The Reluctant Sheriff Audiobook By Chris Offutt cover art

The Reluctant Sheriff

The Mick Hardin Novels, Book 4

Pre-order: Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Reluctant Sheriff

By: Chris Offutt
Pre-order: Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Pre-order for $15.39

Pre-order for $15.39

Confirm pre-order
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Master storyteller Chris Offutt’s acclaimed crime series has been praised by Ian Rankin as “righteous Kentucky noir with top notes of Daniel Woodrell and S. A. Cosby,” and in this breakneck new novel, sheriff Mick Hardin navigates the treacherous terrain of a town’s festering secrets and the violent forces who want to keep them hidden

Lauded as a “masterclass in the craft of crime fiction” (CrimeReads), Chris Offutt’s beloved and critically acclaimed Mick Hardin series is an atmospheric, tightly crafted testament to Southern noir. The Reluctant Sheriff is a dark, bracing return to the hills of eastern Kentucky where secrets roil beneath the surface, and nothing and no one stays in the past for long.

Mick Hardin never wanted to be sheriff. An ex-Army CID officer, he’s supposed to be retired—or he was until his sister, Linda, was shot in the line of duty, requiring him to step in as interim sheriff while she recovered. Now he’s stuck in Rocksalt, the place he was most hoping to escape.

Back in uniform, Mick is chafing at the sudden dissolution of his retirement plans, wearied by the petty squabbles of Rocksalt’s townsfolk. It’s all business as usual, until the murder of a local bar owner draws an unlikely suspect who threatens to fan the flames of Mick’s past. When two more bodies turn up, seemingly unconnected to the first, Mick is forced to reckon with the mysterious circumstances of a case not so open-and-shut as everyone believes. Meanwhile, Linda is slowly healing when a familiar business tycoon with a vested interest in her returning as sheriff makes it difficult for her to remain on the sidelines.

Unflinching and devilishly compulsive, The Reluctant Sheriff is an explosive thriller confirming Chris Offutt as a Southern writer of muscular prose and unrivaled talent.

©2025 Chris Offutt (P)2025 Simon & Schuster Audio
Crime Thrillers Mystery Small Town & Rural Southern
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about The Reluctant Sheriff

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.