Price range: £5.99 through £9.99
Buck, aka Michael Fineday, aka Red Deer is on his way to track down his wayward brother in the Twin Cities, when he’s trapped in a snowstorm and rescued by Sally, a girl who is fighting her own demons. Though intrigued by Sally, most of Buck’s time is spent trying to unravel his family’s involvement with an elaborate racket which has recently gotten his cousin Ruben and his half-brother Bear killed.
Eli, Buck’s surviving brother, is up to his neck in the racket that involves insurance fraud and stolen vehicles, and unwilling to tell Buck the truth. The racketeer’s kingpin thinks Eli has something they want – which is both his death warrant and his salvation. The problem is, Eli doesn’t know exactly what that something is or how to find it; his only clue is a phrase in Anishinaabe language Ruben scrawled on the wall of his room before he was killed, and it’s up to Buck to track it down.
Meanwhile, Sally and Buck grow closer through the shared wounds of their difficult pasts; and Buck teaches her some Ashinaabe language and cultural practices. Strangely, all roads – both Sally’s and Buck’s – lead to the Witch Tree, an important spiritual reservoir in Native American religion, and where he is forced to face the many facets of his own identity and find a way for them both to heal.
“One of the best books of the year. This cracking debut is packed with quirky characters that I adored. Ellett’s dialogue sparks off the page and the rural Texas setting where the county dump is a landmark is hypnotic and unceasing.”
— Carole Barrowman, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
“Funny, heartfelt, and suspenseful, Ain’t Nobody Nobody is terrific from the first page to the last. Grab it.”
— Meg Gardiner, Edgar Award-winning author of the Unsub series
“(An) auspicious debut…Ellett balances the goofiness of the crimes and setting with some effective storytelling, never letting the real emotional stakes for the characters get obscured. Carl Hiassen fans will find a lot to like.”
— Publishers Weekly
“This debut novel is most notable for Ellett’s supremely witty prose and the oddball but deeply relatable characters. Readers looking for a fresh, offbeat voice in the mystery genre will find it here.”
— Library Journal
“Good plot material, and the author handles it with skill. And humor. Harper Ellett is also after a poetic affect, and she displays considerable talent.”
— Booklist
“The dark poetry of East Texas has found a new, lyrical voice in Heather Harper Ellett’s debut book, Ain’t Nobody Nobody, where the landscape is as feral and potentially deadly as the predators that inhabit it; and where love and loyalty can prove as dangerous as greed and betrayal.”
― Kathleen Kent, Edgar-nominated author of The Dime
“A gritty, well-written story with so much heart. Ellett is an exciting new voice on the mystery scene, and Ain’t Nobody Nobody is a fantastic read for those who like a straightforward mystery with flesh-and-blood characters and a strong sense of place.”
— Criminal Element
