Tucker Snow is as tough as they come, hardened by decades working as an undercover narcotics agent for the Texas Department of Public Safety. Through special dispensation from the governor, he and his brother Harley cut a wide swath through the criminal element of Northeast Texas. But tragedy comes calling after taking a dream job as a special ranger with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, when Tucker’s wife and toddler are killed in a horrific traffic accident caused by a drug-addled felon. Close to breaking, Tucker sets his badge aside to move his surviving teenage daughter outside of Ganther Bluff, a quiet town with enough room for them to mourn their unexpected loss.
But peace doesn’t last long for a man like Tucker Snow. Instead of settling into small-town life to heal from such an unimaginable loss, a fresh kind of hell hits them with full force.
Crimes and secrets strangle this rural community, and when a new form of meth with the street name of gravel gets too close to home, it’s enough for Tucker to put his badge back on and call Harley for help. The town will ultimately be better off with him as a resident lawman, but this unforgiving landscape will threaten everything Tucker holds dear.
“An action fan’s dream. Non-stop excitement. Wonderful characters. A terrific locale. And a startling bulletin about how your car is watching you.”
—David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of First Blood (Rambo)
“A stunning success! Hard Country checks all the boxes: a nonstop thriller plot, characters who are so real we’re sure we’ve crossed paths in real life, and a breathtaking portrait—both searing and sympathetic—of a small town, from an author whose compelling voice and keenly observant eye transport us there. Wortham is known for his protagonists and Tucker Snow is one of his all-time best: sharp, uncompromising, wry, thoroughly human, and the one thing we don’t see enough of nowadays: a dyed-in-the-wool hero. I was going to set aside a weekend to read the book. My problem? What to do with the rest of Saturday afternoon and Sunday—yes, Hard Country is the definition of a one-sitting read. Bravo!”
—Jeffery Deaver, New York Times bestselling author of The Bone Collector and Hunting Time
“Rich characters and a unique plot bring this book to life. These pages brim with the creak of saddle leather and the sulfur smell gun smoke! Terrific stuff! Hard Country is bound to be a Western classic!”
—Marc Cameron, New York Times bestselling author of Breakneck: An Arliss Cutter Thriller, Tom Clancy’s Red Winter, and the Jericho Quinn Thrillers
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