This
Book
Book
Kicks
Ass
1972. Bull Mountain is in north Georgia. It’s been run by
the Burroughs clan for 4 generations. 3rd generation boss is Gareth
Burroughs. He runs guns, drugs, ‘shine’, through his county, anything that’ll
make him money. Cruel man. To everyone. Wife Annette has been beaten enough and
sneaks out with Clayton, the baby of their 3 sons. Leaving pre-teen older sons, Buckley
and Halford. But she doesn’t get out of the compound before Gareth stops her. With
Halford keeping a gun on her, Gareth keeps Clayton and lets Annette leave,
penniless with just the clothes on her back.
Present day.
Gareth died some time ago with his meth shed caught fire.
Buck is also dead. Clayton decided not to continue in the family business and
got elected county sheriff. That left Halford in charge. Just like his deddy, a
cruel cruel man. Ruthless and a killer of those who challenged the mountain.
But one thing he did was he kept order on the mountain. He was more of a middleman
who had to be paid to move contraband through his county to points north. But
he did drugs. A lot. And got even meaner when high. One day, he chased a girl
into the sheriff’s office, drew a shotgun on her and was met with two slugs to
the chest. Courtesy of the sheriff. His brother Clayton. (most of that is what
I gather happened in book #1).
Bull Mountain is home to an off-the-books club called The
Chute. Rumor has it that it launders Burroughs money. Four idiot kids from some
low-life family looking to expand their territory, hit The Chute and don’t find
what they are looking for. Three fall. The fourth, JoJo is delivered to the man
who was Gareth’s chief lieutenant (Scabby Mike) where he, Clayton and another member of the
Burroughs followers interrogate JoJo. When done, JoJo is delivered back to his
family’s homestead and dropped at the front door of the Viner matriarch.
Family against family for control of the criminal empire
that is Bull Mountain. It’s the Capulets v the Montagues; Hatfields v McCoys;
Corleones v Barsinis . . . on Bull Mountain, it’s the Burroughs v the Viners.
And make no mistake about it. This feud involves money,
drugs, guns, pride, vengeance, vendettas and a whole lot of history. The violence is merciless, and the revenge
is vicious. And no one is immune. Anyone remotely connected to either family is
at risk. Clayton’s wife Kate and their 1yo son Eben are targeted. And we quickly learn
about family loyalty and the depth of that loyalty.
Panowich is from Grovetown, GA that I’m guessing is near
Augusta. His debut novel Bull Mountain was the 2016 International Thriller
Writers Award winner for best first novel and was also the Pat Conroy Award for
best crime novel. Other reviewers have called his work ‘Country Noir’ or ‘Southern
Crime’. I’ve used the term Redneck Noir, but this might be in its own class.
Hillbilly Noir maybe?
Whatever. This isn’t our normal political thriller or police
procedural. This is about family and the extent to which family will go to
protect family and anyone important to that family. In doing so, Panowich
plants twist after twist in the plot, most of which you will never anticipate. Especially
the final twist in the epilogue.
What you need to do is find this book. And not even having
read Bull Mountain, based on this one, I’d suggest you find them both and read
them in order. Also found a note that a British studio, ITV, has optioned his
work for TV. Nothing more than that. Stay tuned.
ECD
ECD
I agree with ECD - great action for Panowich's second hillbilly noir novel that takes place in northern Georgia. Wonderful characters, great plot, great writing.
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