Writing.Com General Discussion

Judging by your precis here, I would classify this as:

* a thriller if the Chris Elliott character and his chase is the main focus, or if the killer is the focus
* a Western if the focus is the setting of rural USA in the desert-like environs, and the setting is as much a character as the people, with the tropes of isolation, individualism, etc that makes a Western such an intriguing genre
* a crime/mystery if the killer is not known and the reader can try to work out who the killer is as the story goes along (this is not the be-all and end-all of crime/mystery, but it is a nice generalisation)

From what you've written, I guess thriller or action-thriller would be closest.

Hope that helps.