[Review] Gods of Howl Mountain - Taylor Brown

Summary: Bootlegger Rory Docherty has returned home to the fabled mountain of his childhood - a misty wilderness that holds its secrets close and keeps the outside world at gunpoint. Slowed by a wooden leg and haunted by memories of the Korean War, Rory runs bootleg whiskey for a powerful mountain clan in a retro-fitted '40 Ford coupe. Between deliveries to roadhouses, brothels, and private clients, he lives with his formidable grandmother, evades federal agents, and stokes the wrath of a rival runner.

In the mill town at the foot of the mountains - a hotbed of violence, moonshine, and the burgeoning sport of stock-car racing - Rory is bewitched by the mysterious daughter of a snake-handling preacher. His grandmother, Maybelline “Granny May” Docherty, opposes this match for her own reasons, believing that "some things are best left buried." A folk healer whose powers are rumored to rival those of a wood witch, she concocts potions and cures for the people of the mountains while harboring an explosive secret about Rory’s mother - the truth behind her long confinement in a mental hospital, during which time she has not spoken one word. When Rory's life is threatened, Granny must decide whether to reveal what she knows...or protect her only grandson from the past.

With gritty and atmospheric prose, Taylor Brown brings to life a perilous mountain and the family who rules it. (Pub Date: Mar 20, 2018)

Disclaimer, this is not my type of book. And yet, because it's different, I tend to like the change. Only it didn't work this time.

3.5, because the writing gave me goosebumps but the plot not so much.

Rory has lost one leg during the war in Korea and now works as a bootlegger, distributing whiskey around Howl Mountain, while his grandmother is a fol healer, who's chosen to isolate herself fromt he community, especially after her daughter suffered from a trauma so great she's never spoken a word anymore. The many secrets of Howl Mountain seem about to overflow.

The story was gripping, I won't deny. As you may have seen from other reviews, the writing is also something else. It's almost poetic, which contributes to surrounding this book in an otherworldly atmosphere that makes it unique. It's not a read I'l forget anytime soon.

However, the plot twists, the happenings, the revelations, none of of it was that grand. Even the characters' motivations didn't seem that deep in the end of things. I'm not saying they were shallow, but it fell far from amazing. In other words, the effort it takes you to get used to the writing, to the grim atmosphere, to the twisted story didn't pay. I dare say it wasn't the style or the genre, the book itself was a little bland. I was so sure we were going toward something big, and it was only that. But this was still a beautiful journey.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.


Rating: 3 out of 5.