Second Death : A modern Western crime thriller with small-town secrets

One bad deed begets another. Award-winning author Jeff Kerr follows up Blunt Force Trauma with Second Death, the gripping continuation of the Adam Cash series that deftly weaves the classic Western novel with the rawest, most provocative themes pulled from today’s headlines. Reverend Dennis Webb has built a YouTube ministry to die for. A devoted congregation flocks to his digital pulpit, hanging on his sermons. But behind the righteous veil are questions. Is Webb—an ex-con—a messenger of the divine, or a ruthless conman bilking his congregation? Is his sudden and mysterious appearance in Noble County, Texas a harbinger of a darker past? And what’s with that alligator he keeps on his property?Still recovering from the crucible of his deadly human trafficking investigation depicted in Blunt Force Trauma, Afghan war veteran Adam Cash is the newest deputy in the Noble County sheriff’s office. While investigating a fatal truck explosion everyone else writes off as an accident, Cash discovers a gold coin in the dead man’s pocket. Always the unyielding seeker of truth, always infused with the Lone Star state’s signature sense of duty and self-reliance, Cash’s tenacity plunges him into a web of hypocrisy and corruption. When all roads lead to Reverend Webb, Cash is pushed to the unpopular realization that the internet evangelist is in fact wrapping his heinous crimes in the false mantle of divine guidance. Alone in his investigation and up against a profane foe with all the markings of a cult leader who will stop at nothing, the only question left is: can Cash stay alive long enough to prove it?A false prophet. A relentless deputy. A deadly collision course that threatens to end not only Cash’s career but his life. If you like Craig Johnson and C.J. Box, you’ll love Second Death. Jeff Kerr’s masterful blend of richly drawn characters, jaw-dropping plot twists, authentic portrayal of Texas culture, and nail-biting tension never fails to entertain. Second Death pulls the great Western mystery genre straight into today’s zeitgeist—the gripping tale of a man blinded by self-righteous delusions, hiding in the shadows of faith, and the courageous deputy who must bring him to justice—or die trying.