Dry County

August 1, 2019
Just how far will an Arkansas preacher go to conceal his sin from his family and his congregation? Everyone in Stock knows the Rev. Richard Weatherford, the pastor of the First Baptist Church. They know he's a man of God, a devoted father to his five children, a staunch vote against allowing liquor into Van Buren County, and a reliable helper in distress. And all this is true. Even so, college dropout Gary Doane is convinced that everyone from Brother Weatherford's wife, Penny, to his church deacons would see him a lot differently if they knew about his secret fling with Gary, and that's why he wants $30,000 to go away quietly. Unable to put his hands on that kind of money, Weatherford passes the early hours of the day before Easter striking a devil's bargain with Brian Harten: He'll drop his opposition to the liquor store Harten's hoped to open--he'll even talk the other voters out of keeping the county dry--if only Harten will give him the money. Of course Harten, who quit his job at Tommy Weller's bar on the strength of his dreams and started the day by watching his car get repossessed, is even more broke than Weatherford, so he hatches a deeply misbegotten plan to raise the cash. His plan will eventually suck in Weller; Sarabeth Simmons, the daughter of Weller's lover, Carmen Fuller; and Penny Weatherford, who's forced into an impossibly ugly position. As the principals take turns plotting their next moves, never thinking more than five minutes ahead, things predictably spiral out of control with all the horrifyingly matter-of-fact force of Scott Smith's parable A Simple Plan as Hinkson (No Tomorrow, 2018, etc.) leads his all-too-human hero step by step into a monstrous pool of corruption. The whole sad carnival comes crashing to an unforgettable halt just in time for the world's most macabre Easter.

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from August 5, 2019
Set in rural Arkansas, this unapologetically bleak noir from Hinkson (Hell on Church Street) explores the effects of existential and spiritual despair in an economically depressed town where the influence of religious fundamentalism is stifling. For the last 10 years, Richard Weatherford has been the pastor of a church in Stock—a place “with the lingering stink of Ozark backwater to it”—and has presided over much of the community as its spiritual leader. He and his wife are raising their five children there. But when a person with whom Weatherford once had a sexual encounter attempts to blackmail the preacher, just days before Easter, Weatherford is forced to make some hard decisions that will jeopardize himself, his family, and his marriage. With the 2016 presidential election looming, politics plays a significant background role. The unexpected ending will either enrage readers or have them applauding. Powered by raw emotional intensity and a disturbingly realistic portrayal of small-town America, this story is unforgettable. Agent: Nat Sobel, Sobel Weber.

September 1, 2019
In the town of Stock, deep in Arkansas's Ozarks, Stock First Baptist Church Reverend Richard Weatherford shepherds his ever-expanding flock toward Ted Cruz for president in the 2016 campaign and in support of the upcoming vote to keep Van Buren County dry. The only threat to his influence, Deacon Amos Pettibone, has been easily appeased by Weatherford's conservative campaigns. Then, Gary Doan, one of Weatherford's young congregants, threatens to spill the beans about his sexual relationship with the reverend unless Weatherford can find $30,000 to keep him quiet. Meanwhile, Brian Harten is desperate for the liquor vote to fail; he's staked all of his savings on his dream to open the county's first liquor store. So when Weatherford approaches him with an offer to sway the liquor vote for $30,000, Harten steals the cash from Tommy, the closest thing Stock has to a criminal mastermind. And, with that, Weatherford's orderly plot to maintain his influential position quickly disintegrates into a bloody mess. Set against the backdrop of the 2016 election, Hinkson's darkly satirical take on power and hypocrisy closes with a shocking but fitting twist.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)