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DRY COUNTY

A NOVEL (available 10-1-19)

A dark vision of American religion and politics, Dry County is a portrait of a man willing to do anything to hold on to his power—including murder.

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Richard Weatherford is a successful small-town preacher in the Arkansas Ozarks. He’s a proud husband and father of five, and has worked hard to grow his loyal flock with strong sermons and smart community outreach. But while Weatherford is a man of influence and power—including a big force in local politics—he’s also a man with secrets.

In the lead up to the 2016 presidential election, Weatherford’s world is threatened when he’s blackmailed by a former lover. Collecting the money the blackmailer demands will be a nearly impossible feat, especially over Easter weekend, when all eyes are on him. So Weatherford will have to turn to the darkest corners of their small town in a desperate attempt to keep his world from falling apart.

Exploring a divided country and a cracked façade through the alternating perspectives of Weatherford, his wife, his lover, and other town residents, Dry County is a powerful story about how far some will go to keep hold of all they know—and all that others think them to be.

 

Praise for Jake Hinkson and DRY COUNTY

Reading Jake Hinkson is like watching a wildlife documentary in which the brutality of bad luck unfolds in a split second…  He offers characters we are well acquainted with, then slowly sands down the layers of exterior gloss, exposing the unseen frailties in all of us.

ARKANSAS TIMES

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The worthy heir of Jim Thompson.  

OUEST FRANCE

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This is a writer to watch…

CRIMESPREE MAGAZINE

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Powered by raw emotional intensity and a disturbingly realistic portrayal of small-town America, this story is unforgettable. 

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)

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A model of modern Southern Gothic.

ROLLING STONE (France)

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Hinkson leads his all-too-human hero step by step into a monstrous pool of corruption.

KIRKUS REVIEWS

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Hinkson puts his foot on your throat on the first page and doesn’t let up. DRY COUNTY is the kind of book you sit down with and finish in one big gulp; it’s a masterpiece of economy and tension. Set against the backdrop of an Arkansas county’s wet/dry vote and the 2016 presidential election, this story’s got it all: blackmail, brutality, and desperate people doing desperate things. An instant noir classic.  

William Boyle, author of GRAVESEND, THE LONELY WITNESS, and 'A FRIEND IS A GIFT YOU GIVE YOURSELF

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