The stunning new thriller from the international bestselling and multi-award-winning author.'S. A. Cosby is not only the future of crime fiction but of any fiction where the words are strong, the characters are strong and the story has a resonance that cuts right to the heart of the most important questions of our time' MICHAEL CONNELLY'Every once in a while a writer comes along with an incredible voice...add S. A. Cosby to that list.' STEVE CAVANAGHA Black sheriff. A serial killer.And a small town ready to combust. Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, Charon has had only two murders. After years of working as an FBI agent, no one knows better than Titus that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface.But a year to the day after Titus's election, a school teacher is killed by a former student. The student is then fatally shot by Titus's deputies.As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes, and a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight, haunting the dirt lanes and woodland clearings of Charon. With the killer's possible connections to a local church and the town's harrowing history weighing on him, Titus tries to project confidence about closing the case while concealing a painful secret from his own past. At the same time, he also has to contend with a far-right group that wants to hold a parade in celebration of the town's Confederate history.Charon is Titus's home and his heart. But where faith and violence meet, there will be a reckoning. Praise for S. A. Cosby:'Sensationally good' LEE CHILD'I loved BLACKTOP WASTELAND' STEPHEN KING'Stunning. Can't remember the last time I read such a powerful crime novel' MARK BILLINGHAM'S. A. Cosby is a welcome, refreshing new voice in crime literature. DENNIS LEHANE