Set in the 1950s in the North Carolina mountains, this novel centers on two characters: Granny May is a folk healer, and Rory Docherty, her grandson, is a wounded Korean War veteran who runs whiskey to the mill town at the bottom of the mountain. This novel was an Okra Pick from the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance for last winter. "It’s the characters, so wonderfully vibrant and alive in their all-too-human variety―scared, tightly wound, angry, damaged, yet resourceful and resilient, some honorable, some not―that demonstrate Brown’s prodigious talent. Brown has quickly established himself in the top echelon of Southern writers, and his latest will please readers of Wiley Cash and Ron Rash." - Booklist, starred review. "Powerful . . . explosive . . . Brown's lyrical prose invokes a verdant landscape whose rich past is woven into its roots and people; their dependence on the land and respect for its great mysteries are palpable. This tale of loyalty and retribution will linger with readers." - Publishers Weekly. “If you loved Child of God by Cormac McCarthy, Nightwood by Charles Frazier or anything by Ron Rash, you’ll love it. Appalachian Gothic at its absolute finest. – Jeff Zentner. Taylor Brown grew up on the Georgia coast and graduated from the University of Georgia in 2005. He has lived in Buenos Aires, San Francisco, and the mountains of North Carolina, but now lives in Wilmington, North Carolina. His first book, In the Season of Blood and Gold, is a story collection. His first novel, Fallen Land, is set in the North Carolina Mountains, and his second novel, The River of Kings is set in South Georgia. Gods of Howl Mountain is his third novel.
New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2018. 294 pages. Hardback with dust jacket.