A USA Today Bestseller 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. ''Aside from being a top-notch mystery novel, Nail's Crossing describes the region of south-central Oklahoma, including the Chickasaw Nation, as few Oklahoma-based writings have ever done. This is a novel in which the reader really feels where he or she is taken. And the who-dun-it part of it is exceptional as well.'' --Geary Hobson, author of Plain of Jars and Other Stories and The Last of the Ofos ''With his thrilling, heartfelt debut, Lackey…takes us someplace new, bringing to vivid life the dusty plains of Oklahoma and the tough folks who live there…Lackey's exciting story unwinds like a rattlesnake.'' -Bill Loehfelm, author of The Devil's Muse ''As fine a mystery series debut as I've read in a long time -- you're going to want more of Tribal Lighthorse Policeman Bill Maytubby and Deputy Hannah Bond.'' --Craig Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of the Walt Longmire novels, the basis for the hit Netflix drama Longmire ''Kris Lackey brings to vivid life a unique and fascinating part of the country. With two appealing main characters and a sinuously intriguing plot, Nail's Crossing marks a terrific debut.'' --Lou Berney, Edgar Award-winning author of The Long and Faraway Gone ''A captivating look at a little-known corner of rural Oklahoma burning up in a drought, rife with drug problems, yet peopled by tenacious, idiosyncratic characters you can't help rooting for.'' -- Kirkus Reviews Kris Lackey has published stories in Missouri Review , Wisconsin Review , Cimarron Review , and other magazines. He lives in Norman, Oklahoma. Nail's Crossing is his first novel.