Cheap real estate, a creepy sheriff, and a body count. Honestly, Sharp County sounds like a bargain.
The Sharp County Slasher by Andrew Alman is the kind of book that makes you wonder if law enforcement officers should come with background checks longer than a CVS receipt. The premise hooked me right away: murders happening in Sharp County, eerily copying Hilrey’s old killings. The copycat angle is definitely personal, but you don’t see how until the rug is pulled out from under you. (Looking at you, Joel. You sneaky devil.)
Hilrey is the heart of this book, and he’s not your average “serial killer.” He’s more of a Dexter type, knocking off child molesters and rapists, people I’d happily volunteer as tribute. Does that make him a good guy? Well, he thinks so. I think so. Killing bothers him, but he sees it as a duty. And honestly, if you’re definitely guilty, then it’s lights out. Why waste tax dollars feeding a waste of skin?
The rural Arkansas setting makes it perfect: bodies go undiscovered for years, secrets rot in the silence, and the cornfields don’t ask questions. Every character was hiding something, and the reveals kept me flipping pages faster and faster until the end.
If you like dark crime thrillers with a “what would you do?” moral question baked in, this one’s a five-star ride. And yes, if I lived in Sharp County, I’d stay. Because cheap real estate, and nobody wants to murder old ladies.
