Bull Mountain

I do not recall exactly how this book got on my list to read. It is certainly not my type of book. It is southern noir set in northern Georgia, near the titular Bull Mountain, where a family with a criminal history (murder, moonshine, drugs, guns) has lived for generations. One family member, Clayton Burroughs, has rebelled and become a sheriff. The plot follows the sheriff attempting to intervene with his brother to stop the flow of drugs to the region at the prompting of a federal agent.

The main problem, for me, is that the dialogue reads like the author telling readers what he wants them to know – lots of explanatory discourse that sounds completely unnatural. Each chapter jumps back and forth to a different part of the timeline, show more hitting every decade from 1949 to 2015. This piecemeal approach does not add anything and seems overly disjointed, getting in the way of character development. The characters are mostly southern stereotypes.

It is brutally violent and vulgar, not the type of content I prefer to read. There are a few very large plot-holes, especially at the end, where we find the usual “twists and turns.” I dislike these because they are solely there to fool the reader and they make the rest of the book seem ridiculous. I read it for a challenge, or I would not have finished. If you regularly read action-packed thrillers, you may like it more than I did.

On a more positive note, if you enjoy southern noir, skip this one and read: [b:Gods of Howl Mountain|34964885|Gods of Howl Mountain|Taylor Brown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1494814260l/34964885._SY75_.jpg|56239882] or [b:Country Dark|36556924|Country Dark|Chris Offutt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1515529694l/36556924._SX50_.jpg|58292558]. These may have a little less action, but they are immersive reads with deeply drawn characters and a strong sense of place. show less

I was prepared to like Bull Mountain more than I did. It’s not a bad story – it kept me reading, the characters are good, the setting is captivating. I think maybe because it was sold as literary fiction, but it’s not. I don’t know. I’m conflicted. There’s quite a bit here where I was busy telling myself, nah, that isn’t happening. Enough times to take me out of the story. The ATF agent, Simon Holly, is basically wrong all around. Despite all that, I’ll probably read the follow-up novel. Like I said – conflicted.

Bull Mountain by Brian Panowich is a 2016 G.P. Putnam’s Son’s publication.

Southern Literature, organized crime, and a family drama all rolled into one book.

Usually, the ‘black sheep’ of the family means the odd guy out- but in an unsavory way. Clayton Burroughs is most definitely the odd guy out in his family- but in this case, he is the only one in his family who walks on the right side of the law. In fact, he’s a sheriff in a neighboring community, while his brother runs the family business on Bull Mountain, located in Northern Georgia. Their family empire, which has been run by the Burroughs for generations, began with bootlegging, then branched out into drugs- first pot, and now meth.

Clayton is devoted to his wife, and show more wants to keep the peace, which means giving his mean hard-bitten brother and his criminal enterprise a wide berth. But when an ATF agent shows up, he lures Clayton into helping him shut ‘the mountain’ down. Naturally, the plan throws Clayton a few unforeseen curveballs, pitting one brother against the other, and leading to a dreaded, but unavoidable family showdown….

I passed on this book five years ago, when it was first released. I found my way back to it when ‘Hard Cash Valley’ was released. I didn’t make the connection at first- but soon realized that HCV was the third book in the Bull Mountain series- so I decided to do a quick catch up-

I entered into this one with a small amount of trepidation, mainly due to some misleading trendy, sub-genre labels attached to it, which now that I’ve read it, didn’t do the book justice.

However, I discovered this book is right up my alley! I loved it! I love southern fiction, I love family sagas, and I love crime fiction. I especially love it when a book can mingle these genres into one book and do so with style… literary style, at that.

I had a hard time finding anyone who had the same insights into this novel that I did- so this may seem way out of left field – but I found a strong parallel between the Burroughs family and many fictional mob families.

To me, many of the same elements are present- an organized crime operation- loyalties, backstabbing, deep family dramas, cold-blooded criminals, tons of gritty violence, a hint of Greek or Shakespearian tragedy- any of that sound familiar? The difference is, of course, that instead of Italy, New York, or Chicago, this book is set in the mountains of Northern Georgia and it is a much smaller, tight knit group- although the enterprise reaches far and wide.

We also have Clayton Burroughs- a conflicted hero- such a well- drawn character- flawed, but determined to break the chain – but in the end will he lack the courage of his own convictions?

This is really, really good stuff!!

The story may be violent and rough, the characters without conscience, mean, and heartless, with no redeemable traits, they may not speak eloquently, or live opulently, although they are surely deceptively comfortable financially- but this book is not raw! It is not stark,
or sparse- it is way too polished for some of the tags and labels applied to it.

The characters are hardly one dimensional and the novel does not rely heavily on the action to carry it. In fact, it is deeply psychological, even quiet at times- very high in suspense, and nearly impossible to put down.

I have already stared book two and I can tell I an going to like it- maybe as much as I did this one show less

This book is as gritty as gargling dirt! It is incredibly hard for me to fathom that this is a first novel by this author. Definitely my top read of 2022 thus far!! There were many, many OH MY GOD moments that had my heart accelerating and my stomach knotted. We get multiple point of view's but it was very easy to follow and they were all necessary. This whole story stems from an incident way back when and the aftermath lasts generations. This is not for the faint of heart! If I could rate this 5 1/2 stars I would. Best book of 2022 so far.

My of my, what a book! I literally couldn’t put it down. A story dealing with sins of the father and revenge, it has excellent, strong character development and a well-developed plot. His writing reminds me of Dennis Lehane’s work. It’s a gritty book but it has a true soul.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this one or not. The description of hillbilly noir turned me off a bit. I thought it might be more geared towards men than women and be a bit too violent. Yes, there’s plenty of violence and some strong language but it’s not done in a sensational manner. It’s necessary to the story. Plus there’s a heart stopping love story that brings such richness to the novel. And many women will relate and care strongly show more about the character of Marion. I’m very glad I gave this one a chance.

While the author does jump around between characters and time quite a bit, I didn’t find it confusing. He always included something in the beginning of each section that brought me back to that place and time.

This is a very compelling story that you won’t soon forget. I’ll be keeping my eye out for this author’s next book.

I was given a copy of this book by First to Read in return for an honest review. show less

An impressive fiction debut from author Brian Panowich, "Bull Mountain" is gritty North Georgia Noir, featuring an unforgettable clan of criminal minds and their extended reach of cousins and cohorts. The Burroughs family has deep roots on Bull Mountain, as deep as the roots of the big, old trees that have stood silent witness as generations have come and gone while the mountain holds it ground. As the story weaves back and forth through time, the Burroughs money-making method of madness morphs from moonshine, to pot, to meth, and their trafficking territory blurs through at least half a dozen state lines. One Burroughs, Clayton, has defied his deviant family lineage and become the sheriff of McFalls County, and the county line encloses show more Bull Mountain. Federal Agent Simon Holly approaches Clayton with a plan to bring down the family drug empire, run by Clayton's older brother, Hal, as a means to reel in the bigger fish, Hal's criminal connection in Florida. Agent Holly is offering immunity for Hal if he turns informant against the Florida organization, particularly their leader, a man named Wilcombe. The alternative, if Clayton and Hal don't cooperate, is an all-encompassing invasion of Bull Mountain, promising mass destruction and an inevitable loss of life. Clayton knows his brother all too well, but he agrees to speak with Hal and advise him of the offer. The bad blood between the brothers runs far deeper than Clayton's choice of career. It's much more than outlaw versus "the law". Clayton will go up the mountain, but will he make it back down alive? A darkly compelling tale from author Brian Panowich.

Book Copy Gratis Amazon Vine show less

This story covers several generations of Burroughs men, and sometimes it can be difficult keeping track as it jumps around. You may be current day with Clayton, then be in the 50s, 70s or 80s with Clayton's brother, father, grandfather or some other relative.

Clayton is the Burroughs man that "turned good" in a family of men that have broken many laws to maintain their way of life. Clayton's family lives in the mountains of Georgia, where they have lived and died for generations, fueling their way of life with the trafficking of moonshine, marijuana and meth-- and guns. Now Agent Holly has a plan to take the family down once and for all, with the help of Clayton.

For TV lovers, this book is Justified meets Longmire meets Sons of Anarchy. show more If you are familiar with the residents of Harlan County, then you'll be right at home with the Burroughs gang. Clayton has a Walt Longmire vibe, and then you can throw in a biker gang to boot.

My final word: Clayton is the hero you can root for, and it's hard to feel too bad for his kith and kin as their livelihoods are threatened. Clayton's wife Kate is admirable and sympathetic, having battled with Clayton's demons for years. There is a nice twist or two in the story to keep things interesting. I really loved the author's writing, and I was already a fan of the subject material (I love southern lit and stories about Appalachian mountain families and the like). The jumping back and forth between different perspectives and time periods can be tricky to navigate, but you settle into the format and it does get easier as the story goes on. There is nice tension and suspense, a couple of twists and turns, some colorful characters with some very good character development. However one area I felt it fell short was in the character development of Agent Holly. This book is going to make it to my "Best of 2015" list. I loved it! show less