In the mountains of North Carolina in the mid-twentieth century, there aren’t a lot of options for making money. For the women, it’s the mills or prostitution. Or, in the case of Granny May, prostitution and then backwoods healing. For the men, it’s the mills of whiskey. Granny May’s grandson, Rory, became a whiskey runner after he lost his leg in Korea. In Taylor Brown’s Gods of Howl Mountain, we watch the two of them do their best to keep themselves going in spite of their hardships—which have just gotten a lot harder with a new federal revenue man in town and a troublemaker who has decided that he needs to teach Rory a fatal lesson.
Granny May is one of the most terrific characters I’ve read in a while. She takes no crap and delights in saying naughty things around her grandson. She smokes an unnamed plant, makes cures for any ailment under the sun, and blows a hole in the roof when she hears what sounds like a panther scream up there. I could have read an entire book about her because she’s fascinating. Her grandson, Rory, is interesting in a less flashy way. He suffers flashbacks and pain in his lost leg. After tangling with another whiskey runner, Cooley, Rory ends up in an escalating series of showdowns with the disturbing man.
Just to make things even more interesting, there are also interstitial scenes that help explain how Granny May and Rory ended up together on their mountain. This subplot becomes important in the book’s climax, but I was entertained enough with the fighting, Granny’s antics, and all the car racing. There’s hardly a moment in this book where the characters have a chance to catch their breaths.
Gods of Howl Mountain is a gripping read, with a good blend of pathos and humor and plenty of action. For readers looking for something that will give them a taste of the hard and wild life of Appalachia, this book is the perfect choice.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration. It will be released 20 March 2018.