First published 2008
Reporter Nikki Swagger lies in a coma after someone forced her car off the road. She had been investigating a Southern conspiracy that reaches deep into organized crime and corrupt law enforcement. Her father Bob Lee Swagger arrives to find his daughter clinging to life in a hospital bed. The attack happened during NASCAR week in Bristol, Tennessee, when the small town swells with racing fans and chaos. Nikki had started unraveling connections between an old violent crime family, dirty cops, and a network of gunmen. Now Bob Lee takes up her investigation where she left off. He faces off against Brother Richard, a fire and brimstone preacher who calls himself a "Sinnerman." The conspiracy involves deranged evangelicals and Dixie gangsters nursing old grudges and dysfunction. Bob Lee cuts through their web of corruption with his particular brand of justice. The criminals who targeted his daughter picked the wrong family to cross. Set against the backdrop of NASCAR excitement and small town secrets, this becomes Bob Lee Swagger's most personal fight.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, action
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, personal-vendetta
Setting: Bristol, Tennessee, NASCAR
Period: NASCAR Week
287 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: violence