MRB returns to the Kentucky hills where author Chris Offutt sets his Mick Harding books.
Mick has returned home to Rocksalt, KY to help family. His sister is the county sheriff now convalescing after being wounded in her leg in the line of duty. She deputizes Mick (and he then deputizes another Army buddy). Along with a couple others in the Sheriff’s office, Mick takes on the day to day minutiae that waddles through the door – vagrant in a barn (actually a deer), missing pets, noisy neighbors.
He's not without skills. He’s former Army CID but wasn’t interested in getting back into law enforcement until his sister was shot. Actually there are two parallel stories going on. The minor story involves Johnny Boy who killed someone. Mick quickly sent him off to Corsica to stay with an old MI6-type Mick knew from Afghanistan to help him get over his PTSD. The primary story involves a series of murders that may or may not be connected. Part of the connection is that a person of interest is his ex-wife’s current husband not to mention a bunch of Deliverance rejects. Outside business interests are trying to establish a foothold in the hills and are doing their best to muscle their way in.
Offutt is a widely respected southern writer who skillfully takes the reader into a world most of us never experience. This is the 4th Mick Hardin novel reviewed by MRB and he has developed a loyal following. Solid books. Compelling storylines, Smoothly paced and written. He is also the author of Country Dark that I thought was downright spectacular. Offutt may not be a household name, but he is certainly worth checking out.
Thanks to Netgalley for the Advance Reviewer Copy. Estimated publication date is 25 March 2025.
East Coast Don
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