--- description: Find out why 'Bluebird, Bluebird' by Attica Locke made the list. title: Bluebird, Bluebird: The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca143b17fe8dd69d/698a4071db29870585269586/BlueBirdBluebird.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 03, 2023 # Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  In the 2017 novel _Bluebird, Bluebird_, Black Texas Ranger Darren Matthews finds himself between a rock and a hard place. The rock: he must testify for the prosecution in a racially charged case in which he personally supports the defendant, a friend of his. The hard place: he is separated from his wife, largely because he rushed to the defendant’s aid against her wishes. So Darren turns his attention elsewhere, to Lark, Texas, along Highway 59\. There, he begins investigating the murders of a local white woman and a Black lawyer from Chicago. _Bluebird, Bluebird_ picked up the 2018 Edgar Award for Best Novel. It has garnered acclaim for its masterful approach to capturing race relations in [post-Trump America](https://time.com/6294052/new-trump-presidency-would-be-even-worse/ "undefined"), and its rich depiction of East Texas. Attica Locke—who also wrote the 2015 legal thriller _Pleasantville_—is an author as well as a writer and producer for TV and film. Her credits include Fox’s _Empire_, Netflix’s _When They See Us_, and the Hulu adaptation of [_Little Fires Everywhere_](https://time.com/4941018/celeste-ng-novelist/ "undefined"). —_Laura Zornosa_ **Buy Now:** _Bluebird, Bluebird_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780316363273 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3EdCp8y "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309241/bluebird-bluebird/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309241/bluebird-bluebird/"},"headline":"Bluebird, Bluebird","datePublished":"2023-10-03T11:50:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:20:29.425Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309241/bluebird-bluebird/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca143b17fe8dd69d/698a4071db29870585269586/BlueBirdBluebird.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltca143b17fe8dd69d/698a4071db29870585269586/BlueBirdBluebird.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309241/bluebird-bluebird/","name":"Bluebird, Bluebird"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How We Chose the 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time","description":"Here's how TIME created its 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books list. There are books from 15 different countries, and no author appears on the list more than once.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/bNzuDcsg/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-10-02T16:54:39.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bNzuDcsg.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309241/bluebird-bluebird/","duration":"PT1M35S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/best-mystery-thriller-books/6309241/bluebird-bluebird/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```