Bull Mountain

Exciting, clever and captivating. Once started, I couldn’t stop reading. I read The Guide, The Last Ranger, The Painter and The Dog Stars recently and none compared to Bull Mountain.

With Bull Mountain, Brian Panowich has given us a sprawling, multigenerational crime saga. A hillbilly The Godfather. You know what you’re in for when you see the family tree. Country noir novels should have family trees like fantasy novels have maps.Bull Mountain starts with one fratricide. It won’t be the last.The Burroughs are kings of Bull Mountain. From moonshine to marijuana to meth, Bull Mountain has been home to a Burroughs led criminal enterprise for the last century.The narrative constantly jumps back and forth in time among family members. The chronology and POV are clearly marked, thankfully. On Bull Mountain, “the past is never dead. It’s not even past.”After opening with Riley and Cooper Burroughs, the narrative is mostly concerned with Cooper’s son Gareth setting up the current iteration of the Burroughs empire and the current day conflict between his sons Halford, scion to the Burroughs empire, and Clayton, the white sheep of the family and sheriff of McFalls County. It says something about the perspective of the locals that they are willing to elect a member of a notorious crime family as sheriff. Clayton isn’t dirty, but with just two deputies, he also isn’t in any sort of position to do anything about a brother who seriously outmans and outguns him. But then ATF Special Agent Simon Holly shows up to kick to the hornets’ nest . . .With plenty of blood and buckshot and more than one carefully plotted, unexpected switchback in the story, what follows is one heck of a crime novel. Which is about as close to a criticism as I’ll get. Bull Mountain sits as firmly in the general crime camp as in the country noir camp (the country noir being, in my view, a very special type of crime drama). The setting and subject matter are pure country noir, but the plot shares as much or more in common with Mario Puzo’s The Godfather and A.K. Alexander’s The Cartel as with Ron Rash’s One Foot in Eden and Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone. Country noir sits comfortably at the center of the overlap between pulp and literary—Bull Mountain is well on the pulp side. (Which isn’t itself a criticism. Those terms are value-neutral.)It’s a dang enjoyable read but doesn’t quite make it into my top tier of country noir works. The good news is that the sequel, Like Lions, is even better.One nifty thing Panowich does, at least in the paperback, is provide a soundtrack for Bull Mountain and a list of books to read next. Everything on both lists is in my wheelhouse, and I am pleased to see Panowich recognize that “there is not much difference between the two art forms.”

Raw

Headline:Brian Panowich’s debut novel is a jaw-dropping (yes, my jaw really did drop multiple times!) multi-generational family saga that feels like Southern “grit lit”, but reads like a thriller. It’s one of my favorite books of the summer and is a contender for one of favorite books of 2015.Major Themes:Criminal dynasties, drugs, violence, law enforcement, loyalty, familyWhat I Loved:- The first chapter blew my mind! My jaw was already on the floor and what did Panowich do? He made it drop again.- The story is told from various perspectives and jumps around in time, very much reminding me of the structure of Sara Taylor’s The Shore. Thanks to Sara Taylor, I knew what to do this time around and immediately started taking notes on the characters and their relationships! But, Bull Mountain‘s structure is not nearly as complicated as The Shore‘s and I ended up not needing most of my notes. I loved how this structure enabled Panowich to slowly reveal the true nature of things.- The Burroughs family makes their living through crime (the particular crime changes over generations) and reminded me of the Knox family in Natchez Burning (both families have one member in law enforcement). They’re like a redneck, mountain version of the Mafia and you do not mess with them if you value your life.- Once you get to a certain point in the story, this is not a book you can easily put down. The action really picks up in the second half and I stayed up way past my bedtime finishing the final quarter in one night.- I’d be remiss not to mention Bull Mountain‘s level of violence. If you can’t handle horrifying scenes, sometimes involving children, then this book isn’t for you. But, contrary to some other books I’ve read, the violence is integral to the story and serves a purpose (at least from the characters’ perspectives). Bull Mountain does not feel like a novel chock full of violence just for the shock value.What I Didn’t Like:Nothing. This book is fantastic!A Defining Quote:“There is a subtle symbiotic relationship between the land up here and the people who call it home that folks like yourself never seem to fully understand, no matter how many files you read, or training scenarios you run. It’s not your fault, you’re just not from here. It goes way beyond simple pride or honor. Pride is a brand-new red bike or a better-paying job. Up here it’s something deeper than bone. It’s not something that they earned or had to fight to get. They were born into it, and the fight comes on real hard when someone threatens to take it away. It’s an integral part of who they are – who we are.”Good for People Who Like:Multi-generational family sagas, “Grit Lit”, Southern Gothic fiction, dark stories, mind games, page turners.Check out my blog, Sarah's Book Shelves, for more reviews.

I knew from the first page I would enjoy this book with its description of the rural life you could easily imagine truly authentic didn't want to put it down

It's all I can really say about this book: brilliant!Although quite violent, a very good read!

Enjoyed this first instalment of the Burroughs dynasty. Hillbillies, bikers, drugs and violence all merged into a story which pops back and forth between current time and past events which have shaped the Mountain. Definitely worth reading.

I read more books than I have hot meals and this is by far one of the best books I have read.It ticked every single box. A well thought out story with a smashing denouement I didn't see coming. Every character is fleshed out so well and vivid I still think of them even though I've finished the book. The kind of beautiful, yummy prose where you repeat sentences to yourself because they are just so damn perfect. But don't expect any purple softness. It is written with a gritty, hammer-hard-edge throughout about the tragic, violent criminal family of the Burroughs Clan in the Georgia mountains, where crimes and mistakes pass through generations to present day. It is amazing how much is fitted between 300 pages. It moved with fantastic momentum without ever feeling empty and rushed, which most today do. Also, most authors struggle with alternating timelines, making them muddled, confusing and downright boring. But Panowich struck gold by making it easy to follow, logical, smart and interesting. His prose and character work reminds me very much of Tom Franklin, another fantastic author. But Panowich makes his own stamp on the map with this true gem. I'm weary of reviews, what I love you may detest etc, but I can guarantee that if you love a fantastic, gripping read with characters you will genuinely care for, then please grab a copy of Bull Mountain.One of the best reads I have had in a long, long time and I cant wait for Panowich's next book. Highly, highly recommended.

Like a breath of fresh air through the crime writers club. Each characters biography beautifully sketched and tied together with an unbreakable storyline. Brilliant concept,maybe even unique. May prosperity follow you Brian.