Even though the corrupt Sheriff Ross is dead and gone, outlaws still walk free, peace comes at a price, and redemption remains hard to find in this fiery and violent novel from the author of The Far Empty.
Sometimes we have to be wolves...
In the wake of Sheriff Stanford Ross's death, former deputy Chris Cherry--now Sheriff Cherry--is the new "law" in Big Bend County, yet he still struggles to escape the long, dark shadow of that infamous lawman. As Chris tries to remake and modernize his corrupt department, bringing in new deputies, including young America Reynosa and Ben Harper--a hard-edged veteran homicide detective now lured out of retirement--he finds himself constantly staring down a town unwilling to change, friends and enemies unable to let go of the past, and the harsh limits of his badge.
But it's only when a local Rio Grande guide is brutally and inexplicably murdered, and America and Ben's ongoing investigation is swept aside by a secretive federal agent, that the novice sheriff truly understands just how tenuous his hold on that badge really is. And as other new threats rise right along with the unforgiving West Texas sun, nothing can prepare Chris for the high cost of crossing dangerous men such as John Wesley Earl, a high-ranking member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas and the patriarch of a murderous clan that's descended on Chris's hometown of Murfee; or Thurman Flowers, a part-time pastor and full-time white supremacist hell-bent on founding his violent Church of Purity in the very heart of the Big Bend.
Before long, Chris, America, and Ben are outmaneuvered, outnumbered, and outgunned--inexorably drawn into a nearly twenty-year vendetta that began with a murdered Texas Ranger on a dusty highway outside of Sweetwater, and that can only end with fire, blood, and bullets in Murfee's own sun-scorched streets...
Welcome back to the Big Bend...
**
Review
*Praise for High White Sun*"The best cop novel Iโve read in years." โ John Sandford
โSuperb . . . combines multifaceted characters with edge-of-the-seat suspense. . . . Scott excels at presenting the juxtaposition of the horrific and the mundane. . . . Ace Atkins fans will relish this gritty crime novel.โโPublishers Weekly (starred review)
โA gripping tale of murder and revenge . . . The descriptions and the characters are exceptional. . . . Tense, brutal, and satisfying for thriller fans.โโKirkus Reviews
โHigh White Sun is a striking novel from one of the most formidable crime writers working today. J. Todd Scott captures the rough beauty of Big Bend, Texas, and the even rougher men and women living on both sides of the law. Whispers of Winslow and McCarthy sound across these pages, but the determining voice is all Scottโs โ specific, lyrical and keen to time and place. This is an authentic contemporary Western in the best sense of the words.โโT. Jefferson Parker, author of *The Room of White Fire
โThis hot blast of desert wind is by turns ruthless and heartfelt, lyrical and violent, and, like all great stories, feels utterly true. J. Todd Scott knows borderland Texas like nobody else, and it shows.โโNick Petrie, author of Light It Up*
Praise for The Far Empty: โJ. Todd Scott's Far Empty is so good I wish Iโd written it. The poetic and bloody ground of west Texas has given birth to a powerful new voice in contemporary western crime fiction.โโCraig Johnson, New York Times-bestselling author of the Walt Longmire Series
โThe rough and bloody borderlands of west Texas provide the backdrop for this rousing debut novel, a hybrid of mystery and contemporary western.โ โThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution
โSmartly captures the vast skies, bleak beauty and unchecked wildness of deepest West Texas . . . Fast-moving . . . Intriguing . . . A frank, unpolished view of life near the border . . . An impressive debutโa memorable story and a rich portrayal of West Texas.โ โHouston Chronicle
About the Author
*Praise for High White Sun*"The best cop novel Iโve read in years." โ John Sandford
โHigh White Sun is a striking novel from one of the most formidable crime writers working today. J. Todd Scott captures the rough beauty of Big Bend, Texas, and the even rougher men and women living on both sides of the law. Whispers of Winslow and McCarthy sound across these pages, but the determining voice is all Scottโs โ specific, lyrical and keen to time and place. This is an authentic contemporary Western in the best sense of the words.โโT. Jefferson Parker, author of *The Room of White Fire
โThis hot blast of desert wind is by turns ruthless and heartfelt, lyrical and violent, and, like all great stories, feels utterly true. J. Todd Scott knows borderland Texas like nobody else, and it shows.โโNick Petrie, author of Light It Up*
Praise for The Far Empty: โJ. Todd Scott's Far Empty is so good I wish Iโd written it. The poetic and bloody ground of west Texas has given birth to a powerful new voice in contemporary western crime fiction.โโCraig Johnson, New York Times-bestselling author of the Walt Longmire Series
โThe rough and bloody borderlands of west Texas provide the backdrop for this rousing debut novel, a hybrid of mystery and contemporary western.โ โThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution
โThis first-time novelistโs familiarity with his setting and its habituรฉs shines through on every page.โ โKirkus Reviews
โSmartly captures the vast skies, bleak beauty and unchecked wildness of deepest West Texas . . . Fast-moving . . . Intriguing . . . A frank, unpolished view of life near the border . . . An impressive debutโa memorable story and a rich portrayal of West Texas.โ โHouston Chronicle
โ[J. Todd Scott]โs career starts with a bang.โ โEl Paso Times
โAn atmospheric noir about drug runners and crooked West Texas border cops written by an exโDEA agent who knows the territory, this debut thriller looks like the real deal . . . Scott juggles his cast of heroic, flawed, and monstrous characters with the skill of a far more experienced writer . . . Scott is, as they say, one to watch.โ โTexas Monthly