family and community. And the emotional places they take us make them unforgettable.”—Megan Abbott

“Quinn Colson is my kind of guy. I would follow him anywhere.”—Lee Child

“Atkins finds his natural-born storytellers everywhere. It’s all music to these ears.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00AI52PAK
Publisher ‏ : ‎ G.P. Putnam's Sons (May 30, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 30, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3455 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 369 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #406,212 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,193 in Crime Action Fiction (Kindle Store)
- #1,653 in Crime Action & Adventure
- #3,882 in Action Thriller Fiction

Customer Reviews:
4.4 1,949 ratings

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Ace Atkins

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One of the best crime writers working today, Ace Atkins has been nominated for every major award in crime fiction, including the Edgar three times, twice for novels about former U.S. Army Ranger Quinn Colson. He's written eleven books in the Colson series, with many more to come. He continued Robert B. Parker's iconic Spenser character after Parker's death in 2010, and has added ten best-selling novels in that series.

A former newspaper reporter and SEC football player, Ace also writes essays and investigative pieces for several national magazines including Time, Outside, and Garden & Gun.

He lives in Oxford, Mississippi with his family, where he’s friend to many dogs and several bartenders.

Find out more about Ace and his novels on his official website: aceatkins.com, on Facebook Ace Atkins, and on Twitter @aceatkins.

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Phillip Tomasso III

Loved Book 3 in the Quinn Colson series!

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2017

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THE BROKEN PLACE just might be my favorite Ace Atkins book to date. Overall, I am enjoying the terse writing style, the depth of each and every character, and the steady pacing of each Quinn Colson thriller.

In THE BROKEN PLACE Sheriff Colson has his hands full. Three convicts have escaped prison. They have unsettled business in Tibbehah County. Money from a heist gone south should be waiting for them. If not, there was going to be hell to pay.

A new preacher in town has won the heart of Colson's sister, Caddy. Thing is, Jamey Dixon hit rock bottom before finding the Lord. Sent to prison for the murder of a young woman, Dixon was looking at life behind bars. That is until he was granted a pardon, and found himself a free man. Caddy loves the man Dixon is now. The family of Dixon's victim --not so much.

With a forced hand, Colson finds himself in the middle of investigations that have a direct effect on his family. If he's not careful, he and his deputy, Lillie, could find themselves on the wrong side of the law, and possible arrested for murder.

Hate to say this each time I review an Ace Atkins novel, but Quinn Colson is the perfect combination of Jack Reacher and Walt Longmire. His Quinn Colson series has that bad-ass military feel, and that small town everyone-knows-everyone handicap. Absolutely love the plots, the characters, and where Ace Atkins is taking the series!

Phillip Tomasso
Author of the Severed Empire Series,
and The Vaccination Trilogy

2 people found this helpful

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PlantBirdWoman

The Broken Places by Ace Atkins: A review

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2015

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It begins with a prison break. Three inmates from Mississippi's notorious Parchman Prison manage to abscond from the place. One in a big truck goes through the gates, while two others escape on horseback.

The two on horseback cut their way through the wire fence around the prison farm and manage to find a car to steal. Then they are on their way to North Mississippi, Tibbehah County and the little town of Jericho, where they plan to confront the man who they believe has the money from an armored truck robbery they pulled off before they were caught and sent to prison.

Meanwhile, in Jericho, Quinn Colson, the veteran of the war in Afghanistan who returned to his home town and was elected sheriff, is, one year later, still adjusting to his new life after several years as an Army Ranger.

His latest challenge is an ex-con named Jamey Dixon who was convicted several years before of killing a local woman. He had made use of his time in prison to earn a degree from a seminary through distance learning. Dixon has been pardoned by the outgoing governor and has returned to Jericho claiming to have been cleansed by Jesus from all his sins. He's trying to establish a ministry in the town, using an old barn as the meeting place.

The family of the woman that Dixon was convicted of killing still think he's guilty and unworthy of a pardon, but many seem to believe in his redemption. One of those, to Quinn Colson's chagrin, is his younger sister, Caddy, a troubled young single mother of a five-year-old son who has been trying to clean up her act and turn her wasted life around for the sake of her son. She completely believes in Dixon and they are planning a life together.

Colson's own love life is not exactly a paragon of rectitude. In fact, it is quite messed up as he continues an affair with his high school sweetheart who is now married to a local doctor with whom she has a daughter.

So, we have a typical small Southern town where everybody knows everybody and everybody's business and most of them are related in some way.

Ace Atkins is a talented writer and he has a genuine ear for North Mississippi speech and for human relationships there. I speak as one who grew up in the area. I recognize these people and I could hear their voices in my ear as I read The Broken Places.

This was the third installment in Atkins' Quinn Colson series and it is definitely my favorite so far. All of the books have been very well written, but this one shows an even stronger sense of place than the earlier two. Moreover, the plot is well conceived and the action is non-stop. It is a real page-turner, one that you don't want to put down once you are into it.

The story of the escaped convicts and their quest to regain their ill-gotten loot moves along briskly with a few dead bodies littering their progress, but then, in the middle of it all and in the middle of law enforcement's search for the killers, a massive storm hits the little town of Jericho, almost destroying it. The search for the hardened criminals takes a back seat to an emergency situation that requires all the resources that the town, the state, and nearby communities can provide.

The miscreants couldn't care less about an emergency situation. They just want their money and a way to get out of town to freedom. It all heads for a showdown - bad guys against good guys.

After all the complications of the plot, Atkins provides the reader with a satisfying climax, and still manages to keep us in suspense as to Colson's fate following the showdown, giving us a reason to look for the next book in the series. His strategy sure worked on me.

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Mel Odom

Another Deeply Plotted Novel

Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2013

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The Broken Places is the third Quinn Colson novel by Ace Atkins. I enjoyed the first book enough to return for the second, which I thought was really well done. In the third book, Atkins seems very familiar with his cast of characters and the Mississippi county where everything takes place. However, the story played out a little slower than I'd anticipated.

The plot is straightforward and would have been equally at home in a Western novel. Two convicts escape prison and return to Tibbehah County to find another ex-convict who owes them money. Only the ex-con, Jamey Dixon, has become a preacher and set his life on the path of righteousness. Also, he happens to be dating Quinn Colson's sister, Caddy.

With all the plot elements in place, I'd expected a rather quick finish to the whole affair, but Atkins plays out the events, deepening the characters and bringing everything to a slow boil after everyone gets to play their part. There are a lot of reverses and double-crosses along the way, and several tense moments.

This series is a big departure from the work Atkins is also doing as Robert B. Parker's ghost on the new Spenser novels. Quite frankly, I'm blown away by how Atkins can pen a novel set in Boston's urban sprawl, then turn to one set in a place like Tibbehah County. Those environments are separate worlds, but Atkins is equally at home in either.

I do enjoy the large cast of characters Atkins has brought to these books. He's going beyond just Colson's family and longtime friend Boom. I liked the way Colson and the father of one of the men from the last book set aside their differences and found the military background that they both shared. That was a nice piece and was a pleasure to read, and the events were very human.

As I was reading the book, I couldn't help thinking that it was paced like a television series with episodic cliffhangers, revelations, and building up characters along the way. In addition to the showdown between Colson and the ex-cons, there are a lot of other mysteries to solve. Some of the questions aren't quite answered, but the way Atkins deals with them leaves readers satisfied for the most part. Sometimes you just don't get to know everything.

One aspect of the series I'm not overly fond of is Colson's relationship with his ex, who happens to be married to another man. Robert B. Parker set this same kind of situation in his Jesse Stone novels and I wasn't a fan of that plot thread either. Maybe that relationship is supposed to show Colson's not perfect, but he doesn't have to be. He's got his hands full with county crime and keeping his family safe and together.

I think fans of Justified and James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux novels will enjoy this one. Atkins gets to the action in the end, but there's a lot going on in the meantime too.

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Rachel Curbo

Great book, make sure its HARDBACK

Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2023

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had to return the book, it was sold as hardback but came as paperback and also as a not for sale copy, wasn't the final copy for distribution. I notified publisher. Great series, just make sure the seller is not a fraud

Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2023

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The book was used but in excellent condition.

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Top reviews from other countries

A retired cop

No let down so far.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2024

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I suppose it's one of those situations where if you like one song you'll like them all. But although the style remains the same every book is a new adventure.
Big solid characters moulded and reliable doing what they do best in any given situation.
Just can't put these books down I've never read so much so quickly.

Marquinius

Grows on you

Reviewed in the Netherlands on August 5, 2019

Verified Purchase

This being the third book about Quinn Colson I’ve read, I suddenly realise he grew on me. From being a Ranger to being the sheriff, doing the right thing. Even if it is actually wrong. I mean, you can’t just go out there and shoot someone, can you? Well ...

Well written, fast paced. Well done.

L. D. Godfrey

The Broken Places

Reviewed in Canada on June 8, 2013

Verified Purchase

`Broken Places' is the third novel in the Quinn Colson series written by Ace Atkins.The story picks up the life of Quinn Colson an Army Ranger and war veteran, his family and colleagues. In the first novel, ` The Ranger' we find Colson coming home from the army to settle the affairs of his deceased uncle Hamp,the former county sheriff. Reconnecting with family and friends he finds the community isn't as he left it. The second novel finds Colson still fighting the bad guys, but now he is the newly elected sheriff of Tibbehah County. Which brings us to the third installment, `The Broken Places' which I think is the best of the three. This story starts out with a prison break. Three convicts escape from Parchman Prison, they arrive in Tibbehah to see to some unfinished business.The trouble starts when their unfinished business involves Quinn's sister,Caddy,and her convict/born again preacher boyfriend. Ace Atkin's writing style is direct and to the point. Not once did I find myself bored or have my attention wander. There are a few references to his other novels,just vague things that don't really mean a lot to this story. Some family history here and there but nothing that makes the reader stop and wonder if you missed something.Quinn is a hero type character, more like Walt Longmire character by Craig Johnson, including a tough female deputy Lillie, than like some of the other hero types you see on the best seller lists.No matter what type hero you enjoy, Ace Atkins can deliver characters and a story that I am sure you will enjoy.

Kindle Customer

Yet another readable, engaging novel in the Quinn Colsen ...

Reviewed in Australia on September 16, 2014

Verified Purchase

Yet another readable, engaging novel in the Quinn Colsen series. It's a winning formula, and I'm looking forward to #4.

Kindle Customer

Great story

Reviewed in Canada on December 9, 2020

Verified Purchase

The Broken Places is another great story in the Quinn Colson series. My favorite series out of a great many I've read. A lot of things I love about it. The setting, Quinn and his Deputy Lillie. The Colson family, battered and broken but still holding together. Wonderful books. Kudos to Ace Atkins. My hero.

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