Description

Mick Hardin is an Army CID officer home on leave, recovering from an IED attack, when a body is found in the centre of town. It’s Barney Kissick, the local heroin dealer, and the city police see his death as an occupational hazard. But when Barney’s mother, Shifty, asks Mick to take a look, it seems there’s more to the killing than it appears. Mick should be rehabbing his leg, signing his divorce papers and getting out of town – and most of all, staying out of the way of his sister Linda’s reelection as Sheriff – but he keeps on looking, and suddenly he’s getting shot at himself.

A dark, pacy crime novel about grief and revenge, with surprises hidden below the surface, Shifty’s Boys is a tour de force that confirms Chris Offutt’s Mick Hardin as one of the most appealing new investigators in fiction.

Publisher Review

The writing is top-notch, shot through with menace and melancholy * New York Times * In elegant, economical prose, Shifty's Boys is an accomplished addition to the ranks of country noir -- Val McDermid Offutt loves his characters enough to give them life. With them, we can grieve or laugh... Offutt's novel is replete with details that brand the humanity pictured within as real, because you can't make this stuff up -- Cathy Downs * Reviewing the Evidence * Offutt's powerful follow-up to The Killing Hills is just as rich in atmospherics and a master-class in the craft of crime fiction... Offutt has created a wildly compelling private eye series full of memorable characters, drawn with an observant eye and a passion for the local terrain * CrimeReads (Most Anticipated Books, Summer 2022) * Readers will appreciate the novel's respectful portrayal of the contemporary South as they ride along with Mick on his fair-minded, almost spiritual quest to root out the truth. Fans of contemporary small-town mysteries will look forward to Offutt's next * Publishers Weekly *