Like Lions by Brian Panowich

Hillbilly noir is a thing and it’s kinda awesome! At least it is in the hands of Brian Panowich in his new novel, Like Lions. Lions is the follow-up to his debut, Bull Mountain and takes us back to rural Georgia and the Burroughs clan. Clayton Burroughs is sheriff but also a member of the Burroughs crime family which formerly ran all the drug operations in that part of Georgia. A family looking for a new leader, since Clayton killed the last one.

Clayton is also recovering from injuries which nearly killed him several months earlier. He is in physical and emotional pain. This pain, along with his drinking, has put a strain on his marriage to Kate. Now one group wants to run their criminal enterprise through Clayton’s county and another thinks that the Burroughs are weakened enough to make them a target. Clayton is trying to break the chain of criminality that he was raised on, but when a member of a rival clan winds up dead, it threatens to kick off a war that threatens Clayton’s family and all of Bull Mountain.

Clayton is a strong but tortured character. He is determined to operate within the law -- mostly. He also recognizes that things operate just a little differently on Bull Mountain. He bears a passing resemblance to Elmore Leonard’s great character, Raylan Givens. Clayton skillfully balances the family who wants him to take over their operations, the Florida gang who wants him and his connections for their own criminal purposes, and the rival neighbors who think he is weak enough to topple. When Clayton’s wife and infant child are threatened, though, they’ll find out just what he’s made of.

Kate Burroughs is an outstanding character as well. She loves Clayton even as she hates what his pain and his drinking have made of him. She has a core of steel and when she is threatened as a way to get to Clayton, it turns out that she’s not exactly a shrinking violet.

Like Lions is fast-paced, gritty and violent. The story moves forward briskly as the various plot lines twist around until they all come together for a finale that is a punch in the face. Once the story crests, the action will have you flipping the pages all the way to the end to see what happens. Well-balanced action and character depth make this novel a cut above the rest. Highly recommended.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publishers.

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