Bad Day Breaking: A Novel

Summary

Wild Wild Country and Longmire meet in the latest in the “gritty, brash, and totally gripping” (The Real Book Spy) Bad Axe County series, as Sheriff Heidi Kick struggles to prevent a radical religious sect from turning her county into the next Jonestown, all while a dark secret from her past puts her life in danger.

Winter is descending on Bad Axe County, and this year it is bringing something darker with it. On an abandoned lot, a strange new religious sect has built a compound, armed with guns and stoking fears in town. Rumors of sadistic rituals and a planned takeover abound, and when one of the sect’s members is murdered, panic sets in.

Sheriff Heidi Kick may not be a fan of the group, but she is also dismayed when the locals form a posse to get rid of them. Plus, with a murder investigation on her hands, Heidi doesn’t have time for distractions. To add to her woes, Heidi soon finds out that the ex-boyfriend she helped put behind bars in her wild days is being released early—and forgiveness is not on his mind.

With a tumultuous snowstorm on the horizon, the cult members are on the verge of freezing, the town is on the edge of violence, and Sheriff Kick is just one false step away from losing her family, her town, and her very life. A writer at the height of his powers, John Galligan weaves a riveting cat-and-mouse mystery, a startling examination of the price paid for following false leaders, and the power of the individual spirit to overcome past trauma.