Bull Mountain

Clayton Burroughs is sheriff of Bull Mountain and black sheep of the brutal and blood-steeped Burroughs clan. In the forties and fifties, the family ran moonshine over six state lines. In the sixties and seventies, they farmed the largest marijuana crop on the East Coast, and now they are the dominant suppliers of methamphetamine in the South.

An uneasy pact exists between the law man and his folk, but when a federal agent shows up in Clayton's office with a plan to shut down Bull Mountain, his agenda will pit brother against brother and set Clayton on the path to self-destruction.

BULL MOUNTAIN is a story about family, and the lengths men will go to protect it, honour it, or, in some cases, destroy it.


Genre: Mystery

"Brian Panowich had me at the first word of his spectacular debut novel, 'Family, ' and he held me until the very last page. Bull Mountain is a sprawling, gritty, violent, tribal inter-generational crime epic with a deeply rooted sense of place and an gut-punch ending I didn t see coming. Expect to see Bull Mountain on the short-list of many 'Best First Novel' awards." - C J Box

"Panowich stamps words on the page as if they've been blasted from the barrel of a shotgun. Wonderfully rich and evocative." - Wiley Cash

"Bull Mountain is a stunningly polished debut novel. Panowich s tale of family, of land, of crimes large and small, of right and wrong, is so vivid that the reader can almost see the blood in the soil and smell the violence on the wind." - Reed Farrel Coleman

"The gripping, witty Bull Mountain is not only a fine debut, but a fine mystery novel, period. Panowich may even have carved out his own subgenre of hillbilly noir. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next." - John Connolly

"Bull Mountain is a stone gas and a stone winner! It s brother-versus-brother in the dope-damned South. This first novel has it all: moonshine, maryjane and mayhem! Read this book now and succumb to a startling new talent." - James Ellroy

"Holy cow, what a book! It moves like a bullet. Mr. Panowich knows his mountains, his whiskey, his dope and his meth. And boy, does he know his characters, who are drawn sovividly I can't forget them. I can't recommend this novel enough it will thrill fans of Daniel Woodrell and Larry Brown as well as fans of Dennis Lehane and William Gay. First rate, first rate!" - Tom Franklin

"The resurgence of American heartland noir gets a strong new prose soldier with Brian Panowich's debut novel Bull Mountain, a tense, multi-generational tale of life on the hard side, a cops vs. bad guys story with subtly interwoven family sagas, romance and redemption. Panowich is a rising author to watch." - James Grady

"With echoes of Faulkner'sSanctuary and McCarthy'sNo Country for Old Men, Brian Panowich's debut novel is Cain and Abel for a sticky South. Strong as bootleg whiskey, smooth as the action of a well-oiled pistol, Bull Mountain is a beautiful, harrowing debut and so much fun, it ought to be against the law." - Aaron Gwyn

"Dug into the landscape like a grave, Bull Mountain is a novel that resonates with a stirring combinationofgrace and brutality, of beauty and loss. In the Burroughs family, Brian Panowichcreates a clan with all the fire and depth of Faulkner s Henry Sutpen storming through a Steve Earle song." - Steve Weddle