**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from St. Taylor Brown is the author of several books including River of Kings and Fallen Land. I am glad I live in NC now, and not back then. The characters are authentic and it definitely pulled me into a bygone era. Sort of like an accident on the highway.you don't want to look, but something makes you look anyway. There are portions that made me uncomfortable, but the plot was so mesmerizing I just kept reading. Once I got a bit into the story, I couldn't put the book down. It isn't the sort of book I usually read, but since I live in western NC I really wanted to get a taste of what it was like in the moonshine days. It took me a few chapters to really get into this story. The characters are gritty and authentic, creating the long-gone atmosphere of 1950's mountain backwoods NC. This story has a little bit of everything - faith healing, bootleg liquor, dark family secrets, greed and violence. He comes home haunted by the war and the loss of a leg. Rory Docherty returns home to North Carolina following the Korean War. I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway, with a request for a candid review. Recommended to those interested in “slice of life” stories with a strong sense of time and place or dark mysteries with interconnected threads. Contains profanity, sex, violence, and harm to animals. Not my typical reading experience, and not a cheery book, it has a raw feel to it. The other characters are multi-faceted enough to carry the story. She is not shy in expressing her opinions. She is an herbalist, skilled in finding roots, leaves, herbs, and plants for making tinctures and other homeopathic remedies.
Granny May is a particularly memorable character. The author is adept at character development.
The author’s writing is evocative, and I found it particularly effective in describing the natural environment. Power, greed, and vengeance are prominent themes. This book is filled with vivid scenes such as the early days of stock car racing, evading the revenuers, attending religious events where participants are stirred to a fever-pitched frenzy (including rattlesnakes), feuding families, and seeking revenge against wrongs of the past and present. His mother has been confined to a mental hospital since he was a child, and he lives with his grandmother, Granny May. With limited employment options due to his prosthetic leg, he runs moonshine for the kingpin of the mountain where he grew up. Rory Docherty, a Korean war veteran, has returned home emotionally and physically damaged. Historical fiction and mystery about bootlegging in the backwoods of North Carolina in the 1950’s.
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