by Wiley Cash
First published 2021
Sheriff Winston Barnes wakes to the sound of aircraft engines in the North Carolina night. At the local airfield, he discovers a large plane sitting sideways on the runway with no pilot or cargo in sight. Near the crash site lies a dead man, shot through and sprawled on the grass. Winston launches a murder investigation that will upend his small coastal community. Racial tensions that have simmered beneath the surface suddenly boil over as rumors spread and accusations fly. Winston faces challenges from every direction. His re-election campaign pits him against a corrupt opponent while his own deputies pick sides. His daughter Colleen has returned home carrying grief from a devastating loss she struggles to express. Winston carries ghosts of his own, haunted by past decisions that now threaten everything he has worked to protect. As the mystery deepens, Winston must navigate the investigation while confronting both his political survival and his fractured relationship with his daughter.
Genres: mystery, crime, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fractured-relationships, haunted-by-the-past, murder-investigation
Setting: North Carolina
Period: contemporary
290 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow