Red Dog — Jason Miller

Pitbull fighters, shadowy ne'er-do-wells, and murder mark Jason Miller's wry, darkly atmospheric second novel in his Little Egypt series -- perfect for fans of Frank Bill and Greg Iles.

One hot summer day, in his home in the southern Illinois coal country known as Little Egypt -- a Midwest Gothic wonderland of barren vistas, sinister hollows, petty corruption, and deeply strange characters -- the self-appointed “redneck detective” known as Slim gets a visit from a shady-looking pair who introduce themselves as Sheldon Cleaves and his son, A. Evan, looking to hire him to find a missing dog. As a miner with a reputation for “bloodhounding” -- tracking down missing persons the police can't find or won't -- Slim is accustomed to looking for people, not pets. On the other hand, he needs the cash to fix his air conditioner. But when he pulls the thread that leads to the Cleaveses' red-haired purebred pitbull -- and then the dognapper is discovered with his head blown off -- Slim finds himself plunged into a world of underground dogfights and white supremacists ... all because he just wanted to get cool.

As bitingly funny as it is starkly violent, RED DOG marks the emergence of a new, gritty voice in detective fiction.