20 Great Thrillers, June 2012

THE LOST ONES is the second of the Quinn Colson novels (following THE RANGER). Colson, a former Army Ranger who is the newly minted sheriff of Tibbehah County, Mississippi, finds that his investigation into a squalid foster home leads to a crystal meth operation and Mexican drug cartels, with an old friend of his involved in the mix. Colson’s investigation is complicated by the involvement of Federal agencies; law enforcement is all on the same side but nonetheless working at cross-purposes, with Colson, a decent, likeable and very dangerous guy, being torn in different directions. Atkins is a master storyteller whose style and characters are unforgettable.