{"product_id":"the-reluctant-sheriff-9780802166593","title":"The Reluctant Sheriff","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMaster storyteller Chris Offutt’s acclaimed crime series has been praised by Ian Rankin as “righteous Kentucky noir with top notes of Daniel Woodrell and S. A. Cosby,” and in this breakneck new novel, sheriff Mick Hardin navigates the treacherous terrain of a town’s festering secrets and the violent forces who want to keep them hidden\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLauded as a “masterclass in the craft of crime fiction” (\u003ci\u003eCrimeReads\u003c\/i\u003e), Chris Offutt’s beloved and critically acclaimed Mick Hardin series is an atmospheric, tightly crafted testament to Southern noir. \u003ci\u003eThe Reluctant Sheriff\u003c\/i\u003e is a dark, bracing return to the hills of eastern Kentucky where secrets roil beneath the surface, and nothing and no one stays in the past for long.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMick Hardin never wanted to be sheriff. An ex-Army CID officer, he’s supposed to be retired—or he was until his sister, Linda, was shot in the line of duty, requiring him to step in as interim sheriff while she recovered. Now he’s stuck in Rocksalt, the place he was most hoping to escape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBack in uniform, Mick is chafing at the sudden dissolution of his retirement plans, wearied by the petty squabbles of Rocksalt’s townsfolk. It’s all business as usual, until the murder of a local bar owner draws an unlikely suspect who threatens to fan the flames of Mick’s past. When two more bodies turn up, seemingly unconnected to the first, Mick is forced to reckon with the mysterious circumstances of a case not so open-and-shut as everyone believes. Meanwhile, Linda is slowly healing when a familiar business tycoon with a vested interest in her returning as sheriff makes it difficult for her to remain on the sidelines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUnflinching and devilishly compulsive, \u003ci\u003eThe Reluctant Sheriff\u003c\/i\u003e is an explosive thriller confirming Chris Offutt as a Southern writer of muscular prose and unrivaled talent.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chris Offutt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42969677856886,"sku":"9780802166593","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0671\/1374\/6550\/files\/CoreSourceHub_75e844a1-9092-4160-a907-9ea883c2253e.jpg?v=1768228809","url":"https:\/\/ingramacademic.com\/products\/the-reluctant-sheriff-9780802166593","provider":"Ingram Academic \u0026 Professional","version":"1.0","type":"link"}