'Beautifully descriptive... Offutts Mick Hardin novels are powerful books that feature characters with questionable ethics' Library Journal 'Righteous Kentucky noir... I gulped it down, relishing the burn' - Ian Rankin on Shiftys Boys 'Another welcome slice of rural Kentucky noir'- The Times UK 'An atmospheric, exquisitely written Southern noir' - Lesa Holstine, Library Journal 'This is a marvellous series These have become must-reads for me and I enjoy every minute of the reading experience' - Deadly Pleasures 'Kentucky noir, with a twist. Or two or threeIt's a pleasure to read, you have a treat in store'- Reckon Review 'A terrific series' - Boston Globe 'It is kinda hard to imagine a suspense novel set in both small-town Kentucky and the French island of Corsica, but Chris Offutt makes it work rather well, actually. ...Offutt toggles between these two distant locales, chapter by chapter ratcheting up the suspense levels until just before the snapping point. A very well-rendered action novel, The Reluctant Sheriff is sure to appeal to Jack Reacher fans' BookPage 'Prepare for some tasty Kentucky noir with the arrival of The Reluctant Sheriff, book four in Chris Offutt's Mick Hardin series... With dubiousness and violence around every corner, Hardin is steadfast in his determination to deliver retribution' Crime Fiction Lover 'For most of its pages, Chris Offutt's The Reluctant Sheriff, the fourth in his Mick Hardin series, runs in two distinct lanes: an eventful southern US noir and an international thriller with the deliberative pacing of a Le Carré...Offutt's vivid writing summons an impressively evocative sense of place and an equally strong ear for all the things his often-laconic characters aren't saying aloud.' Brian Cliff, Irish Times