'Life is guerrilla war, a constant struggle. You have to know when to retreat and when to attack.' Lindon, an Australian project manager with a failed marriage behind him, is lured to China with the promise of a lucrative salary. His task: to solve the problem of a "nail house," the home of a stubborn old man who refuses to relocate, even as the bulldozers move in and the skyscrapers grow around him. But as Lindon negotiates with the old man's family, he finds sense where there is none, and love where there is war.

4 folded profiles in pocket contain profiles of major railways across Canada and mean water levels of Great Lakes 1860-1914.

This debut mystery from a fresh voice in Southwestern fiction stakes out the common ground between Tony Hillerman, Elmore Leonard, and Cormac McCarthy. In a remote corner of the Chickasaw Nation, tribal Lighthorse policeman Bill Maytubby and county deputy Hannah Bond discover the buzzard-ravaged body of Majesty Tate, a young drifter with a blank past. They comb Oklahoma's rock prairie, river bottoms, and hard-bitten small towns for traces of her last days. Tate was seen dancing with Austin Love, a violent local meth dealer fresh out of prison. An Oklahoma City motel clerk connects her with an aspiring politician. An oil-patch roustabout and a shady itinerant preacher provide dubious leads. Ne'er-do-wells start dying off. A fluke lead propels Maytubby deep into Louisiana's bayou country, where a Cajun shrimper puts him on the scent of a bizarre conspiracy. He and Bond reunite in the Chickasaw Nation for the eventual face-off at Nail's Crossing. "As fine a mystery series debut as I've read in a long time."-Craig Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire series "Thrilling...Lackey's exciting story unwinds like a rattlesnake."-Bill Loehfelm, author of The Devil's Muse "A captivating look at a little-known corner of rural Oklahoma...rife with drug problems, yet peopled by tenacious, idiosyncratic characters you can't help rooting for."-Kirkus Reviews