BULL MOUNTAIN

BULL MOUNTAIN

By Brian Panowich

“I was trouble on legs like a worn-out razor, cuttin’ everything I touched
Cut one too many, so I figured I’d blaze a trail
I ran like the devil in a house on fire, but I didn’t run fast enough
You can run all you want, but you can’t outrun your self

Let it go, what else do you do, oh
You can’t hold what you can’t hold, oh no
Can’t stay young, gotta get old
It ain’t like you ain’t never been told
It don’t do no good to complain about the pain you can’t outgrow
Let it go” – excerpt from “Let it Go” written and performed by Travis Meadows

Bull Mountain is one of those books that you don’t want to end, not only because the story is so gripping, but because the writing is so solid that you’re afraid the next book you pick up can’t possibly measure up, and you don’t want that disappointment in your life. The novel held me from the first few words, and the ending of Chapter 1 made me jerk upright and mouth, “Oh my god.” It only got better from there.

This is a story of a family, the Burroughs, who have lived and made their living on the mountain for generations. They aren’t family members or neighbors that you would particularly want to have, unless you’re into the moonshine, meth and marijuana trade, and wouldn’t hesitate to use an arsenal of weapons when needed, even against your own.

Clayton Burroughs is the one descendant of the mountain clan who is trying to break free of his family traditions by becoming the local sheriff. Try as he might, he understands that blood runs thicker than water down the mountainside, and his loyalties are tested when a federal agent asks him to turn on his family.

Saying that this book has twists and turns doesn’t do it justice, even though it seems there’s a twist at every turn of the page. The story unfolds and winds through the novel with a long, hard grasp that won’t let go. I was annoyed that I had to do things such as sleep, eat, drive, talk to people and anything else that kept me from finishing the book once I started it.

Fair warning though. There is a lot of violence in this book. It can’t be helped. Violence was born of Bull Mountain and lives and breathes there. Just know that before you go in, and be prepared.

The sequel to Bull Mountain, Like Lions, is sitting next to me as I type this. I’m going back in.

Reviewed May 2019