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Mick Hardin #1
The Killing Hills
A literary master across genres, award-winning author Chris Offutt's latest novel, The Killing Hills, is a compelling, propulsive thriller in which a suspicious death exposes the loyalties and rivalries of a deep-rooted and fiercely private community in the Kentucky backwoods.
Mick Hardin, a combat veteran now working as an Army CID agent, is home on a leave that is almost done. His wife is about to give birth, but they aren't getting along. His sister, newly risen to sheriff, has just landed her first murder case, and local politicians are pushing for city police or the FBI to take the case. Are they convinced she can't handle it, or is there something else at work? She calls on Mick who, with his homicide investigation experience and familiarity with the terrain, is well-suited to staying under the radar. As he delves into the investigation, he dodges his commanding officer's increasingly urgent calls while attempting to head off further murders. And he needs to talk to his wife.
The Killing Hills is a novel of betrayal—sexual, personal, within and between the clans that populate the hollers–and the way it so often shades into violence. Chris Offutt has delivered a dark, witty, and absolutely compelling novel of murder and honor, with an investigator-hero unlike any in fiction.
Mick Hardin, a combat veteran now working as an Army CID agent, is home on a leave that is almost done. His wife is about to give birth, but they aren't getting along. His sister, newly risen to sheriff, has just landed her first murder case, and local politicians are pushing for city police or the FBI to take the case. Are they convinced she can't handle it, or is there something else at work? She calls on Mick who, with his homicide investigation experience and familiarity with the terrain, is well-suited to staying under the radar. As he delves into the investigation, he dodges his commanding officer's increasingly urgent calls while attempting to head off further murders. And he needs to talk to his wife.
The Killing Hills is a novel of betrayal—sexual, personal, within and between the clans that populate the hollers–and the way it so often shades into violence. Chris Offutt has delivered a dark, witty, and absolutely compelling novel of murder and honor, with an investigator-hero unlike any in fiction.
5 pages, Audible
First published June 15, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 659 reviews
July 3, 2021
Loved this book. The prose and characterization are wonderful. There are two main plot lines, the murder mystery and the personal problem Mick, the main character has to deal with. The personal problem had great depth and was revealed slowly building intensity. I think I like it more than the murder mystery.
The author also makes great use of setting and it carries the same weight as the main character without being overdone. Loved the local, could see it, smell it, and feel it, not easy to accomplish. The characters are vivid and three dimensional. The story is told in third person and the author sometimes shifts points of view toward the end of the scene (right in the middle of a page) to carry out the R, in MAR, (motivation, action, reaction), to show a different perspective of the reaction to the action. The author does it seamlessly without intrusion into the “Fictive Dream.”
At first the story feels like a “slow burn,” but ramps up so gradually the reader is almost unaware. The dialogue has just enough local color to make fit perfectly like a puzzle piece.
Being an author myself and watching the motivation (MAR) unfold, I’m usually pretty good at predicting the outcome, the story twisted twice at the end, events I did not see coming. Bravo.
The main character Mick is a cerebral Jack Reacher and you don’t find out until the end just how much he is like Jack Reacher. Chris Offutt books are going on my permanent must-read list.
David Putnam author of The Bruno Johnson series.
The author also makes great use of setting and it carries the same weight as the main character without being overdone. Loved the local, could see it, smell it, and feel it, not easy to accomplish. The characters are vivid and three dimensional. The story is told in third person and the author sometimes shifts points of view toward the end of the scene (right in the middle of a page) to carry out the R, in MAR, (motivation, action, reaction), to show a different perspective of the reaction to the action. The author does it seamlessly without intrusion into the “Fictive Dream.”
At first the story feels like a “slow burn,” but ramps up so gradually the reader is almost unaware. The dialogue has just enough local color to make fit perfectly like a puzzle piece.
Being an author myself and watching the motivation (MAR) unfold, I’m usually pretty good at predicting the outcome, the story twisted twice at the end, events I did not see coming. Bravo.
The main character Mick is a cerebral Jack Reacher and you don’t find out until the end just how much he is like Jack Reacher. Chris Offutt books are going on my permanent must-read list.
David Putnam author of The Bruno Johnson series.
October 6, 2025
JUSTIFIED
Il primo capitolo è un’intro magistrale che regola dal principio ritmo e atmosfera: la descrizione del paesaggio, il personaggio messo in scena, il ritrovamento del cadavere…
Kentucky, colline sul lato orientale dei monti Appalachi, società rurale in qualche modo contaminata dal “progresso”, hillibillies, il tasso di analfabetismo più alto d’America, vecchi pick-up col motore a sei cilindri, il centro abitato di riferimento è Morehead, 7500 anime, università ospedale prigione tribunale.
Gente che vive secondo codici antichi, la famiglia innanzi a tutto. Gente che non crede nella legge, nella politica, nella polizia. Gente schietta, ma non aperta, sincera, ma reticente, guardinga, anche se amichevole. I debitori è più pratico farli fuori prima di rimettergli i debiti.
A nord c’è l’Ohio, e quindi ormai anch’io so che prima o poi si finirà a parlare di oxy e antidolorifici oppio derivati, la nuova droga degli Stati Uniti (dopo il fumo, prima dell’ago).
Mick Hardin è tutta la vita che si sente come un tordo, l’uccello che sa solo copiare gli altri e spera di essere compreso e farsi amico un altro uccello.
Eppure Mick è bravo in quello che fa: polizia militare.
Sono dodici anni che è nell’esercito: cresciuto in una capanna nei boschi insieme a suo nonno, si è sentito così tanto solo che ha pensato di farsi amici indossando una divisa.
Ovviamente si sbagliava. E dopo l’Afghanistan, l’Iraq, la Siria, forse è il momento di tornare a casa.
A casa c’è sua moglie Peggy che è incinta ma per otto mesi non glielo fa sapere. Mick lo scopre perché lo avverte sua sorella Linda, che è lo sceriffo del posto: non particolarmente amata, è una donna, una femmina, come può fare lo sceriffo?
E quando sulle colline viene trovato un cadavere, Linda capisce che vogliono incastrarla e farla fuori: e allora chiede aiuto a suo fratello, che è tornato in Kentucky, in licenza. Ma il tempo della licenza è finito e Mick non torna in caserma (questa volta in Germania), rimane sulle colline, nella capanna del nonno, invece che a casa con sua moglie. Perché Peggy è diversa, la gravidanza nascosta e altro l’hanno cambiata.
Forse Offutt ha scritto un crime. E in questo caso sarebbe il suo primo.
Forse è rimasto in quel genere country dark in cui è maestro, rural noir.
A me sembra una storia che risplende per la nota attenzione di Offutt ai personaggi e alle loro psicologie, sempre sfaccettate, descritte spesso attraverso i gesti e i silenzi e gli sguardi. Offutt si muove in ottimo equilibrio tra detection di genere e dramma umano, concedendosi come suo solito momenti più raffinati, molto bravo nell’uso della tavolozza dei colori, che restituiscono quella sua terra da sempre associata al bourbon whiskey (meglio se di segale).
Ma, incredibilmente, con una storia che si presterebbe a spingere oltre misura il pedale sul noir, sulla malinconia più cupa, Offutt regala momenti di pura tenerezza, e delicatezza, e sembra scrivere con un sorriso d’amore per uomini e paesaggio.
Il primo capitolo è un’intro magistrale che regola dal principio ritmo e atmosfera: la descrizione del paesaggio, il personaggio messo in scena, il ritrovamento del cadavere…
Kentucky, colline sul lato orientale dei monti Appalachi, società rurale in qualche modo contaminata dal “progresso”, hillibillies, il tasso di analfabetismo più alto d’America, vecchi pick-up col motore a sei cilindri, il centro abitato di riferimento è Morehead, 7500 anime, università ospedale prigione tribunale.
Gente che vive secondo codici antichi, la famiglia innanzi a tutto. Gente che non crede nella legge, nella politica, nella polizia. Gente schietta, ma non aperta, sincera, ma reticente, guardinga, anche se amichevole. I debitori è più pratico farli fuori prima di rimettergli i debiti.
A nord c’è l’Ohio, e quindi ormai anch’io so che prima o poi si finirà a parlare di oxy e antidolorifici oppio derivati, la nuova droga degli Stati Uniti (dopo il fumo, prima dell’ago).
Mick Hardin è tutta la vita che si sente come un tordo, l’uccello che sa solo copiare gli altri e spera di essere compreso e farsi amico un altro uccello.
Eppure Mick è bravo in quello che fa: polizia militare.
Sono dodici anni che è nell’esercito: cresciuto in una capanna nei boschi insieme a suo nonno, si è sentito così tanto solo che ha pensato di farsi amici indossando una divisa.
Ovviamente si sbagliava. E dopo l’Afghanistan, l’Iraq, la Siria, forse è il momento di tornare a casa.
A casa c’è sua moglie Peggy che è incinta ma per otto mesi non glielo fa sapere. Mick lo scopre perché lo avverte sua sorella Linda, che è lo sceriffo del posto: non particolarmente amata, è una donna, una femmina, come può fare lo sceriffo?
E quando sulle colline viene trovato un cadavere, Linda capisce che vogliono incastrarla e farla fuori: e allora chiede aiuto a suo fratello, che è tornato in Kentucky, in licenza. Ma il tempo della licenza è finito e Mick non torna in caserma (questa volta in Germania), rimane sulle colline, nella capanna del nonno, invece che a casa con sua moglie. Perché Peggy è diversa, la gravidanza nascosta e altro l’hanno cambiata.
Forse Offutt ha scritto un crime. E in questo caso sarebbe il suo primo.
Forse è rimasto in quel genere country dark in cui è maestro, rural noir.
A me sembra una storia che risplende per la nota attenzione di Offutt ai personaggi e alle loro psicologie, sempre sfaccettate, descritte spesso attraverso i gesti e i silenzi e gli sguardi. Offutt si muove in ottimo equilibrio tra detection di genere e dramma umano, concedendosi come suo solito momenti più raffinati, molto bravo nell’uso della tavolozza dei colori, che restituiscono quella sua terra da sempre associata al bourbon whiskey (meglio se di segale).
Ma, incredibilmente, con una storia che si presterebbe a spingere oltre misura il pedale sul noir, sulla malinconia più cupa, Offutt regala momenti di pura tenerezza, e delicatezza, e sembra scrivere con un sorriso d’amore per uomini e paesaggio.
December 9, 2021
I received a free copy of this from NetGalley for review.
“There’s murder in them thar hills!”
Mick Hardin is a combat veteran and investigator with the Army CID who has returned home on leave to find that his wife is pregnant, and the baby may or may not be his. As he tries to cope with that he’s retreated to the cabin in the Kentucky hills where he was raised by his grandfather to do some serious drinking. His sister is the local sheriff and when a girl is found murdered in the woods, she asks Mick to help her find the killer. Looking into the crime means dealing with the dead woman’s angry relatives, other suspicious hill folk, political intrigue, an FBI agent, and some thugs sent to keep Mick from interfering with the local heroin distribution.
There’s two immediate and easy comparisons that spring to mind when discussing this one. The first is the excellent TV series Justified, and the second are the great Quinn Colson novels by Ace Atkins. If you’re a fan of either or both of those then I think it’s safe to say that you’ll probably like this book.
However, while there are similarities in story and setting to those other works, Chris Offutt has carved out his own unique niche here. There’s a real sense of the place and people that comes up in various gritty details. For example, at one point Mick knows he’ll have to go up some steep muddy roads in an old pick-up so he haggles with a local mechanic to get an old scrap engine to use for weight in the back of his truck. (That brought back a memory from my own youth of how my dad had a couple of old tire inner tubes filled with sand to put the back of his truck for weight in the winner.)
Offutt also establishes a complex web of the kind of personal relationships you find in small towns where everybody has some kind of history or blood connection to everybody else. Generational grudges are held and judgements are made depending on your lineage. It’s also the kind of place where time seems to stand still in some ways, and the progress that does come just seems designed to screw over the locals.
It’s a solid crime story with a great rural vibe to it.
“There’s murder in them thar hills!”
Mick Hardin is a combat veteran and investigator with the Army CID who has returned home on leave to find that his wife is pregnant, and the baby may or may not be his. As he tries to cope with that he’s retreated to the cabin in the Kentucky hills where he was raised by his grandfather to do some serious drinking. His sister is the local sheriff and when a girl is found murdered in the woods, she asks Mick to help her find the killer. Looking into the crime means dealing with the dead woman’s angry relatives, other suspicious hill folk, political intrigue, an FBI agent, and some thugs sent to keep Mick from interfering with the local heroin distribution.
There’s two immediate and easy comparisons that spring to mind when discussing this one. The first is the excellent TV series Justified, and the second are the great Quinn Colson novels by Ace Atkins. If you’re a fan of either or both of those then I think it’s safe to say that you’ll probably like this book.
However, while there are similarities in story and setting to those other works, Chris Offutt has carved out his own unique niche here. There’s a real sense of the place and people that comes up in various gritty details. For example, at one point Mick knows he’ll have to go up some steep muddy roads in an old pick-up so he haggles with a local mechanic to get an old scrap engine to use for weight in the back of his truck. (That brought back a memory from my own youth of how my dad had a couple of old tire inner tubes filled with sand to put the back of his truck for weight in the winner.)
Offutt also establishes a complex web of the kind of personal relationships you find in small towns where everybody has some kind of history or blood connection to everybody else. Generational grudges are held and judgements are made depending on your lineage. It’s also the kind of place where time seems to stand still in some ways, and the progress that does come just seems designed to screw over the locals.
It’s a solid crime story with a great rural vibe to it.
October 2, 2021
The backwoods of Kentucky are filled with things of the hill country. Woodpeckers with their requisite rat-a-tat-tatting, keeping busy and feeding. It's not unusual to come across miscreant peckerwoods, up to no good. Snakes are a given. You can look, but probably will not see an old man harvesting ginseng by early morning light. Virginia creeper is abundant, with vines strong enough to hog-tie a man if need be.
The folks who live here are hill-bred, their families have been here for generations, and they have long memories. Best to remember that your own self before committing an act that might dictate any kind of retribution. Right or wrong, blood kin reigns supreme.
The author wastes no words with this story and it is all the better for it.
The folks who live here are hill-bred, their families have been here for generations, and they have long memories. Best to remember that your own self before committing an act that might dictate any kind of retribution. Right or wrong, blood kin reigns supreme.
The author wastes no words with this story and it is all the better for it.
November 3, 2021
Holler Back.
Mick has returned to his home turf during a temporary military leave. His sister Linda, the town’s sheriff, enlists his help when a woman’s body is discovered in the backwoods and no one’s talking.
More than a murder mystery, this is a story about the hills of Kentucky and its people. Displaying local custom and colloquialism, conversations are brief and to the point and outsiders are not to be trusted.
Familial blood is everything, causing people to introduce themselves by expressing their lineage and connections.
I especially loved these portions of the book. The untamed hills were brought to life as I got a feel for the “hollers” and the people who inhabited them.
A sub-plot dealing with Mick’s personal life was equally impressive. A fresh approach to a domestic trajectory kept this from seeming flat or gimmicky.
Overall, this was an excellent read and I’m so happy that two Goodreads reviews* brought my attention to this book. I loved it and have discovered a new (to me) author to appreciate.
Hardback purchased at Barnes and Noble.
*Thank you to David Putnam and Katherine in FL
Mick has returned to his home turf during a temporary military leave. His sister Linda, the town’s sheriff, enlists his help when a woman’s body is discovered in the backwoods and no one’s talking.
More than a murder mystery, this is a story about the hills of Kentucky and its people. Displaying local custom and colloquialism, conversations are brief and to the point and outsiders are not to be trusted.
Familial blood is everything, causing people to introduce themselves by expressing their lineage and connections.
I especially loved these portions of the book. The untamed hills were brought to life as I got a feel for the “hollers” and the people who inhabited them.
A sub-plot dealing with Mick’s personal life was equally impressive. A fresh approach to a domestic trajectory kept this from seeming flat or gimmicky.
Overall, this was an excellent read and I’m so happy that two Goodreads reviews* brought my attention to this book. I loved it and have discovered a new (to me) author to appreciate.
Hardback purchased at Barnes and Noble.
*Thank you to David Putnam and Katherine in FL
October 3, 2021
This was a thoroughly entertaining crime novel, Offutt's first foray into this genre. The crime was not as important and the people who may or may not have done it, and the people investigating it. The dialog was realistic but sparkling, using country terms that I've heard before by older relatives, as in calling a biscuit a pusher. "Reach me a pusher, Mick." Because that's how you use a biscuit, to push food onto your fork. Duh! While my total love is reserved for Tucker in COUNTRY DARK, Mick was another hero who used a combination of good old fashioned common sense and his military training to outsmart just about everyone else in this novel.
The conclusion was completely unexpected, and a little unsettling, until I found out that there is a sequel in the works, possibly two more in the series. Ahhhh!
If you're looking for a trip to the hills of Kentucky with a knowledgeable guide, a great sense of humor, and a way with words, Offutt is your man.
The conclusion was completely unexpected, and a little unsettling, until I found out that there is a sequel in the works, possibly two more in the series. Ahhhh!
If you're looking for a trip to the hills of Kentucky with a knowledgeable guide, a great sense of humor, and a way with words, Offutt is your man.
April 25, 2021
“Appalachian people lived by old codes that compelled them to take action. Affronts were always personal. Acts of vengeance maintained themselves through generations.”
Mick Hardin, is an Army CID agent whose current job is to investigate murders. He is stationed in Afghanistan but has returned to Morehead, Kentucky because his wife Peggy is pregnant. Mick’s sister Linda is the sheriff in Morehead. Mick and Peggy have issues, and while they work out a resolution Linda asks for Mick’s help in finding out who killed Nonnie Johnson whose body was found dumped in the woods. Between his wife and the murder, Mick winds up overstaying his leave of absence, thus adding one more complication to his life.
This was a compelling mystery, but the intertwined relationships of the people of Morehead were even more interesting. The author created colorful and realistic characters. People don’t waste words and learn a lot from family connections. “Who’s your people? ‘I’m a Mullins. Bowling on the other side.’ ‘Where you headed?’ ‘Up the road a piece. Third holler down, make a right.’” I loved Mick who is intelligent, skilled, compassionate and complex. I also love this author and I hope he writes another book featuring Mick, but I’ll read whatever he wants to write.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
Mick Hardin, is an Army CID agent whose current job is to investigate murders. He is stationed in Afghanistan but has returned to Morehead, Kentucky because his wife Peggy is pregnant. Mick’s sister Linda is the sheriff in Morehead. Mick and Peggy have issues, and while they work out a resolution Linda asks for Mick’s help in finding out who killed Nonnie Johnson whose body was found dumped in the woods. Between his wife and the murder, Mick winds up overstaying his leave of absence, thus adding one more complication to his life.
This was a compelling mystery, but the intertwined relationships of the people of Morehead were even more interesting. The author created colorful and realistic characters. People don’t waste words and learn a lot from family connections. “Who’s your people? ‘I’m a Mullins. Bowling on the other side.’ ‘Where you headed?’ ‘Up the road a piece. Third holler down, make a right.’” I loved Mick who is intelligent, skilled, compassionate and complex. I also love this author and I hope he writes another book featuring Mick, but I’ll read whatever he wants to write.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
September 8, 2025
The Killing Hills is a fresh, exciting and suspenseful novel in which Chris Offutt seamlessly threads multiple storylines together all throughout. It all begins with main character Mick Hardin - just granted a short leave of absence from active duty in the army - returning to his childhood hometown in the Kentucky backwoods.
Mick's sister Linda is the new sheriff town, and she has sent urgent news to his overseas post stating that his wife is very pregnant and due to give birth any day. In addition, she informs him she has a homicide case which would benefit greatly from his expertise and skills.
We learn about Mick's complicated relationship with his wife, Peggy, as well as his family and childhood. We also go along on an exciting and twisty path through the Kentucky backwoods as Mick, Linda and Co. find themselves constantly working to overcome one roadblock after another in their quest to solve the homicide and bring the murderer to justice.
The highly satisfying ending ties all the loose together so perfectly that none of my niggling questions were left unanswered. Looking forward to starting Shifty's Boys, book #2 in the Mick Hardin series.
Mick's sister Linda is the new sheriff town, and she has sent urgent news to his overseas post stating that his wife is very pregnant and due to give birth any day. In addition, she informs him she has a homicide case which would benefit greatly from his expertise and skills.
We learn about Mick's complicated relationship with his wife, Peggy, as well as his family and childhood. We also go along on an exciting and twisty path through the Kentucky backwoods as Mick, Linda and Co. find themselves constantly working to overcome one roadblock after another in their quest to solve the homicide and bring the murderer to justice.
The highly satisfying ending ties all the loose together so perfectly that none of my niggling questions were left unanswered. Looking forward to starting Shifty's Boys, book #2 in the Mick Hardin series.
June 27, 2022
I really enjoyed this book a lot. Mick Hardin is a great protagonist and Chris Offutt writes beautifully. The settings are particularly well done. I'm too slammed this week to write a decent review, but fortunately a number of others have already written excellent reviews of the book. In particular, look for Kemper's, which was at the head of the list when I checked.
July 5, 2021
Mick's sister placed a phone call to him while he was in Germany. (stationed there as a CID agent) She has recently been appointed sheriff back in their small Kentucky hometown and she needs to let him know that his wife has been keeping a secret. The wife is pregnant.
Mick takes leave and returns to the Kentucky hills....and dude the descriptions that Chris Offutt gives of this area is glorious. Read this book just for that alone if you must.
When he gets there his sister needs his help. An old guy was out in the woods gathering some ginseng and he stumbled on a body.
Both storylines of this story are so good. The who done it part and Mick's personal life. I could not decide which I liked best.
I actually liked this book so much that I read it in two days and if you have been following me the last year or so-you know that is a dang miracle.
The only thing that earned this book a four instead of that five star is that I was still wanting more of it to the point when it ended quickly I was pissed off.
But Chris Offutt might just be superman because he did write one that was perfection. Country Dark.
Book source: Netgalley in exchange for review.
Mick takes leave and returns to the Kentucky hills....and dude the descriptions that Chris Offutt gives of this area is glorious. Read this book just for that alone if you must.
When he gets there his sister needs his help. An old guy was out in the woods gathering some ginseng and he stumbled on a body.
Both storylines of this story are so good. The who done it part and Mick's personal life. I could not decide which I liked best.
I actually liked this book so much that I read it in two days and if you have been following me the last year or so-you know that is a dang miracle.
The only thing that earned this book a four instead of that five star is that I was still wanting more of it to the point when it ended quickly I was pissed off.
But Chris Offutt might just be superman because he did write one that was perfection. Country Dark.
Book source: Netgalley in exchange for review.
January 19, 2025
"Volvió junto a la planta de ginseng y se arrodilló en la marga. Perforó la tierra con su viejo cuchillo militar y removió la hoja hasta que pudo extraer la joven planta. El ginseng no se trasplantaba bien, pero mejor eso a dejarlo allí y que lo pisoteara toda la gente que se presentaría a retirar el cadáver.
Era un bonito lugar para morir".
Dice la sinopsis:
Mick Hardin, veterano de guerra y agente de la División de Investigación Criminal del ejército en Alemania, regresa de permiso a su Kentucky natal porque su mujer está a punto de dar a luz. Poco después de llegar, su hermana Linda, sheriff del condado, le pide ayuda para resolver el primer caso de asesinato al que se enfrenta: el anciano señor Tucker, antiguo conserje de la escuela, ha encontrado el cuerpo de una mujer en Choctaw Ridge, una zona boscosa de difícil acceso. Buen conocedor del lugar y de sus gentes, Mick hará todo lo posible para dar con el asesino antes de que la familia de la víctima se tome la justicia por su mano, algo habitual en la región que suele engendrar una prolongada espiral de violencia y muerte.
Mis impresiones.
Chris Offutt, que ya me conquistó hace tiempo con su libro de relatos "Kentucky seco", lo ha vuelto a hacer ahora. "Los cerros de la muerte" es la primera de una serie de tres novelas autoconclusivas protagonizadas por Mick Hardin, que se podrían encuadrar como negra rural de corte realista. Está bien escrita, con una prosa sencilla pero envolvente y buenos diálogos. Los capítulos son cortos y el ritmo ágil.
Aviso a navegantes. No estamos ante un thriller trepidante cargado de intriga y tensión. Si es eso lo que esperamos mejor no acercarse a este libro. El crimen pasa pronto a ser algo secundario y la investigación, muy sencilla, un mero pretexto para mostrar el lugar, sus normas y sus gentes. De hecho esto último es lo que hace que esta obra brille con luz propia.
Se ambienta en una localidad de los Apalaches del Kentucky rural. Las casas están desperdigadas por la montaña, alejadas unas de otras. La mayoría de las familias llevan siglos habitando allí lo que ha creado un fuerte sentido de pertenencia y por ende de exclusión de todo aquel que no desciende de ellos. Un hábitat duro que engendra gente dura. Los cerros tienen sus propias leyes, sus propios códigos del honor que anteponen al cumplimiento de las leyes federales. La venganza, el ojo por ojo, es uno de ellos.
Los personajes están bien perfilados. Destacan los hermanos Hardin, especialmente Mick, con una vida personal complicada, pero sin traumas ni TOCs. Con respecto al resto, la cita inicial de esta reseña refleja la forma de ser de los habitantes de los cerros mucho mejor que cualquier descripción que se pueda hacer.
Me ha gustado el desenlace, la manera en la que Hardin "arregla" el desaguisado. Se nota que es de allí y conoce los códigos. Ningún investigador de fuera lo hubiera podido entender.
En conclusión. Una novela negra que trasciende al crimen en sí para mostrarnos un lugar duro, habitado por gentes que se rigen por sus propios códigos. Leeré las dos que me quedan. Recomendable.
Era un bonito lugar para morir".
Dice la sinopsis:
Mick Hardin, veterano de guerra y agente de la División de Investigación Criminal del ejército en Alemania, regresa de permiso a su Kentucky natal porque su mujer está a punto de dar a luz. Poco después de llegar, su hermana Linda, sheriff del condado, le pide ayuda para resolver el primer caso de asesinato al que se enfrenta: el anciano señor Tucker, antiguo conserje de la escuela, ha encontrado el cuerpo de una mujer en Choctaw Ridge, una zona boscosa de difícil acceso. Buen conocedor del lugar y de sus gentes, Mick hará todo lo posible para dar con el asesino antes de que la familia de la víctima se tome la justicia por su mano, algo habitual en la región que suele engendrar una prolongada espiral de violencia y muerte.
Mis impresiones.
Chris Offutt, que ya me conquistó hace tiempo con su libro de relatos "Kentucky seco", lo ha vuelto a hacer ahora. "Los cerros de la muerte" es la primera de una serie de tres novelas autoconclusivas protagonizadas por Mick Hardin, que se podrían encuadrar como negra rural de corte realista. Está bien escrita, con una prosa sencilla pero envolvente y buenos diálogos. Los capítulos son cortos y el ritmo ágil.
Aviso a navegantes. No estamos ante un thriller trepidante cargado de intriga y tensión. Si es eso lo que esperamos mejor no acercarse a este libro. El crimen pasa pronto a ser algo secundario y la investigación, muy sencilla, un mero pretexto para mostrar el lugar, sus normas y sus gentes. De hecho esto último es lo que hace que esta obra brille con luz propia.
Se ambienta en una localidad de los Apalaches del Kentucky rural. Las casas están desperdigadas por la montaña, alejadas unas de otras. La mayoría de las familias llevan siglos habitando allí lo que ha creado un fuerte sentido de pertenencia y por ende de exclusión de todo aquel que no desciende de ellos. Un hábitat duro que engendra gente dura. Los cerros tienen sus propias leyes, sus propios códigos del honor que anteponen al cumplimiento de las leyes federales. La venganza, el ojo por ojo, es uno de ellos.
Los personajes están bien perfilados. Destacan los hermanos Hardin, especialmente Mick, con una vida personal complicada, pero sin traumas ni TOCs. Con respecto al resto, la cita inicial de esta reseña refleja la forma de ser de los habitantes de los cerros mucho mejor que cualquier descripción que se pueda hacer.
Me ha gustado el desenlace, la manera en la que Hardin "arregla" el desaguisado. Se nota que es de allí y conoce los códigos. Ningún investigador de fuera lo hubiera podido entender.
En conclusión. Una novela negra que trasciende al crimen en sí para mostrarnos un lugar duro, habitado por gentes que se rigen por sus propios códigos. Leeré las dos que me quedan. Recomendable.
February 25, 2021
Aaaahh, I just admire Chris Offutt's ability to capture a specific place - this guy manages to turn his home state of Kentucky into a main character without glorifying it or reducing it to its stereotypes. This suspense novel might not be as phenomenal as Offutt's masterpiece of social realism, Country Dark, but I was so entertained that I couldn't put it down and read the whole thing in one sitting.
Our protagonist Mick Harding, a war veteran and Army CID agent, is currently AWOL and home in Kentucky where his wife is about to give birth and his sister who has recently risen to sheriff is in trouble. A woman has been pushed to her death, and the sister investigates the murder in which the FBI takes a perplexing interest. But it takes people who know the hills and the families who populate them to find out what happened, to uncover a betrayal and to stop the chain of revenge that has been set in motion. Meanwhile, Mick and his wife are struggling because of another kind of betrayal that threatens to tear them apart...
There are parts of this novel that aren't particularly believable, especially the authority that Mick, a visiting soldier, gains in the investigation. But Offutt knows genre, and he plays with that knowledge: Mick is the Appalachian version of a noir investigator, and as he roams the hollers and questions his suspects, he is just fun to behold in all his hardboiled glory. The dialogue, the scene-setting, the depiction of values and worldviews are rendered in an almost musical way, it sucks the reader right in.
Offutt has all my respect for writing about a region that is so often overlooked or depicted in a stereotypical way. He is an engaging, intelligent author, and I can't wait to read his next effort.
Our protagonist Mick Harding, a war veteran and Army CID agent, is currently AWOL and home in Kentucky where his wife is about to give birth and his sister who has recently risen to sheriff is in trouble. A woman has been pushed to her death, and the sister investigates the murder in which the FBI takes a perplexing interest. But it takes people who know the hills and the families who populate them to find out what happened, to uncover a betrayal and to stop the chain of revenge that has been set in motion. Meanwhile, Mick and his wife are struggling because of another kind of betrayal that threatens to tear them apart...
There are parts of this novel that aren't particularly believable, especially the authority that Mick, a visiting soldier, gains in the investigation. But Offutt knows genre, and he plays with that knowledge: Mick is the Appalachian version of a noir investigator, and as he roams the hollers and questions his suspects, he is just fun to behold in all his hardboiled glory. The dialogue, the scene-setting, the depiction of values and worldviews are rendered in an almost musical way, it sucks the reader right in.
Offutt has all my respect for writing about a region that is so often overlooked or depicted in a stereotypical way. He is an engaging, intelligent author, and I can't wait to read his next effort.
July 27, 2021
Do What Has To Be Done.
Imma steal a line from my best pal’s recent playbook and simply state . . . .
Hot damn but do I love some hick lit!
The story here is about Mick, an Army CID agent on leave who returns to his hometown to discover a baby he ain’t so positive he should be happy about and his newly elected sheriff sister dealing with a dead body an old ‘seng hunter happened to stumble upon out in the woods. Now it’s a game of beat the clock to solve the case while keeping the Feds at bay and doing so without raising the body count unless it’s absolutely necessary.
This book was dang near perfect for me. I mean what’s not to like?????
Chris Offut got himself on my radar with Country Dark. This latest release has made him an auto request.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!
Imma steal a line from my best pal’s recent playbook and simply state . . . .
Hot damn but do I love some hick lit!
The story here is about Mick, an Army CID agent on leave who returns to his hometown to discover a baby he ain’t so positive he should be happy about and his newly elected sheriff sister dealing with a dead body an old ‘seng hunter happened to stumble upon out in the woods. Now it’s a game of beat the clock to solve the case while keeping the Feds at bay and doing so without raising the body count unless it’s absolutely necessary.
This book was dang near perfect for me. I mean what’s not to like?????
Chris Offut got himself on my radar with Country Dark. This latest release has made him an auto request.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!
October 21, 2021
Chris Offutt has introduced readers to a new favorite protagonist in The Killing Hills. Mick Hardin is from a small, hill town in the hollers of Eastern Kentucky. He has spent the past 15 years in the Army whose current job is CID, homicide investigator. Home on leave with a pregnant wife and a marriage in jeopardy, Mick gets involved in helping his sister, the county sheriff, with a murder investigation. Offutt draws you in from the beginning with his descriptive prose and knowledge of the hills and this particular area. It drew me in immediately as this region is where I grew up. Offutt's Kentucky is much different than my own, however, I appreciate his ability to draw on the things that would endear a fellow Kentuckian to his story with a nod of understanding as if his experiences were also my own.
Mick missed the swapping culture of the hills. Prolonged negotiations provided men an opportunity to display their knowledge without being show-offs. His grandfather could take a cheap pocketknife to a swap-meet and come home with livestock.
Mick’s no nonsense ability to get at the truth leaves much to be admired. He really knows how to get the information that the people in the hollers don’t want known. He has a real sense for these people’s attitudes, behaviors and intentions. Here in the hills, people are loyal to their own and will easily betray the ones who they have no obligation toward protecting. Suspicions abound in a community where an outsider needs to prove who his people are.
There are other great characters such as Shifty Kissick, a woman no one wants to mess with and everyone respects. Johnny Boy Tolliver is the sheriff’s deputy who provides some humorous commentary. Offutt’s humor is strewn throughout like the ginseng in the hills. One particular incident involves an ornery mule, naturally.
This is a fast-paced and completely satisfying read and knowing that Offutt has written a sequel makes me happy!
She nodded, thinking that men never got over their obsession with sports. The town of Rocksalt had gray-headed men who met at a liquor store to drink beer and trade on the glory of their high school exploits. Every time a customer entered they turned their heads in tandem, hoping it was someone who’d remember them.
His eyes glittered with a buried intelligence, a trait Mick had as well. People in the hills learned early to conceal how smart they were.
He waited in the truck and watched for dogs. People unaccustomed to visitors in an unknown vehicle were capable of greeting a stranger with a weapon.
Appalachian people lived by old codes that compelled them to take action. Affronts were always personal. Acts of vengeance maintained themselves through generations.
Mick missed the swapping culture of the hills. Prolonged negotiations provided men an opportunity to display their knowledge without being show-offs. His grandfather could take a cheap pocketknife to a swap-meet and come home with livestock.
Mick’s no nonsense ability to get at the truth leaves much to be admired. He really knows how to get the information that the people in the hollers don’t want known. He has a real sense for these people’s attitudes, behaviors and intentions. Here in the hills, people are loyal to their own and will easily betray the ones who they have no obligation toward protecting. Suspicions abound in a community where an outsider needs to prove who his people are.
There are other great characters such as Shifty Kissick, a woman no one wants to mess with and everyone respects. Johnny Boy Tolliver is the sheriff’s deputy who provides some humorous commentary. Offutt’s humor is strewn throughout like the ginseng in the hills. One particular incident involves an ornery mule, naturally.
This is a fast-paced and completely satisfying read and knowing that Offutt has written a sequel makes me happy!
She nodded, thinking that men never got over their obsession with sports. The town of Rocksalt had gray-headed men who met at a liquor store to drink beer and trade on the glory of their high school exploits. Every time a customer entered they turned their heads in tandem, hoping it was someone who’d remember them.
His eyes glittered with a buried intelligence, a trait Mick had as well. People in the hills learned early to conceal how smart they were.
He waited in the truck and watched for dogs. People unaccustomed to visitors in an unknown vehicle were capable of greeting a stranger with a weapon.
Appalachian people lived by old codes that compelled them to take action. Affronts were always personal. Acts of vengeance maintained themselves through generations.
July 27, 2021
Mick Hardin, an Army CID agent, is home in Eastern Kentucky to work out problems with his wife. His sister, a novice sheriff, encounters her first homicide investigation and enlists Mick's help. She's getting political pressure from a prominent politician who is trying to steer the investigation to protect someone. Mick is familiar with the town and the family loyalty of the various clans living there. He heads out in his grandfather's old pickup to question people in the hidden hollers. The Appalachian families have a history of taking revenge for killings and other affronts, and they have memories that go back generations.
Eastern Kentucky is a rural area of natural beauty, extreme poverty, and a lack of opportunity. Author Chris Offut has his roots there, and turns the setting into a strong presence throughout the book. Offut also writes for TV series, and is a master of snappy dialogue. Bits of humor lighten up the darkness of the story. "The Killing Hills" is such an engaging book that I hope there will be a sequel.
Eastern Kentucky is a rural area of natural beauty, extreme poverty, and a lack of opportunity. Author Chris Offut has his roots there, and turns the setting into a strong presence throughout the book. Offut also writes for TV series, and is a master of snappy dialogue. Bits of humor lighten up the darkness of the story. "The Killing Hills" is such an engaging book that I hope there will be a sequel.
September 27, 2021
4 🥃 🥃 🥃 🥃
Chris Offutt does not churn out books. He likes to take his time in the writing and the telling. His words and style alone make it worth yours.
I love this genre and would agree that the southern grits which are so addictive are often bubbling over, and we like it.
Offutt is able to serve up Appalachia with credibility, entertainment which honors the culture, and true to life characters you can set yourself down with a spell—well not all of them.
Southern lit almost demands that a mule should factor in somewhere and the tie in here gets the redneck first place prize.
Just when I was thinking it was plain to see how it would come together, it went down another road and took me by surprise.
This is one for those who favor a fine sipping whiskey verses a straight shot or enough beers to last the night with toasts along the line of
May we never go to hell but always be on our way 🍻
Chris Offutt does not churn out books. He likes to take his time in the writing and the telling. His words and style alone make it worth yours.
I love this genre and would agree that the southern grits which are so addictive are often bubbling over, and we like it.
Offutt is able to serve up Appalachia with credibility, entertainment which honors the culture, and true to life characters you can set yourself down with a spell—well not all of them.
Southern lit almost demands that a mule should factor in somewhere and the tie in here gets the redneck first place prize.
Just when I was thinking it was plain to see how it would come together, it went down another road and took me by surprise.
This is one for those who favor a fine sipping whiskey verses a straight shot or enough beers to last the night with toasts along the line of
May we never go to hell but always be on our way 🍻
April 21, 2022
Every child learned the words: "As we forgive those who trespass against us," a strong and generous message that neglected to include a timeframe. In the hills it was handier to forgive trespassers after killing them.
Offutt, one of my favorite authors, presents a solid whodunnit with country noir undertones. An AWOL MP helps the sheriff, who's also his sister, solve the murder of a local woman. Seems simple enough, but when you're dealing with "hill folk" it can be a deadly business.
I can't wait for the next book in the series.
Offutt, one of my favorite authors, presents a solid whodunnit with country noir undertones. An AWOL MP helps the sheriff, who's also his sister, solve the murder of a local woman. Seems simple enough, but when you're dealing with "hill folk" it can be a deadly business.
I can't wait for the next book in the series.
March 16, 2023
Los cerros de la muerte
Novela corta sobre la vida en una zona perdida de los Apalaches en Kentucky, tierra de Bourbon y destilaciones clandestinas de alcohol. Un militar, que sirve en Europa como investigador en el ejército, vuelve a su pueblo donde su hermana es sheriff . Ésta, le pide ayuda para resolver un crimen ocurrido unos días antes.
Y esa es la excusa para escribir esta novelita y también sirve para hablar de la forma de vida del lugar. Para describir la naturaleza nombrando los árboles y animales que pueblan los bosques que el autor tan bien conoce de su infancia.
Un sitio perdido donde todo el mundo se conoce, donde te puedes encontrar con alguien que es pariente tuyo sin saberlo. Donde la gente todavía tiene cabañas en el bosque, además de conducir una camioneta de los años sesenta que perteneció a su abuelo.
Donde las cosas se arreglan entre vecinos, sean pequeñas discusiones o discusiones mortales. Donde los extranjeros no son bienvenidos porque no conocen la historia, ni las costumbres del lugar.
Aquí, las cosas se arreglan a la antigua usanza, no hace falta ningún federal para tocar las narices.
Pues eso es, novelita simple para contar las cosas simples y no tan simples.
Novela corta sobre la vida en una zona perdida de los Apalaches en Kentucky, tierra de Bourbon y destilaciones clandestinas de alcohol. Un militar, que sirve en Europa como investigador en el ejército, vuelve a su pueblo donde su hermana es sheriff . Ésta, le pide ayuda para resolver un crimen ocurrido unos días antes.
Y esa es la excusa para escribir esta novelita y también sirve para hablar de la forma de vida del lugar. Para describir la naturaleza nombrando los árboles y animales que pueblan los bosques que el autor tan bien conoce de su infancia.
Un sitio perdido donde todo el mundo se conoce, donde te puedes encontrar con alguien que es pariente tuyo sin saberlo. Donde la gente todavía tiene cabañas en el bosque, además de conducir una camioneta de los años sesenta que perteneció a su abuelo.
Donde las cosas se arreglan entre vecinos, sean pequeñas discusiones o discusiones mortales. Donde los extranjeros no son bienvenidos porque no conocen la historia, ni las costumbres del lugar.
Aquí, las cosas se arreglan a la antigua usanza, no hace falta ningún federal para tocar las narices.
Pues eso es, novelita simple para contar las cosas simples y no tan simples.
September 2, 2021
3.8*
Quick, immersive read about a murder investigation and community justice delivered fresh. When a woman's body is discovered in a remote area in Appalachia the newly installed sheriff is over her head. Conveniently, her brother, Mick is an investigator for the Army is home visiting his pregnant wife (who never notified him of the situation. Together, they work their connections, with Mick conducting interviews with those on this mountain and close relatives. An intriguing mystery is unraveled as a result of Mick's clever reading of people and nature.
I loved to watch Mick take control and piece the events before, during and after the event along with the red herrings that surfaced and the motives of powerful people behind a coverup. I plan to read future installments of Mick's crime solving as this was so well done, much better than many crime novels.
My only issue was the lack of punctuation which made for confusing dialogue. There were times, I read a passage repeatedly trying to ascertain who was talking and this ruined the flow of the story particularly when the situation was intense and rapidly moving. Otherwise, Mr. Offutt created a well executed story.
Quick, immersive read about a murder investigation and community justice delivered fresh. When a woman's body is discovered in a remote area in Appalachia the newly installed sheriff is over her head. Conveniently, her brother, Mick is an investigator for the Army is home visiting his pregnant wife (who never notified him of the situation. Together, they work their connections, with Mick conducting interviews with those on this mountain and close relatives. An intriguing mystery is unraveled as a result of Mick's clever reading of people and nature.
I loved to watch Mick take control and piece the events before, during and after the event along with the red herrings that surfaced and the motives of powerful people behind a coverup. I plan to read future installments of Mick's crime solving as this was so well done, much better than many crime novels.
My only issue was the lack of punctuation which made for confusing dialogue. There were times, I read a passage repeatedly trying to ascertain who was talking and this ruined the flow of the story particularly when the situation was intense and rapidly moving. Otherwise, Mr. Offutt created a well executed story.
October 14, 2021
A most excellent read. Not entirely perfect but damn close.
More detail tomorrow when I have a keyboard. 4.5 stars rounded up for the incredible descriptive simile, metaphor, word order placement of the locale.
Later:
The plot is fitting for the locale. Completely. Blood issue being most important loyalty and identity in all regards factor. But the language! His collar was so high that he only could see at high noon. It was such an uphill climb that your nose got scratched. The read is absolutely delightful in cadence too. No tells at all. Read this serviceman's "home place" trip AWOL visit yourself.
More detail tomorrow when I have a keyboard. 4.5 stars rounded up for the incredible descriptive simile, metaphor, word order placement of the locale.
Later:
The plot is fitting for the locale. Completely. Blood issue being most important loyalty and identity in all regards factor. But the language! His collar was so high that he only could see at high noon. It was such an uphill climb that your nose got scratched. The read is absolutely delightful in cadence too. No tells at all. Read this serviceman's "home place" trip AWOL visit yourself.
October 23, 2021
The Killing Hills is my first Chris Offutt novel, but definitely not my last. What a genuine student of Southern Gothic he is, bringing the hills of Kentucky alive, with all the things that are endearing, like strong family ties, and scary, like clan revenge. Mick Hardin, our protagonist, has a love/hate relationship with his hometown and by the end of the novel, so did I.
I have been reading a lot of heavy material lately--The Henrys, James and Fielding--and this novel was like a breath of fresh air. It was fast-paced, intriguing, and unpredictable. As exciting as the story was, it was the character development that won me and kept me in for the ride. I closed the book wanting more of Mick Hardin.
I have had Chris Offutt on my TBR for years, one of those authors I could just never seem to make time for. That won’t be a problem in the future, because I am excited for the next installment in this trilogy, which is due out at the beginning of 2022, and it will be on my wishlist.
I have been reading a lot of heavy material lately--The Henrys, James and Fielding--and this novel was like a breath of fresh air. It was fast-paced, intriguing, and unpredictable. As exciting as the story was, it was the character development that won me and kept me in for the ride. I closed the book wanting more of Mick Hardin.
I have had Chris Offutt on my TBR for years, one of those authors I could just never seem to make time for. That won’t be a problem in the future, because I am excited for the next installment in this trilogy, which is due out at the beginning of 2022, and it will be on my wishlist.
February 19, 2022
You get the feeling Offutt writes country noir because it comes natural, not for any other reason. The Killing Hills is a tightly woven narrative set in Kentucky hill country where you are judged on your family name. It’s a remote place where people just want to be left on their own even if they are up to no good. Mick Hardin grew up there although he hasn’t spent much of his adult life there. Mick has been an Army CID Officer, and has spent his life in Iraq, Afghanistan, and all the other tourist hot spots. He barely unpacks when he’s home and Peggy is not unaware of that. Mick is back at his sister’s instigation, finding that his wife is pregnant and trying to work the math and assure himself it adds up right.
What Offutt does so well here is he offers parallel tensions between Mick’s precarious marriage and his sort of unofficial deputy to his sister, the county sheriff. Mick’s skill is that he can navigate between the rule book and the backwoods attitudes which say an eye for an eye and the blood feud continues. A truly interesting character who could be the foundation of a series.
What Offutt does so well here is he offers parallel tensions between Mick’s precarious marriage and his sort of unofficial deputy to his sister, the county sheriff. Mick’s skill is that he can navigate between the rule book and the backwoods attitudes which say an eye for an eye and the blood feud continues. A truly interesting character who could be the foundation of a series.
January 25, 2023
Enjoyable and engaging thriller populated with likable characters and the always interesting locale of backwoods Kentucky.
The first entry in the Mick Hardin series which I look forward to following.
You can find more verbose reviews which will supply you with more information on the plot elsewhere on Goodreads.
I enjoyed the book and the assorted plot complications.
Recommended.
The first entry in the Mick Hardin series which I look forward to following.
You can find more verbose reviews which will supply you with more information on the plot elsewhere on Goodreads.
I enjoyed the book and the assorted plot complications.
Recommended.
February 6, 2023
After reading a full slate of Appalachian books chock full of dour, joyless characters, I found Chris Offutt's writing delightful. The characters weren't necessarily less dour or joyless than characters in other books, but Offutt seems to recall that, once in a while, we all need to laugh.
July 16, 2022
"-Un bonito lugar con una historia dura.
- No hay una sola montaña por aquí de la que no se pueda decir lo mismo."
El protagonista de Los Cerros de la Muerte es Mick Harding, un investigador de delitos del ejército que se ve obligado a regresar a casa, a Kentucky, por una emergencia familiar. Una vez allí, su hermana Linda, sheriff de la ciudad, le pide ayuda para resolver el asesinato de una mujer cuyo cuerpo fue encontrado en el bosque. La vida familiar de Mick se está resquebrajando y quizá el sumergirse en esta investigación criminal le ayudará a alejar sus demonios internos.
"-¿Te gusta beber bourbon y dormir bajo la lluvia?
-Si.
- ¿Por qué?
- Porque en Irak, Afganistan y Siria no pude hacerlo. No había bourbon. Ni lluvia."
Este es el comienzo de una novela, a la que se podría considerar un rural noir puro y duro algo alejada de lo anterior que leí suyo pero no del todo porque aderezado por ese estilo tan particular suyo, de frases cortas, de ritmo pausado y momentos realmente poéticos conectados con la naturaleza, notamos que realmente no es una novela tan diferente a sus otras obras: el componente humano y la naturaleza, están a la par del argumento criminal, casi ensombreciéndolo. Offutt ha creado en Mick Harding un personaje que entiende a la perfección los códigos de la tierra, la dureza de las montañas, de estos cerros donde la mayoría de los personajes se refugian en un intento por camuflarse con el propio paisaje. Harding es un personaje que aunque está de parte de la ley, entiende ese componente humano que obliga a estos personajes a actuar buscando una justicia que parece provenir de las mismas montañas.
"Mick se dirigió a su camioneta y condujo lo más despacio posible, obligándose a admirar las montañas, las flores de los jardines, los árboles ornamentales plantados junto a las casas. Una tenía un enrejado cubierto de campanillas. Era una calle bonita. Con el tiempo superaría el asesinato, pero no la tala indiscriminada de las laderas."
Y la tierra de Kentucky vuelve a ser un personaje más, a veces cruel y desolador y otras totalmente justo. La tierra de la que nos habla Offutt con sus bosques salvajes y sus cerros vengativos y despiadados, es también una tierra que ayuda a sus habitantes a sobrevivir si buscan en la esencia de la tierra. Cuando Chris Offutt describe la tierra es todo real y tangible, y el lector lo percibe como si estuviera allí. Con Los Cerros de la Muerte Offutt ha creado una vez más una novela atmosférica y repleta de momentos donde sus personajes vuelven a hablarnos de lo que es formar parte de la otra América, la olvidada, la despiada pero también la más humana, y Offutt la entiende como nadie.
Los Cerros de la Muerte es la primera de una trilogia, todas ambientadas en Kentucky protagonizadas por Mick Harding. Gracias a Sajalín, por traernos esta novela tan pronto, a la velocidad de la luz. Esperando la segunda con los brazos abiertos. (La traducción es de Javier Lucini)
“- Llegó temprano – dijo Mick – Para poder ver bien las plantas.
- Aldrededor de una media hora después del amanecer. Si llegas un poco antes está demasiado oscuro. El sol tiene que situarse lo bastante alto sobre el cerro para alcanzar el fondo de las laderas. Como esperes demasiado no darás con ellas, por la sombra."
https://kansasbooks.blogspot.com/2021...
- No hay una sola montaña por aquí de la que no se pueda decir lo mismo."
El protagonista de Los Cerros de la Muerte es Mick Harding, un investigador de delitos del ejército que se ve obligado a regresar a casa, a Kentucky, por una emergencia familiar. Una vez allí, su hermana Linda, sheriff de la ciudad, le pide ayuda para resolver el asesinato de una mujer cuyo cuerpo fue encontrado en el bosque. La vida familiar de Mick se está resquebrajando y quizá el sumergirse en esta investigación criminal le ayudará a alejar sus demonios internos.
"-¿Te gusta beber bourbon y dormir bajo la lluvia?
-Si.
- ¿Por qué?
- Porque en Irak, Afganistan y Siria no pude hacerlo. No había bourbon. Ni lluvia."
Este es el comienzo de una novela, a la que se podría considerar un rural noir puro y duro algo alejada de lo anterior que leí suyo pero no del todo porque aderezado por ese estilo tan particular suyo, de frases cortas, de ritmo pausado y momentos realmente poéticos conectados con la naturaleza, notamos que realmente no es una novela tan diferente a sus otras obras: el componente humano y la naturaleza, están a la par del argumento criminal, casi ensombreciéndolo. Offutt ha creado en Mick Harding un personaje que entiende a la perfección los códigos de la tierra, la dureza de las montañas, de estos cerros donde la mayoría de los personajes se refugian en un intento por camuflarse con el propio paisaje. Harding es un personaje que aunque está de parte de la ley, entiende ese componente humano que obliga a estos personajes a actuar buscando una justicia que parece provenir de las mismas montañas.
"Mick se dirigió a su camioneta y condujo lo más despacio posible, obligándose a admirar las montañas, las flores de los jardines, los árboles ornamentales plantados junto a las casas. Una tenía un enrejado cubierto de campanillas. Era una calle bonita. Con el tiempo superaría el asesinato, pero no la tala indiscriminada de las laderas."
Y la tierra de Kentucky vuelve a ser un personaje más, a veces cruel y desolador y otras totalmente justo. La tierra de la que nos habla Offutt con sus bosques salvajes y sus cerros vengativos y despiadados, es también una tierra que ayuda a sus habitantes a sobrevivir si buscan en la esencia de la tierra. Cuando Chris Offutt describe la tierra es todo real y tangible, y el lector lo percibe como si estuviera allí. Con Los Cerros de la Muerte Offutt ha creado una vez más una novela atmosférica y repleta de momentos donde sus personajes vuelven a hablarnos de lo que es formar parte de la otra América, la olvidada, la despiada pero también la más humana, y Offutt la entiende como nadie.
Los Cerros de la Muerte es la primera de una trilogia, todas ambientadas en Kentucky protagonizadas por Mick Harding. Gracias a Sajalín, por traernos esta novela tan pronto, a la velocidad de la luz. Esperando la segunda con los brazos abiertos. (La traducción es de Javier Lucini)
“- Llegó temprano – dijo Mick – Para poder ver bien las plantas.
- Aldrededor de una media hora después del amanecer. Si llegas un poco antes está demasiado oscuro. El sol tiene que situarse lo bastante alto sobre el cerro para alcanzar el fondo de las laderas. Como esperes demasiado no darás con ellas, por la sombra."
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December 6, 2020
With the Kentucky backwoods as the backdrop for the story, The Killing HIlls takes the reader into a world most have never experienced. Offutt’s descriptions of the Appalachians and the people who inhabit the area were so powerful, I almost felt I was there. It’s a beautiful place, but behind all that beauty is poverty, secrecy, loyalty, kinship, betrayal, and now murder. It includes a fascinating cast of local characters, and the reader is left wondering which of them might be the murderer.
Home on leave to confront his wife, Mick Hardin, Army CID Agent, gets caught up helping his sister, the local sheriff, solve a murder mystery. Can he solve the mystery and fix his own personal problems all before his commanding officer orders him back to duty? The ending was surprising, and I laughed out loud.
I enjoyed this book, and thank the publisher, Grove Press, and Net Galley for the opportunity to read it. I gave it four stars.
Home on leave to confront his wife, Mick Hardin, Army CID Agent, gets caught up helping his sister, the local sheriff, solve a murder mystery. Can he solve the mystery and fix his own personal problems all before his commanding officer orders him back to duty? The ending was surprising, and I laughed out loud.
I enjoyed this book, and thank the publisher, Grove Press, and Net Galley for the opportunity to read it. I gave it four stars.
June 11, 2024
Ooooooh, I'm obsessed!! From the setting to the atmosphere, the writing, the story and the characters, everything was right up my alley. Chef's kiss.
It's a super short read/listen, but extremely entertaining. The author did a really good job with developing the characters, he made me care for them all in a short amount of time. I'll be jumping into book two soon, I'm glad it, along with book three, is already out so I don't have to wait.
I feel like if you happen to love James Lee Burke or Eli Cranor, you'll love Chris Offutt too. This was my first book by him, but definitely not the last. I feel lucky that my library has the audiobooks, it's an even better way to experience the story.
It's a super short read/listen, but extremely entertaining. The author did a really good job with developing the characters, he made me care for them all in a short amount of time. I'll be jumping into book two soon, I'm glad it, along with book three, is already out so I don't have to wait.
I feel like if you happen to love James Lee Burke or Eli Cranor, you'll love Chris Offutt too. This was my first book by him, but definitely not the last. I feel lucky that my library has the audiobooks, it's an even better way to experience the story.
November 11, 2023
This book is by an author who is new to me. It is the first in the Mick Hardin series. Mick is a combat veteran, and now, Army CID officer, whose sister is the newly appointed sheriff in a small town in the hills of Kentucky facing her first murder case. He is home on leave and anxious to do anything except spend time with his wife.
They have been married for fifteen years but they have spent most of these years apart due to Mick's career in the Army. Now they are faced with a critical decision that will decide their future. Communication between them is challenging.
In the meantime, Mick begins to help his sister with her case and as he runs out of leave, runs the risk of being arrested for going AWOL.
The style of writing has been described elsewhere as "country noir" and I truly enjoyed it. Chris Offutt transports us smack dab in the middle of Kentucky and provides wonderful characterizations. George Newbern narrates the story with aplomb. I plan to read the next volume in the series.
A conversation about getting signal to make a call while in the hills of Kentucky:
"If you stand facing that big walnut," the man said, "then turn a little to your righted take a few steps, you'll get a call through."
"Thanks."
These damn things. First they get you hooked on them. Then they jack the prices higher than a cat's back and change the cords so you got to buy a new one. Then the damn things don't work."
"About like a leash is what it is."
"We used to have a party line," the man said, "Every house up the holler on the same telephone line. Nobody told nobody nothing because everybody else was listening in."
Standout quotes that caught my ears:
Referring to someone's choice of home decor - "All their taste is in their mouths."
"Mick sipped his coffee and grimaced. It must have been percolating all morning, he felt it hit his guts and begin bickering with the leftover whiskey."
I loved this description of a car full of teenagers: "They pulled into a fast food lot and poured from the car like cattle released from a pen. Three boys and three girls. Four had brightly dyed hair. The other two, male and female, wore their hair in short mohawks greased to a woodpecker's crest. In the way of small town rebels everywhere they conformed to each other."
"A mockingbird began calling, the ultimate misfit, it could only copy others and hope for understanding. Mick had felt that way all his life."
Phrase I had to look up: shirt-tail cousin. A Google search revealed my favorite definition - "someone who is distantly related who rides into your family on the shirt-tails of a person who married into the family."
They have been married for fifteen years but they have spent most of these years apart due to Mick's career in the Army. Now they are faced with a critical decision that will decide their future. Communication between them is challenging.
In the meantime, Mick begins to help his sister with her case and as he runs out of leave, runs the risk of being arrested for going AWOL.
The style of writing has been described elsewhere as "country noir" and I truly enjoyed it. Chris Offutt transports us smack dab in the middle of Kentucky and provides wonderful characterizations. George Newbern narrates the story with aplomb. I plan to read the next volume in the series.
A conversation about getting signal to make a call while in the hills of Kentucky:
"If you stand facing that big walnut," the man said, "then turn a little to your righted take a few steps, you'll get a call through."
"Thanks."
These damn things. First they get you hooked on them. Then they jack the prices higher than a cat's back and change the cords so you got to buy a new one. Then the damn things don't work."
"About like a leash is what it is."
"We used to have a party line," the man said, "Every house up the holler on the same telephone line. Nobody told nobody nothing because everybody else was listening in."
Standout quotes that caught my ears:
Referring to someone's choice of home decor - "All their taste is in their mouths."
"Mick sipped his coffee and grimaced. It must have been percolating all morning, he felt it hit his guts and begin bickering with the leftover whiskey."
I loved this description of a car full of teenagers: "They pulled into a fast food lot and poured from the car like cattle released from a pen. Three boys and three girls. Four had brightly dyed hair. The other two, male and female, wore their hair in short mohawks greased to a woodpecker's crest. In the way of small town rebels everywhere they conformed to each other."
"A mockingbird began calling, the ultimate misfit, it could only copy others and hope for understanding. Mick had felt that way all his life."
Phrase I had to look up: shirt-tail cousin. A Google search revealed my favorite definition - "someone who is distantly related who rides into your family on the shirt-tails of a person who married into the family."
June 29, 2021
A strong contender for the best book of the year, fast paced and beautifully written. I love the moody atmosphere and the strong and interesting characters. The Kentucky backdrop is perfect for this story. I highly recommend this book.
June 10, 2021
I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an impartial review.
Much like Australian-noir before it, Appalachian-noir is having a moment and I am a fan. This short novel checks a lot of boxes -- rural Kentucky setting among the hollers, family feuds, cascading acts of violence and revenge -- so many boxes that, at times, it doesn't feel terribly original. Some characters feel real, others feel like offerings from central Hillbilly casting. I often struggle with colloquial speech in novels and this title did not prove an exception. Characters speak in complete, grammatically correct sentences and then throw out heavily accented slang words and it did not feel authentic, only jarring. The plot is fairly basic and well paced. But, in the end, after all the shooting is over, there is no examination, no rumination, no consideration of this geographically-specific area and its propensity for mindless violence and generations of familial acts of revenge.
Much like Australian-noir before it, Appalachian-noir is having a moment and I am a fan. This short novel checks a lot of boxes -- rural Kentucky setting among the hollers, family feuds, cascading acts of violence and revenge -- so many boxes that, at times, it doesn't feel terribly original. Some characters feel real, others feel like offerings from central Hillbilly casting. I often struggle with colloquial speech in novels and this title did not prove an exception. Characters speak in complete, grammatically correct sentences and then throw out heavily accented slang words and it did not feel authentic, only jarring. The plot is fairly basic and well paced. But, in the end, after all the shooting is over, there is no examination, no rumination, no consideration of this geographically-specific area and its propensity for mindless violence and generations of familial acts of revenge.
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