This was above grade commercial fiction, and impressively steeped in the complexity of a black (officer) in Texas in what people would describe as racially charged now—which really just means that the story has a protagonist who, at a meta level, behaves and navigates life like a black man, and the text doesn’t elide that for the comfort of the audience. Neither did it feel, to me, like it went out of its way to bring up those circumstances. 

It also very much felt like an instalment of a story, which it is. It’s quick, punchy, and manages to be gripping. But also feels slightly cut short and has a cliffhanger. I am unsure if this is a series or duology, but it did manage to hook me enough to grab the next, knowing that about it going in. 

I’m also completely ignorant of Texas, so the dynamics of a black man living there as a Ranger, was particularly novel to me. 

3.5 rounded up