The Reluctant Sheriff

The latest novel from award-winning author Chris Offutt.

FROM AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR CHRIS OFFUTT

A dark and fierce return to the Kentucky hills, where nothing is what it seems.

Mick Hardin returns to the trials and tribulations of local sheriff duties, whilst the previous sheriff, his sister Linda, recovers from a gunshot wound sustained in the line of duty.

Living in Linda's house in Rocksalt, Mick finds himself entwined in the trials and tribulations of being a sheriff in the perturbing Kentucky community. Unable to retire from a world of dubiousness and violence, Mick Hardin is back with determination to deliver retribution.

'Beautifully descriptive... Offutt’s Mick Hardin novels are powerful books that feature characters with questionable ethics' Library Journal

'Righteous Kentucky noir... I gulped it down, relishing the burn' - Ian Rankin on Shifty’s Boys

'Another welcome slice of rural Kentucky noir'- The Times UK

'An atmospheric, exquisitely written Southern noir' - Lesa Holstine, Library Journal

'This is a marvellous series… These have become must-reads for me and I enjoy every minute of the reading experience' - Deadly Pleasures

'Kentucky noir, with a twist. Or two or three…It's a pleasure to read, you have a treat in store'- Reckon Review

'A terrific series' - Boston Globe

'It is kinda hard to imagine a suspense novel set in both small-town Kentucky and the French island of Corsica, but Chris Offutt makes it work rather well, actually. ...Offutt toggles between these two distant locales, chapter by chapter ratcheting up the suspense levels until just before the snapping point. A very well-rendered action novel, The Reluctant Sheriff is sure to appeal to Jack Reacher fans' BookPage

'Prepare for some tasty Kentucky noir with the arrival of The Reluctant Sheriff, book four in Chris Offutt's Mick Hardin series... With dubiousness and violence around every corner, Hardin is steadfast in his determination to deliver retribution' Crime Fiction Lover

'For most of its pages, Chris Offutt's The Reluctant Sheriff, the fourth in his Mick Hardin series, runs in two distinct lanes: an eventful southern US noir and an international thriller with the deliberative pacing of a Le Carré...Offutt's vivid writing summons an impressively evocative sense of place and an equally strong ear for all the things his often-laconic characters aren't saying aloud.' Brian Cliff, Irish Times

Chris Offutt is the author of the short-story collections Kentucky Straight and Out of the Woods, the novels The Good Brother, Country Dark and The Killing Hills, and three memoirs: The Same River Twice, No Heroes, and My Father, the Pornographer. His work has appeared in Best American Short Stories and Best American Essays, among many other places. He has written screenplays for Weeds, True Blood, and Treme, and has received fellowships from the Lannan and Guggenheim foundations.

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