Georgia mountain people, moonshine, marijuana, gun running-what could go wrong? Bull Mountain by first time novelist, Brian Panowich, will surely provide you with as many questions as answers.
You don’t mess with the Burroughs, the family of men which has been running Bull Mountain with an iron fist for generations. Until, that is, an ATF agent comes to town and approaches a wayward Burroughs brother who has disgraced his family by becoming the County Sheriff. This agent propositions the Sheriff with a plan to take down the other Burroughs and remove them so he can take credit for ‘cleaning up the mountain’.
Where do the alliances and allegiances lie among these mountain folk? Who are the bad guys and who are the good, or, at least, not as bad guys? Who can be trusted and who cannot? The story is as complicated as the various points of view and changing timelines. But, the crisp, entertaining writing will propel you to keep reading and will even make the violence more palatable as the story races to its inevitable conclusion. Or so, you may think!
Dark, gritty, yet occasionally humorous, this is Southern noir at its best. For those who enjoy Ron Rash or Wiley Cash for their Appalachian renderings or Dennis Lehane for his evocative yet surprisingly violent books, this is one new talent you must check out!
