SARAH JANE

James Sallis (No Exit Press)

Dubbed “an unsung hero of crime writing”, James Sallis never fails to satisfy. Sarah Jane Pullman floats around rural America after a court-ordered stint in the army. Her sojourn began when she ran away from the chicken farm where she was raised. When Sarah Jane leaves the military after a final tour of duty in a far-off unnamed desert, where her truck was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade killing two of her buddies, she moves from town to town, man to unsuitable man, until she ends up a sheriff looking into the mysterious life and death of her predecessor. This short but far from sweet novel announces Sallis as one of America’s top crime writers, adding another feather to a cap already weighed down with enough to start a chicken farm of his own. MTi

Price: £8.99. Info: www.noexit.co.uk