Hillbilly Hustle

By Wesley Browne

Business is slow, his parents need help, and Richmond pizza shop owner Knox Thompson is getting desperate. After a hot run at a backroom Kentucky poker game, he's pressured into dealing marijuana for a ruthless supplier and soon finds himself trapped in a world of debt, violence, and bad decisions.

Named one of Merriam-Webster's Best Lockdown Reads, Hillbilly Hustle is a sharp, darkly funny blend of crime fiction and Appalachian noir. The novel captures the rhythms and contradictions of small-town life in Kentucky while delivering a compelling tale of desperation, loyalty, and survival.

Featuring a new foreword by acclaimed crime novelist S. A. Cosby and a new cover by The Walking Dead co-creator Colonel Tony Moore, Hillbilly Hustle earned praise from Kirkus Reviews as "a top-notch debut with a winning narrative voice and unexpectedly multidimensional characters" and from Publishers Weekly as "wry" and "thrilling." Blending dark humor, Appalachian grit, and noir-infused suspense, Hillbilly Hustle stands out as a fresh and unforgettable work of Southern crime fiction.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1985905132
• ISBN13: 9781985905139
• Release Date: May 2027
• Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher