Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Spooky Country Noir Reads

I did not move this far north to deal with near 90 degree temps in September.  I love the fall, and that means crisp temps, college football, and . . . Halloween.  And, for me, Halloween means reading.  Really, all of those things mean reading, because I really like reading.  Not reading horror, necessarily, but the Halloween season is an exception.  In the past I have focused on older horror at Every Day Should Be Tuesday, running a series of posts on Frankenstein and a series of posts on the horror of Robert E. Howard.  This year I am bringing it home to Hillbilly Highways.  Ghost stories are a rich part of my cultural heritage, and country noir offers plenty of spooky options.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Wishful Endings.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Like Lions by Brian Panowich

Like Lions is the sequel to Panowich’s excellent country noir Bull Mountain.  I have a review copy and, let me tell you, Like Lions is even better.  You can find my review of Bull Mountain here.  Keep an eye out for my review of Like Lions on May 1.  Check out the blurb for the multi-generational hillbilly crime drama after the jump.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is hosted by Wishful Endings.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Books by J.G. Hetherton, David Joy, and Stephen Markley

These three recently released books are deep in the Hillbilly Highways wheelhouse.  Last Girl Gone is set in my home state of North Carolina, a thriller featuring a journalist who returns to the small town she grew up in.  David Joy is walking in the mighty footprints left by Ron Rash, and The Line That Held Us is a tale about one deadly accident setting off a cycle of violence set in my old stomping grounds in the NC mountains.  Ohio is set in, well, Ohio, but I’m a Midwesterner now, and I can’t resist a book that gets compared favorably to Friday Night Lights.

I’ve been crazy busy, but a busy travel month has finally given me some reading time.  I finished Last Girl Gone by J.G. Hetherton and The Line That Held Us by David Joy during my last two trips.  I started Ohio by Stephen Markley on my last trip and should finish it on my next one.  I’m a little iffy on Ohio right now, but Last Girl Gone and The Line That Held Us are solid 4-star books.

You can expect reviews of all three books over the next month or so.  All are out now in one format or another and available at Amazon (click on the cover pics for an affiliate link).

Can’t-Wait Wednesdays is hosted by Wishful Endings.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Rough Animals by Rae DelBianco

I’m cheating again (just a bit).  Rough Animals is already out.  But I was lucky enough to get my hands on a review copy.  And by lucky I mean I finagled it (I am a great finagler).

I was sold as soon as I saw Rough Animals compared to the work of Cormac McCarthy and Ron Rash.  You’ve already seen evidence of my love of Ron Rash.  The Cormac McCarthy love will come, believe me.

Can’t-Wait Wednesdays is hosted by Wishful Endings.

Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

Fresh off my review of Savage Season, I am back for another country noir set in East Texas.  Bluebird, Bluebird is thick with Texas Rangers and the blues and blood and bubbling racial tensions.  I am reading this now and I have thoughts!  But I am going to wait for the paperback to hit before I publish my review.  You can expect it to go live on August 22.

Bluebird, Bluebird won the 2018 Edgar Award for Best (mystery) Novel.

Can’t-Wait Wednesdays is hosted by Wishful Endings.