The Killing Hills by Chris Offutt

First Sentence:  The old man walked the hill with a long stick, pushing aside mayapple and horseweed, seeking ginseng.

Combat veteran Mick Hardin is now with the Army Criminal Investigation, Division.  Currently home on leave, he needs to resolve issues with his pregnant wife, but his leave time is running out. His sister, Linda, is the newly appointed sheriff the town’s Mayor wants to be fired.  With a murder case on Linda’s hands, and an inexperienced deputy, she turns to Mick for help.

There’s nothing better than discovering an author one has not read previously and immediately get drawn in by the author’s voice and the characters.  Offutt starts off with a chapter of wonderful description and ends with an eyebrow-raising revelation.  Along the way, Hardin uses wonderful imagery—“The vulnerable always died early.  Death begat death…”

Each character is strong and important to the story.  One appreciates Hardin’s approach of ---“I don’t want nobody else to get killed, …I had enough of it overseas.  If I can stop it, I will.” Mick isn’t a character who goes in hard unless it’s warranted.  His scene with Mullin’s mule and the front porch is delightful.  Whereas the interaction between Mick and his wife, and his subsequent action, is raw, yet Hardin truly captures Mick’s emotions. 

Mick’s sister, Linda, holds her own in the story—“There never was a body in Eldridge County that most folks didn’t already know who did it.  Usually a neighbor, a family, or drugs. … This is different.” Deputy Johnny Boy Tolliver, who gets car sick and believes ghosts exist but only in certain environments, is a particular favorite.

There is an underlying theme of family and love, even if that love is misguided.  Offutt shows that even though a family may not have much, the strength of that love can determine certain choices, and not always in a positive way. 

It can become a bit confusing keeping track of some of the characters who have both proper names and nicknames, yet Offutt fleshes out each character making them real people.

Some may not care for the way Offutt portrays the people of Kentucky, but it’s important to remember he is depicting one region, and not even all the people of that region.  While set in Appalachia, the book could have been set in almost any state with a concentration of people who live in the backcountry.  Still, the author ensures that the dignity of the people is reflected in their wisdom and philosophy on life.  Mick shares—“…one of his grandfather’s lessons.  Searching interfered with the ability to find. … At night don’t look for an animal trail, just walk where the trees aren’t.  See shapes and colors, not the thing itself.”  

THE KILLING HILLS is a book that is unexpected in the very best way.  The characters, dialogue, and descriptions are excellent. That’s not to say there isn’t violence; there is. Even so, Offutt is an author one may wish to follow.

THE KILLING HILLS (Noir-Mick Hardin-Rocksalt, Kentucky-Contemp)
Chris Offutt – 1^st in series
Grove Press, June 15, 2001, 240 pp.
RATING: Ex/A+