You might remember Chris Offutt’s father, Andy Offutt, a prolific Science Fiction and fantasy writer. Chris Offutt might not be as prolific as his father, but he’s a terrific writer. The Killing Hills (2021) introduces an Army CID agent stationed in Germany, Mick Hardin.
Hardin receives a message from his sister, a sheriff in a small Kentucky town called Rocksalt, asking for his help. Hardin takes a leave and flies home to help his sister investigate a murder of a local woman.
The social structure of rural Kentucky communities looms large in The Killing Hills. Hardin knows the various clans involved in the murder and uses his knowledge of generations of family secrets to uncover the motive behind the killing.
Rural life figuring in crime can be a compelling motif. I’m a huge fan of Daniel Woodrell‘s Winter’s Bone. The Killing Hills captures the bleak life and violent nature of a hard-scrabble community. If you’re in a mood for mystery with roots in the Past, give The Killing Hills a try. GRADE: A-
Mick Hardin returns to Rocksalt, Kentucky on a medical rehab from injuries from an IED (Improvised Explosive Device). Mick’s sister is running for Sheriff and Mick helps a bit with her campaign. But when the body of a drug dealer is found, Mick is asked to investigate the murder by the dealer’s mother, Shifty.
The plot of Shifty’s Boys (2022) is pretty shifty, too. Offutt throws in some red herrings to lead you think the motive is one thing…but then it isn’t. For fans of Jack Reacher novels, Offutt provides an explosive conclusion worthy of the best of Lee Child. GRADE: A
They are well reviewed, but probably not for me. I don’t like the Jack Reacher books and it seems an endless number of imitators suck as Robert Crais’s Joe Pike books and Nick Petrie’s books. I just don’t care for characters who seem too good to be true.
Haven’t tried any of Offutt’s fiction yet.
Todd, I recommend Chris Offutt’s work. I also enjoyed his father’s SF and fantasy novels.
Steve, Chris Offutt gets around that problem by setting his books in rural Kentucky which is as strange as Mars.
My Father: The Pornographer, a memoir, was good too.
Patti, MY FATHER, THE PORNOGRAPHER is in my READ REAL SOON stack.
These are both on my list, as soon as I finish the books I’m reading now.
Jeff, I think you’ll enjoy THE KILLING HILLS and SHIFTY’S BOYS. Chris Offutt captures rural America convincingly!
Read The Killing Hills a couple of weeks ago and rated it at **1/2 in my four-star rating system. I did like how Offutt captured the region, but find it hard to believe it’s the first crime novel set in the Eastern Kentucky hills as hyped.
Kent, I know that Eastern Kentucky has become a Tornado Alley with Climate Change.