An Emmett Hardy Crime Novel

After a kidnap-for-hire plot results in the death of a young boy, Burr police chief Emmett Hardy blames himself and has an alcohol-fueled breakdown. His life at a crossroads, Hardy checks into the hospital for treatment, only to discover upon his release that he's been suspended from duty. When a dying prisoner contacts him about a long-forgotten unsolved case, Emmett—temporarily at loose ends—begins an informal investigation.

When a disabled young man is found shot to death in the back row of a drive-in movie theater, Burr's police chief, Emmett Hardy, considers it an isolated act of depravity. As the dominos fall, however, Emmett realizes he might be searching for a type of killer who, in 1974, had yet to be named-someone who kills repeatedly, savagely, and seemingly at random. Hardy searches for the culprit even as old habits cloud his mind and clues to the killer's identity go unnoticed. The trail circles back and becomes a noose. It's up to Emmett to cut himself down before it's too late.

Burr, Oklahoma, summer, 1976: On the eve of America’s Bicentennial celebration, a notorious local politician is assassinated at a campaign rally. The case seems open and shut; the killer—a young, anonymous homeless woman—is shot by police at the scene. With the death of the assassin, the lead investigator is content to write off the crime as a random act. Burr’s Chief of Police, Emmett Hardy, isn’t so sure.