NetGalley: Bad Axe Couny by John Galligan (Book 1)
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 7/9/2019
Pages: 337
Genre: murder mystery
Review: NetGalley
Fifteen years ago, Heidi White’s parents were shot to death on their Bad Axe County farm. The police declared it a murder-suicide and closed the case. But that night, Heidi found the one clue she knew could lead to the truth—if only the investigators would listen.
Now Heidi White is Heidi Kick, wife of local baseball legend Harley Kick and mother of three small children. She’s also the interim sheriff in Bad Axe. Half the county wants Heidi elected but the other half will do anything to keep her out of law enforcement. And as a deadly ice storm makes it way to Bad Axe, tensions rise and long-buried secrets climb to the surface.
As freezing rain washes out roads and rivers flood their banks, Heidi finds herself on the trail of a missing teenaged girl. Clues lead her down twisted paths to backwoods stag parties, derelict dairy farms, and the local salvage yard—where the body of a different teenage girl has been carefully hidden for a decade.
As the storm rages on, Heidi realizes that someone is planting clues for her to find, leading her to some unpleasant truths that point to the local baseball team and a legendary game her husband pitched years ago. With a murder to solve, a missing girl to save, and a monster to bring to justice, Heidi is on the cusp of shaking her community to its core—and finding out what really happened the night her parents died.
Now Heidi White is Heidi Kick, wife of local baseball legend Harley Kick and mother of three small children. She’s also the interim sheriff in Bad Axe. Half the county wants Heidi elected but the other half will do anything to keep her out of law enforcement. And as a deadly ice storm makes it way to Bad Axe, tensions rise and long-buried secrets climb to the surface.
As freezing rain washes out roads and rivers flood their banks, Heidi finds herself on the trail of a missing teenaged girl. Clues lead her down twisted paths to backwoods stag parties, derelict dairy farms, and the local salvage yard—where the body of a different teenage girl has been carefully hidden for a decade.
As the storm rages on, Heidi realizes that someone is planting clues for her to find, leading her to some unpleasant truths that point to the local baseball team and a legendary game her husband pitched years ago. With a murder to solve, a missing girl to save, and a monster to bring to justice, Heidi is on the cusp of shaking her community to its core—and finding out what really happened the night her parents died.
The story started off with some insight into our sheriff, who was a Dairy Queen. Don't ask me what that is, but I think it is a pageant. Then we move on to our story, told from different POV. Our sheriff has a crime to solve while also trying to be the interim sheriff. It seems Sherriff Heidi can't put her past behind her, though in the end, it all comes together. Hopefully, with the answers she truly wants. Within this story, there is human and sex trafficking, and I truly love how Heidi is not just brushing it off; she is determined to find this girl and save her. While balancing children, marriage, and even her job. However, what she uncovers is more than just that. Small towns hold secrets, and what comes out in the light will have people scurrying. I think the author did a decent job with how the good ole country boys would treat a woman, interim sheriff. We see how they don't like it and what they will and will not do to make sure she doesn't take the place of the sheriff. I felt plenty of action and crime was happening, and it was a good read. I would read book two in this series to see what else Heidi must do within her job.
John Galligan,in addition to being a novelist and teacher, John has worked as a newspaper journalist, feature-film screenwriter, house painter, au pair, ESL teacher, cab driver, and freezer boy in a salmon cannery. He currently teaches writing at Madison Area Technical College, where his experience is enriched by students from every corner of the local and world community.
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