AIN'T NOBODY NOBODY

This debut "hillbilly noir" novel is the story of an overzealous, disgraced ex-sheriff's quest to be a hero, even if it means throwing a body to the feral hogs that plague East Texas.

Still reeling from the scandal that cost him his badge, Randy Mayhill - fallen lawman, dog rescuer, Dr. Pepper enthusiast - sees a return from community exile in the form of a dead hog trapper perched on a fence. The fence belongs to the late Van Woods, Mayhill's best friend and the reason for his spectacular fall.

Determined to protect Van's land and family from another scandal, Mayhill ignores the sherrif who replaced him and investigates the death of the unidentified man. His quest crosses with two others: Birdie, Van's surly, mourning daughter, who has no intention of sitting idly by and leaving her father's legacy in Mayhill's hands; and Bradley, Birdie's slow, malnourished but loyal friend, whose desperation to escape a life of poverty has him working with local criminals, and possibly a murderer.

AIN'T NOBODY NOBODY is a cross between Faulkner and Breaking Bad. And like As I Lay Dying, which isn't really about taking a body to be buried, but rather is about family and loyalty and old grudges and atmosphere; neither is AIN'T NOBODY NOBODY really about solving the mystery of this trapper's death. It's about redemption and tragedy and escape and hope (and hogs and weed).

Although it's set in rural Texas, the setting has an allure for foreign markets just as it does for US editors - a certain exotic peek into the lives of the citizens of Pike County, a lifestyle that is hidden away for Americans as much as it is for foreigners. And Heather Harper Ellet's book is the perfect literary thriller - a flawed hero, a case to crack, but told with an eye towards the characters and the incredible, stylish writing.