Hard Country: A Thriller

by Reavis Wortham

Overview

"Thriller writing of the highest order" —Jon Land, USA Today bestselling author of the Caitlin Strong series

"An action fan's dream. Non-stop excitement. Wonderful characters. A terrific locale. And a startling bulletin about how your car is watching you."

—David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of First Blood

There is no peace in the hard country

Tucker Snow is as tough as they come, hardened by decades working as an undercover narcotics agent for the Texas Department of Public Safety. Through special dispensation from the governor, he and his brother Harley cut a wide swath through the criminal element of Northeast Texas. But tragedy comes calling after taking a dream job as a special ranger with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, when Tucker's wife and toddler are killed in a horrific traffic accident caused by a drug addled felon. Close to breaking, Tucker sets his badge aside to move his surviving teenage daughter outside of Ganther Bluff, a quiet town with enough room for them to mourn their unexpected loss.

But peace doesn't last long for a man like Tucker Snow. Instead of settling into small-town life to heal from such an unimaginable loss, a fresh kind of hell hits them with full force.

Crimes and secrets strangle this rural community, and when a new form of meth with the street name of gravel gets too close to home, it's enough for Tucker to put his badge back on and call Harley for help. The town will ultimately be better off with him as a resident lawman, but this unforgiving landscape will threaten everything Tucker holds dear.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728256702
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	08/01/2023
Series:	Tucker Snow Thrillers
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	707,770
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Reavis Z. Wortham is the critically acclaimed author of the Red River Mysteries set in rural Northeast Texas in the 1960s. As a boy, he hunted and fished the river bottoms near Chicota, the inspiration for the fictional location. He is also the author of a thriller series featuring Texas Ranger Sonny Hawke. He teaches writing at a wide variety of venues including local libraries and writers' conferences. Wortham has been a newspaper columnist and magazine writer since 1988, and has been the Humor Editor for Texas Fish and Game Magazine for the past twenty-two years. He and his wife, Shana, live in Northeast Texas. Check out his website at www.reaviszwortham.com

Editorial Reviews

"An action fan’s dream. Non-stop excitement. Wonderful characters. A terrific locale. And a startling bulletin about how your car is watching you." — David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of First Blood

"A stunning success! Hard Country checks all the boxes: a nonstop thriller plot, characters who are so real we’re sure we’ve crossed paths in real life, and a breathtaking portrait—both searing and sympathetic—of a small town, from an author whose compelling voice and keenly observant eye transport us there. Wortham is known for his protagonists and Tucker Snow is one of his all-time best: sharp, uncompromising, wry, thoroughly human, and the one thing we don’t see enough of nowadays: a dyed-in-the-wool hero. I was going to set aside a weekend to read the book. My problem? What to do with the rest of Saturday afternoon and Sunday—yes, Hard Country is the definition of a one-sitting read. Bravo!" — Jeffery Deaver, New York Times bestselling author of The Bone Collector and Hunting Time

"Hard Country is easy to love, a beautifully crafted and fully realized thriller of rare depth and pathos. The debut entry in Reavis Wortham's new series is structured along classic lines reminiscent of the best from Ace Atkins, Don Winslow, and even James Lee Burke. This is thriller writing of the highest order that grabs hold from the very first line and doesn't let go until the last. As timely as it is terrific!" — Jon Land, USA Today bestselling author the Caitlin Strong series

"Hard Country is the best thriller I have read in a long time. The story sizzles with action as Tucker Snow brings justice to where it belongs—and in the manner in which it deserves to be brought. What really sets Hard Country apart from most books in the genre is the emotion and heart that Wortham brings to the page. Bravo!" — John Gilstrap, author of Harm's Way and the Jonathan Grave thriller series

"Plenty of action and suspense along with fantastic characters and a well-written plot make this novel a must read for those who love thrillers." — Mystery and Suspense Magazine

"Hard Country crackles with authenticity as Tucker Snow shows us what it takes to be a lawman, and a good man, in a sprawling state like Texas. I’ll read anything Reavis Z. Wortham writes!" — Marc Cameron, New York Times bestselling author

From the Publisher

2023-05-24
A North Texas lawman’s compassionate leave from his job ends with a distinct lack of compassion for all parties.

Apart from the obligatory handshakes and offers of help from the locals in Ganther Bluff, Special Ranger Tucker Snow’s welcome to the neighborhood is a series of gunshots fired on a neighbor’s property. The neighbor is Jess Atchley, a drug seller who’s taken to using his own product. The telltale signs of meth cooking and distribution are an alarm bell to Tuck, who bought his farm with the proceeds of the insurance policy his wife secretly purchased before she and her 4-year-old daughter were killed in a collision with a meth user. Realizing that his new neighbor is suspicious of him, Atchley sets up surveillance, has an associate sneak into Tuck's house and plant an explosive device, and bullies Jimma Bailey, the daughter of his common-law wife, into bugging the place while she’s visiting Chloe, Tuck’s teenage daughter. But all these plans are stymied by Tuck and Harley, his kid brother and former undercover partner in the Texas Department of Public Safety before Tuck took a job as a stock inspector with the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and Harley, forced into retirement after he was shot on the job, launched the training operation Lone Star Tactical. In short, Atchley and his confederates couldn’t have found a worse pair of targets to mess with—and that continues to be true even after Atchley kidnaps Chloe, planning to submit her to the same abuse Jimma’s already suffered.

Neo-Nazis, gangsters, meth heads, and lots of gunplay in a thriller that reads more like an over-the-top Western.

Kirkus Reviews