Tampa, Florida, 1955: a city pulsing with Sicilian and Cuban gangsters, smoky clubs, cigar factories, light and voices and rum. The bludgeoning death of mob boss Charlie Wall sends shock waves rippling through the communities, sets cops and reporters and associates, known and unknown, scrambling to discover the truth. And the truth is that there are many more surprises to come.

As the trail winds through rich neighborhoods and poor, enmeshing the innocent and corrupt alike, all the way down to the streets of pre-revolutionary Havana, an extraordinary story of revenge, honor and greed begins to emerge. But that is only the beginning. For Charlie Wall had his secrets, and he guarded them well. And those secrets will have repercussions.
Critical Praise

“[White Shadow] packs the emotional wallop of Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River. It is as gritty as James Ellroy’s LA Confidential. And yet, the prose is as lyrical as James Lee Burke’s Crusader’s Cross.” —Associated Press

“The dark, twisted plot of White Shadow and its complex, often surprising characters make it a fine example of hard-boiled crime fiction, but for anyone who remembers Tampa before the days of chain everything and metastasizing development, it’s a fabulous piece of time travel.” —St. Petersburg Times

“The real appeal here, though, is the Latin Quarter itself—white suits, café con leche, bebop in sultry bars, and that heady aroma of cigar smoke mixed with corruption. James Ellroy’s Black Dahlia hits some of the same notes on the opposite coast, but Atkins, also author of the Nick Travers mystery series, plays his own tune, and it puts Tampa on the crime-fiction map.” —Booklist

“White Shadow is an atmospheric immersion into the Tampa of the mid-1950s. In his fifth novel, Ace Atkins does a first-rate job of capturing the soul of the city while exploring the political currents that swirl around the streets.” —Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel