Recensori in anteprimaChris Kelsey

August 1974. The oil-producing states of the Middle East refuse to sell their oil to the USA, sparking a worldwide economic crisis. What's a catastrophe for some is, for the residents of one small town, an opportunity: Burr, Oklahoma sits atop a sea of petroleum. The embargo sparks an increase in local drilling, resulting in an economic boom. Of course, Burr's newfound prosperity comes with a price. A thriving economy also brings problems citizens of rural Oklahoma have always associated with big cities: illegal drugs, sexual assault, and a skyrocketing murder rate.

A disabled young man is found shot to death in the back row of a drive-in movie theater. To Burr's police chief, Emmett Hardy, it looks like an isolated act of depravity. As the dominos fall, however, Emmett realizes he's searching for a type of murderer who, in 1974, had yet to be named—someone who kills repeatedly, savagely, and seemingly at random. Emmett searches for the culprit, even as old habits cloud his mind and clues to the killer's identity go unnoticed.

The killer's trail circles back and becomes a noose. It's up to Emmett to cut himself down before it's too late.

After a kidnap-for-hire plot results in the death of a young boy, Burr police chief Emmett Hardy has a breakdown. His life at a crossroads, Hardy checks into the hospital for treatment, only to discover upon his release that he’s been suspended from duty. When a dying prisoner contacts him about a long-forgotten unsolved case, Emmett—temporarily at loose ends—investigates. Soon he becomes a target of violence himself, as his investigation becomes a murder probe implicating the most powerful men in town. Hardy is forced to relive one of the most traumatic events of his childhood and faces the possibility that members of his own family may have been involved in the crime. Ultimately, with Emmett’s tenuous grasp on sobriety slipping and his moral foundation shifting beneath his feet, the answer to the question, “Who do I trust?” becomes a matter of life and death. Text will be in PDF format.

From the author of the award-winning crime thriller, Where the Hurt Is. The residents of tiny Butcherville, Oklahoma love their God-given freedoms so much, they refuse to hire their own police force. When they need a cop, they just call Emmett Hardy, police chief of Burr, the closest neighboring town. Whether it’s to break up a fight, dissuade an angry good ol’ boy from hunting rabbits with an M-16, or eject an unruly patron from Butcherville’s combination strip joint/bookstore, Emmett’s always glad to oblige … that is, until a local business owner’s lust for money and power results in a deadly shootout and multiple kidnappings. Suddenly, Emmett’s good intentions are fraught with dangerous consequences. Besieged by friend and foe alike, and sabotaged by a fondness for drink that’s starting to affect his work, Emmett is the last man standing between a community of honest people trying to do their best with what little they have, and an evil that threatens not only their jobs and homes, but their very lives. Text will be in PDF and Mobi format.