Crosshairs by Russ Heitz

Synopsis

Life in Klinkton County -- a large, mountainous and sparsely populated area of north-central Pennsylvania -- has always revolved around deer hunting, trout fishing, four-wheel-drive pickups, and the Grizzly Snowmobile factory. It is a place where scope-mounted hunting rifles are as plentiful as trees, and shooting accidents are as common as rattlesnakes. But this year, something new has been added -- Klinkton County’s first serial killer. Some of the victims include a kerosene route salesman from Allentown, a political organizer from Philadelphia, and a local arts and crafts worker. The person who must stop this killer is newly-elected Sheriff Jesse Eichenlaub. In addition to his own secret demons from the past, however, Jesse already has three strikes against him. He doesn’t like guns. He has no law enforcement experience at all. And the man he defeated in the election is now his boss. The central questions that Sheriff Jesse immediately faces are -- who is the shooter? What connects the victims? And how will he cope with the expanding chaos that suddenly surrounds him.

Crosshairs Named

Book of the Year

The January 2008 issue of THE INFINITE WRITER announced the selection of CROSSHAIRS as its Book of the Year! The announcement of this award included the following comments by the judges.

"Russ Heitz employs a liberal use of original similes and his novel is devoid of cliches. He excels at plot, structure, pacing and on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspense. In this first novel, Heitz has established a unique voice that captivates the reader, pulling him into the heart of the action. His readers will be impatient for his next novel."

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Crosshairs packs a powerful punch from the first page to the last .. and has more curves than the Pennsylvania landscape in which the novel takes place ... My head is still spinning. -- Sgt. Jim Potter, M.A, law enforcement officer for 25 years, graduate at the F.B.I. Academy, and author of Cop In The Classroom (www.copintheclassroom.com).

"The story is full of twists and turns and loads of suspense. The reader is pulled along at a frenzied pace ... I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good murder mystery."

--- Stephen M. Horowitz, Ph.D., The Peppertree Literary Magazine.

"Crosshairs is exciting, vibrant, mesmerizing as Russ Heitz draws the reader into a vortex of mystery and human values laced with suspense and realism ... Only once before have I read an author with such a scintillating and adept talent for building characters we care about and that was the great Daphne DuMaurier." -- Russell Vassallo, author of Streetwise: Mafia Memoirs"

Book Price $14.95