A hugely entertaining debut--the first novel in a wickedly funny gothic mystery series set in the withering landscape of the southern Illinois coal country known as "little Egypt"--that blends the wry humor of Kevin Wilson, the dark violence of Urban Waite, and the electric atmosphere of Greg Iles.
In the depths of the Knight Hawk, one of the last working collieries in downstate Illinois, the body of a reporter is found, his mini-recorder tied around his neck and a notepad stuffed in his mouth.
The Knight Hawk's owner, Matthew Luster, isn't happy. He wants answers--and he doesn't want the cops or any more press poking into his business. To protect himself and the operation, he turns to Slim, a mine employee with a reputation for "bloodhounding"-finding lost souls when the police can't or won't. Luster needs Slim to locate a missing photographer named Beckett, a close associate of the victim . . . who just happens to be his son-in-law.
A hard-working single father barely making ends meet, Slim accepts the job--after Luster offers him a guaranteed pension and job security for life. But when you make a deal with the devil, you're going to get burned . . . . and now Slim is all too close to the flames. Circumstances have lead him into the grimy underworld of Little Egypt, Illinois--a Babel's Tower of rednecks, rubes, freaks, tweakers, gun nuts, and aging hippies-and it quickly becomes clear that he's much more involved in the murder than an innocent man should be.
Down Don't Bother Me marks the emergence of a wildly assured mystery novelist, and of a series set in the fresh and brutal landscape of southern Illinois.
About the Author :
Jason Miller is half of the Miller Brothers writing team, creators of the critically acclaimed graphic novel Redball 6. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
Johnny Heller, winner of numerous Earphones and Audie Awards, was named a "Golden Voice" by AudioFile magazine in 2019. He has been a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award winner from 2008 through 2013 and he has been named a top voice of 2008 and 2009 and selected as one of the Top 50 Narrators of the Twentieth Century by AudioFile magazine.
Review :
"Fans of Daniel Woodrell's 'Ozarks Noir' books and FX's Justified TV series, as well as the show's Elmore Leonard source material, will welcome the tough-talking Slim."
-- "Library Journal (starred review)"
"Genre conventions--treacherous women, double-crossing friends, greedy moneymen--seem fresh in Miller's sensory-rich language."
-- "Booklist"
"In his first novel, set in the hardly welcoming world of southern Illinois coal country, he is funny, smart, and extremely self-assured in his writing, creating a book that is almost as addicting as the meth that has taken over the town of Little Egypt, Illinois."
-- "Mystery Scene"
"Narrator Johnny Heller excels with the twangy-voiced Slim's wry observations about the saints and sinners around him...With a cartload of accents and other speech variations, Heller skillfully brings to life the tweakers, thugs, and old hippies that populate Little Egypt as a conspiracy goes out of control, much to listeners' delight."
-- "AudioFile"
"Raw, gritty and darkly comedic. The first-person POV is perfect for this telling, and readers will fall for Slim quickly. His relationship with his teenage daughter Anci, while typical of the teenage years, is refreshingly real. Overall a fantastic debut novel."
-- "RT Book Reviews (4 stars)"
"The author does a good job evoking the bleakness of life in Illinois coal country."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
