Savage Rising — C. Hoyt Caldwell

The diminutive but tenacious Deputy Dani Savage teams up with a pair of eccentric outsiders in this tale of moonshine and murder -- a rollicking thriller of the Appalachian backwoods, for fans of Justified.

Still trying to prove to the good folks of Baptist Flats, Tennessee, that a woman who's five-foot-nothing has the mettle to wear a badge, Dani is called in to investigate the death of a man found in a horse's stall with his pants around his ankles. At first it appears to be a simple accident, but things turn complicated when the victim's only ID belongs to an ATF agent. A female ATF agent. A missing female ATF agent.

To make matters worse, a mystery man named Jack Spivey has come to town, asking questions about the ATF agent's disappearance and promising a world of pain when he doesn't like the answers. Then an Amazonian ex-Marine joins in, and Dani has no choice but to team up with these shadowy strangers. As they follow a twisted trail of clues into the mountains, they uncover a chilling conspiracy -- and a common enemy who's trained to kill.