Named one of the best books of 2016 by the Boston Globe
Authors on The Air 2016 Mystery/Thriller Book of the Year award winner
Ash McKenna used to be an amateur P.I.—emphasis on ‘amateur’. Despite good intentions, he made a mess of his life in New York, so tried to build a new one in Portland. But after a traumatic turn of events, he ends up on a commune in the Georgia woods, binge-drinking cheap whiskey and waiting for his passport to flee the country and nightmares that have followed him.
Then a man is found dead. Known only as ‘Crusty Pete’, the commune dweller is sprawled in the dirt, having fallen from a high rope bridge. It’s written off as an accident, but Ash suspects something more sinister. As he looks into Pete’s death, Ash is shocked to find the supposedly peaceful community houses a rogue faction preparing to commit an unspeakable act of violence.
Ash has to make a choice: run, or put his skills to use and try to stop them. But he doesn’t know who to trust, or where the faction is planning to strike. As he struggles to put a stop to the violence, while keeping his own demons at bay, Ash finds that it’s only a matter of time before one or the other puts him down for good.
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“In Hart’s lively third outing for occasional PI Ash McKenna… the story zigs and zags and then heads off in yet another direction, keeping one step ahead of the reader until it ends up in an unexpected but satisfying spot.” —Publishers Weekly
“Loopy, action-packed, droll, and believable.” —Kirkus
“Hart delivers a suspenseful, gritty third book in the Ash McKenna series that admirers of the Southern grit lit tradition of Daniel Woodrell will enjoy. Readers of David Joy’s Where All Light Tends To Go will appreciate the rural setting in this novel, which can be read as a stand-alone.” —Library Journal
“An unconventional whodunit… Ash’s determined sleuthing and the book’s deft grasp of the oddball hippie milieu combine to provide persuasive entertainment.” —Toronto Star
“What could easily be predictable turns into a complex story where the line between the good guys and the bad guys is blurry, where the tough people are full of compassion and the seemingly innocent are willing to threaten or worse to get what they want.” —Criminal Element
“Watching Ash’s wounded sense of self begin to heal is one of the most satisfying things I’ve read all year.” —Crimespree Magazine
Rob Hart 