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A review by ericbuscemi
The Ranger by Ace Atkins
4.0
Ace Atkins' protagonist, Quinn Colson, is in the mold of [a:Elmore Leonard's|12940|Elmore Leonard|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1240015224p2/12940.jpg] Raylan Givens, [a:Lee Child's|5091|Lee Child|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1377708686p2/5091.jpg] Jack Reacher, and [a:Craig Johnson's|63607|Craig Johnson|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1349965600p2/63607.jpg] Walt Longmire. If none of those literary references work for you, the plot of this novel is very reminiscent of this: 
But this simplistic plot -- a soldier returning home to find his idyllic hometown corrupted while he was away -- is pushed to a new level by the author's ability to write realistic, interesting characters. Nothing about Colson, or the supporting cast around him, is one-dimensional. There are layers to each of the characters, both the protagonists and the antagonists, and moral shades of gray for both as well. This depth and shading made what I thought to be a simple page-turning action-revenge into something much more interesting and memorable.
The highest compliment I can give this book is that as soon as I finished it, I bought the second in the series, [b:The Lost Ones|13336621|The Lost Ones (Quinn Colson, #2)|Ace Atkins|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348917420s/13336621.jpg|18544817], and started reading it that same night.
But this simplistic plot -- a soldier returning home to find his idyllic hometown corrupted while he was away -- is pushed to a new level by the author's ability to write realistic, interesting characters. Nothing about Colson, or the supporting cast around him, is one-dimensional. There are layers to each of the characters, both the protagonists and the antagonists, and moral shades of gray for both as well. This depth and shading made what I thought to be a simple page-turning action-revenge into something much more interesting and memorable.
The highest compliment I can give this book is that as soon as I finished it, I bought the second in the series, [b:The Lost Ones|13336621|The Lost Ones (Quinn Colson, #2)|Ace Atkins|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348917420s/13336621.jpg|18544817], and started reading it that same night.