John Galligan

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John Galligan in front of a lake.

John Gallilgan

Few novels dwell on Wisconsin’s seedy underbelly as strikingly as John Galligan’s grim and gripping “Bad Axe County” series. The fourth title in the series, Bad Day Breaking, finds Sheriff Heidi Kick battling a religious sect hell-bent on turning Bad Axe County into the next Jonestown. Meanwhile, one of Heidi's ex-boyfriends is out on parole and seeking revenge as a nasty snowstorm bears down. Bad Day Breaking hits stores Aug. 30, and Galligan — a Madison College writing instructor whose publishing career has received a second wind from the Bad Axe County books — will celebrate its release with this in-person and Crowdcast event.

media release: Join us for the launch of John Galligan's new book "Bad Day Breaking" at Mystery to Me!

About the book

Wild Wild Country and Longmire meet in the latest in the "gritty, brash, and totally gripping" (The Real Book Spy) Bad Axe County series, as Sheriff Heidi Kick struggles to prevent a radical religious sect from turning her county into the next Jonestown, all while a dark secret from her past puts her life in danger.

A strange religious sect has arrived in Bad Axe County, Wisconsin. Armed with guns, an enigmatic spiritual leader and his followers set up their compound in an abandoned storage lot. It's not long before rumors start to spread of sadistic rituals and a planned takeover of the local government. But when one of the followers is found dead in the river, that's when full-on panic sets in.

Sheriff Heidi Kick may not be a fan of the new group, but she is also dismayed by the hostile reaction of the Bad Axe community. With a murder investigation on her hands, the situation becomes more complicated when Sheriff Kick finds out an ex-boyfriend from her youth is out on parole early and looking to hunt her down. With a tumultuous snowstorm on the horizon, the cult members are on the verge of freezing, Bad Axe is on the edge of violence, and Sheriff Kick is just one false step away from losing her family, her town, and her very life.

By a writer at the height of his powers, Bad Day Breaking is a thrilling mystery that explores the price paid for following false leaders and the power we each have to triumph over trauma.

About the author

John Galligan is the author of Bad Moon Rising (Atria, 2021), Dead Man Dancing (Atria, 2020), Bad Axe County (2019) and five other novels: Red Sky, Red Dragonfly; The Nail Knot; The Blood Knot; The Clinch Knot; and The Wind Knot.

In addition to being a novelist, he has worked as a newspaper writer, feature-film screenwriter, house painter, au pair, ESL teacher, cab driver, and freezer boy in a salmon cannery. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin, and teaches writing at Madison College, where his experience is enriched by students from every corner of the local and world communities. He was an award-winning feature journalist, sports journalist, and short story writer before settling on a career as a novelist.