My Never Ending List

I only had to read a few pages and I found myself in the back hills of North Caroline, on Howl Mountain. Rory is living with his granny and the two of them make special trips to see his mother who is living in a special home because of an event that occurred that no one likes to talk about. That’s what it’s like here on the mountain. Everything is on a need-to-know basis. Rory would like to know all the details and he will know, when the time is right. Granny makes her own homemade tinctures, remedies and potions for whatever may ail you and the folks come from many of miles to ask for granny’s help with their ailments.

 

Whiskey is the name of the game here up on the mountain and Rory is a runner for the drink. Since coming back from the war with his leg injury, Rory has been working for Eustace while trying to keep his dreams (or nightmares) at bay. Eustace lives with Rory and Granny since he also came back from the war. Eustace has a great setup here on the mountain with his concealed stills and his loyal crew. Some people want a piece of Eustace business and Eustace isn’t just handing it over. Meanwhile, Rory has been eyeing the preacher’s daughter, he just can’t get past her green eyes. The mountain contains many secrets and stories, some that cannot be told until the time is right.

 

I love stories about the Appalachian Mountains region. I love how dark and mysterious these stories can get, how the past and present twist around each other as the story unfolds. This novel webbed and flowed as I read it, sometimes picking up in pace and excitement and other times, I sat with granny on the front porch, as she smoked her pipe, and waited for the spirits to arrive at night. Descriptive language filled me as I read, I heard the colored glass bottles clinking as they hung from the old tree out front and I saw them all gathered together at the church, their arms lifted, some speaking in tongues, as they danced amongst themselves, worshipping their God. Another great novel about a time and place in history featuring individuals living their own lives on a mountain with its own rules.

 

I received a e-copy of this novel from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest opinion. Thank you for allowing me to read this novel.

 

I also won a physical copy of this novel from a Goodreads Giveaways. I am thrilled to get a physical copy of this novel so I can reread it. Thank you Goodreads!