MARILYN STASIO, THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW – ONE OF THE 10 BEST CRIME NOVELS OF THE YEAR “The plotting is skilled, as is the sleuthing, and the landscape is stunning. But it’s the hard-jawed characters, with their tough talk and scarred souls, who really get under your skin.” — Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review Return to McFalls County and Bull Mountain in Hard Cash Valley, … Bull Mountain in Hard Cash Valley, where Brian Panowich weaves another masterful tale of Southern Noir.
Dane Kirby is a broken man and no stranger to tragedy. As a life-long resident and ex-arson investigator for McFalls County, Dane has lived his life in one of the most chaotic and crime-ridden regions of the south. When he gets called in to consult on a brutal murder in a Jacksonville, Florida, motel room, he and his FBI counterpart, Special Agent Roselita Velasquez, begin an investigation that leads them back to the criminal circles of his own backyard.
Arnie Blackwell’s murder in Jacksonville is only the beginning – and Dane and Roselita seem to be one step behind. For someone is hacking a bloody trail throughout the Southeast looking for Arnie’s younger brother, a boy with Asperger’s Syndrome who possesses an unusual skill with numbers that could make a lot of money and that has already gotten a lot of people killed–and has even more of the deadliest people alive willing to do anything it takes to exploit him.
As Dane joins in the hunt to find the boy, it swiftly becomes a race against the clock that has Dane entangled in a web of secrets involving everyone from the Filipino Mafia to distrusting federal agents to some of hardest southern outlaws he’s ever known.
more
This is my first book by this author and it won’t be the last. It’s referred to as Southern noir (a new term for me) but what I know is that it’s a brutal, page turning novel with a main character who is decent and kind and caring about his friends and a character that I won’t soon forget.
Dane Kirby is a good guy but he is also a broken man who has lived in the area all of his life. First he worked as an arson investigator and then he started working for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He knows everyone in the area and is well – liked. As he is working on a case with the local sheriff, he gets a call from his boss telling him that he’s needed in Florida to work with the FBI on a brutal murder. He’s not sure why he was asked to help but when the investigation brings him and his new FBI partner back to the criminal circles of his home in Georgia, he begins to understand.
As he and his partner investigate the brutal murder and put the clues together they discover that they need to find a 12 year old boy with Asbergers whose life is in danger. Several people are looking for him and they plan to kill him. That search brings him back to his home county where he is helped by old friends at the same time that old enemies would like to take him out of the search.
There is a lot of violence and a lot of spilled blood in this book. In some cases, that would make this a book that I didn’t finish. The reason that this book was different was because of the character of Dane Kirby. He had survived so much tragedy in his life yet was still an honest and upstanding man who wanted the best for people and faced extreme danger to do the right things. Even though this was a dark and gritty book, Dane made it a book that was very human. I was rooting for him and I have to admit that I shed some tears at the end of the book and I usually don’t cry during a violent book.
This is book 3 in the Bull Mountain series. I wasn’t are that it was part of a series and it wasn’t confusing and can be read as a standalone. I enjoyed it so much that I plan to order the first two books in the series and anxiously wait for the next book.
Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
I am so happy that I discovered Brian Panowich this year. His gritty southern noir crime-style books are so wonderfully written. They are dark, moving, unsettling, full of suspense, and his characters, even the good guys, are far from perfect. The third book in his Bull Mountain series, Hard Cash Valley, is no exception to this formula. The third book centers around Dane Kirby, ex-arson investigator and now a GBI Investigator. The FBI requests Dane’s assistance on a case to solve a particularly vicious murder. The book follows Dane and FBI Agent Roselita Velasquez as they try to put together the crime pieces, and the reader is left to wonder why Dane is such a shattered man. All truths are revealed at the end, and I was left heartbroken. This was another Audible audiobook for me, and the narrator Brian Troxell did an excellent job bringing the story to life. Another five star for Panowich, and I look forward to what he comes up with next.
Gritty, pacey, and suspenseful!
Hard Cash Valley is a chilling, action-packed thriller that sees GBI consultant, Dane Kirby, working with the FBI when the brutal murder of a man in Florida leads back to McFalls County where bodies begin piling up, a young boy is missing, and The Farm which recently hosted the largest illegal cockfighting match in the US seems to be at the centre of it all.
The prose is precise and crisp. The characters are relentless, callous, and impulsive. And the plot is a fast-paced, riveting tale full of twists, turns, intrigue, action, greed, power, corruption, duplicity, violence, and murder.
Overall, Hard Cash Valley is an edgy, engrossing, sinister tale that highlights just how fine the line between right and wrong truly is and reminds us that messing with the criminal underworld is never a wise decision.
I am loving these stories that are written about life on and around Bull Mountain. I can truly see that there is much truth in the writing of these stories. This story tells us a lot about Dane and his life. To say he led an interesting life is an understatement. He also has some very interesting friends. I don’t want to give anything away so I’ll just say I loved the story and felt like I was right there with them. There are some very interesting characters in this book. I’ll let you decide what you think about them. I hope you’ll check out this book. I received this book from NetGalley, but my opinion is my own.
When a man is viciously murdered in a hotel room in Florida, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Dane Kirby is asked to consult with FBI Special Agent Roselita Velasquez. Dane’s confusion as to why he has been chosen is revealed when he learns that the murdered man had connections in Georgia. The younger brother of the murdered man is not only missing, but has Asperger’s Syndrome, and the hunt is on to find him. Dane’s wife died twelve years ago and although he has moved on with his girlfriend Misty, there are secrets he has kept from her. Dane Kirby was a wonderful lead character, flawed, but strong in his own way. He’s not looking for praise or recognition, just doing his job in the only way he knows. He reminded me of the Longmire character by Craig Johnson, often underestimated until the final moment. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)