Guide Me Home

by Attica Locke
Guide Me Home cover
Good Books rating 4.27
Technical:
  • ID: 191
  • Added: 2025-09-04
  • Updated: 2025-09-04
  • ISBN: 9781782836391
  • Publisher: Serpent's Tail
  • Published: 2024-09-19
  • Reviews: 3
Reviews
BookMunch · 2025-07-17
provocative 4.00

The book is a politically charged exploration of contemporary America, addressing racial identity and the healthcare system under Trump-era politics.

This review highlights Attica Locke's unabashedly political approach, focusing on Darren Mathews' experience as a Black man navigating the Trump presidency and a fractured America. The reviewer notes that much of the novel’s plot revolves around the US healthcare system and critiques of political divides, with adversaries portrayed as Trump supporters thriving amid societal chaos. Despite the heavy political themes, the drama these create is effective and compelling, offering an insightful look at how politics deeply impact personal and community lives.

Quick quotes

    "Managing his sense of doom was nearly a full-time job."

    "It was hard these days to know where make-believe ended and the truth held firm. Facts no longer seemed to matter all that much."

    "Few other novels quite convey how politics can be a life-or-death business as effectively."

BookReporter · Philip Zozzaro · 2024-09-14
outstanding 4.50

The novel combines familial discord, corporate corruption, and racial intolerance, building steadily to an emotional and dramatic conclusion that highlights unity despite divisions.

Philip Zozzaro appreciates how the story dives deeply into the complicated relationship between Darren and his family, especially his struggles with his mother's role in his life and his own personal flaws such as alcohol abuse. He emphasizes Darren's tenacity as an investigator and how Locke's narrative skillfully weaves themes of family conflict, corporate power, and racial tensions into a compelling mystery that culminates in a powerful, emotionally charged finale. According to him, this novel is outstanding and deserving of a broad readership for its nuanced storytelling and thematic richness.

Quick quotes

    "Locke emphatically writes of a world where unity can be found despite previous divisions."

    "Her narrative combines elements of familial discord, corporate corruption and racial intolerance in crafting a story wherein the drama steadily builds to an apex before its emotional conclusion."

    This is an outstanding novel worthy of a wide audience.

BookBrowse · 2024-09-14
engrossing 4.30

The novel offers an emotionally stirring conclusion focused on Darren's personal reckoning and his pursuit of justice against obstacles.

This review appreciates the emotional depth of the finale in the Highway 59 series, underscoring Darren Mathews’ internal struggle with his past and his difficult relationship with his mother. The mystery’s complexity is heightened by local resistance and institutional challenges, requiring Darren to reconcile with painful family history to uncover the truth. The reviewer praises Locke's writing for its deftness and wisdom in balancing character evolution with a baffling and engaging mystery, making readers eager for more from the author.

Quick quotes

    "Locke's main order of business here is with Darren's reckoning and reconciliation with a past as full of deceit and false leads as even the most elaborate whodunit."

    "We want more."

    "Exceptional writing, pivotal character evolution, and a baffling mystery."

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