A breakthrough novel that pits young kingpins against a Mexican drug cartel, Savages is a provocative, sexy, and sharply funny thrill ride through the dark side of the war on drugs and beyond. Part-time environmentalist and philanthropist Ben and his ex-mercenary buddy Chon run a Laguna Beach-based marijuana operation, reaping significant profits from their loyal clientele. In the past when their turf was challenged, Chon took care of eliminating the threat. But now they may have come up against something that they can’t handle–the Mexican Baja Cartel wants in, and sends them the message that a “no” is unacceptable. When they refuse to back down, the cartel escalates its threat, kidnapping Ophelia, the boys’ playmate and confidante. O’s abduction sets off a dizzying array of ingenious negotiations and gripping plot twists that will captivate readers eager to learn the costs of freedom and the price of one amazing high. Following “the best summertime crime novel ever” ( San Francisco Chronicle on The Dawn Patrol ), bestselling author Winslow offers up a smash hit in the making. Savages is an ingenious combination of adrenaline-fueled suspense and true-crime reportage by a master thriller writer at the very top of his game.
Main Characters
Ben (Ben Leonard): A brilliant botanist and philanthropist who develops a highly potent strain of marijuana. He is an idealist and part-time environmentalist who wants to use his wealth for good, often in third-world countries. He is the more pragmatic of the two male protagonists when dealing with the cartel’s demands.
Chon (John McAllister Jr.): Ben’s best friend and business partner, a former Navy SEAL who provides the “muscle” for their operation. He is pragmatic, tough, and has a “post-traumatic lack of stress disorder,” a hardened warrior with a soft spot for Ben and O.
Ophelia (“O” Sage): The beautiful and free-spirited woman whom both Ben and Chon love and share in an unconventional, intimate relationship. She is kidnapped by the Baja Cartel, which acts as the main catalyst for the plot.
Antagonists
Elena Sanchez Lauter (“La Reina”): The formidable and ruthless leader of the Baja Cartel, a powerful figure with a strategic mind who wants to take over Ben and Chon’s successful business.
Lado (Miguel Arroyo): A cold and brutal enforcer for the cartel who carries out Elena’s orders without question, including the abduction and torment of O.
Dennis Cain: A corrupt, double-dealing DEA agent who is involved with the cartel and tries to play all sides for his own profit.
I love Winslow’s writing style and unconventional flow. The chapters are sometimes two sentences. The tongue in cheek is amazing. I love the dry humor tucked in between the drug running and murders. It’s honestly brilliant, as are all of Winslow’s works that I’ve read. Lots of explicit sex and language. Don’t say no one warned you. This book is not for the faint of heart. Despite the roguish nature of the book, it has a light air and is a good palate-cleanser after a heavy read. I thoroughly enjoyed it, as I expected. It doesn’t really end happily ever after, but I think the characters were ultimately content.
J.G. Hetherton was raised in rural Wisconsin, graduated from Northwestern University, and lived in Chicago for the better part of a decade. Along the way to his first novel, he dabbled in many different day jobs before moving to North Carolina for a girl. They live in Durham, North Carolina with their twin daughters, and when he’s not writing, you can find him on the hiking trail or sitting down with a good book.
Perfect for fans of Jeffery Deaver and J.A. Jance, in this thrilling second book in the series, Laura Chambers finds herself caught in a deadly web of small town secrets.
Hillsborough, North Carolina is a town with a dark history that is bubbling to the surface. Twenty years ago, Laura’s friend’s family was slaughtered in their beds, and the sole survivor, Laura’s eight-year-old friend, was whisked away to distant relatives. That was the last time Laura ever saw her best friend.
Twenty years later, a woman runs onto the interstate, directly into the path of a truck, and the gruesome accident leaves behind a mangled corpse. Her very last phone call was to Laura, just before she was killed, but her face is disfigured beyond recognition. Identification seems impossible, and the victim was barefoot and in a state of undress. The only thing in her possession is an old photograph depicting Laura, Laura’s father—and standing next to them, her lost friend from childhood.
Laura’s father passed away when she was eight, and she thought she understood why he vanished from her life in the year before he died, but the photograph and the corpse begin to cast doubt on everything she thought she knew.
As the lines between fact and fiction blur, Laura digs into the history of the deceased, and her own family, determined to discover what lies beneath…
Laura is an interesting bird. She has been emotionally abused by her mother her entire life and lied to by both her parents, among others. Over all, I like her character. She’s flawed and I like that, but also stays in her own head a little too much. I found myself irritated with her more than once.
J. G. Hetherton was in raised in rural Wisconsin, graduated from Northwestern University, and lived in Chicago for the better part of a decade. Along the way to his first novel, he dabbled in many different day jobs before moving to North Carolina for a girl. They live in Durham, North Carolina, with their twin daughters, and when he’s not writing, you can find him on the hiking trail or sitting down with a good book.
A Sun-Sentinel Top Debut Mystery of 2018
This pulse-pounding series debut is the next obsession for fans of Julia Keller and David Bell, and readers of unflinching thrillers.
Sometimes, the journey home is the most harrowing. And it’s every parent’s worst nightmare.
Investigative journalist Laura Chambers is back in her tiny hometown of Hillsborough, North Carolina, the one place she swore never to return. Fired from the Boston Globe, her career in shambles, she reluctantly takes a job with the local paper. The work is simple, unimportant, and worst of all, boring—at least until a missing girl turns up dead, the body impeccably clean, dressed to be the picture of innocence.
Years earlier, ten-year-old Patty Finch left home and never made it back. But for the people of Hillsborough, Patty was just the beginning. Child after child disappeared, a reign of terror the town desperately wants to forget. Now that terror has returned to seize another girl. And another.
This is the story Laura’s been waiting for—her one last chance to get back onto the front page. She dives deeper into a case that runs colder by the second, only to discover the truth may be far closer to home than she could have ever imagined. Powerful, intricate, and tense, Last Girl Gone will have you looking over your shoulder long after the last page.
I love reading debut novels, and this one was really good. I liked the characters, and Laura’s turbulent relationship with her mother added to the mix nicely. I am looking forward to the next book from this author.
Born in the South, raised in the Midwest, Charly Cox now resides in the Southwest in the Land of Enchantment, Green Chile capital of the world, which is good because she enjoys eating copious amounts of the spicy food. When she’s not reading, writing, or plotting sinister evils with her antagonists, she enjoys doing jigsaw and crossword puzzles, hanging out with her husband and her spoiled Siberian Husky, visiting her son in Arizona, and traveling, preferably to places surrounded by sun, sand, and warm uncrowded beaches.
Detective Alyssa Wyatt is hunting a serial killer. She doesn’t know that he’s also hunting her.
A woman is found naked, badly beaten, and barely alive in the New Mexico mountains. The shocking discovery plunges Albuquerque Detective Alyssa Wyatt into a case that will test her to the limit. It appears that Callie McCormick is the latest plaything of a mysterious psychopath who leaves a long shadow on the streets of New Mexico—an individual linked to a string of deaths but leaving no evidence. But when Alyssa makes a breakthrough that just might reveal the killer, she unknowingly puts herself in the crosshairs of a brutal maniac—one with an old score to settle. Because the killer knows Alyssa very well, even if she doesn’t know him. And he’s determined that she’ll know his name—even if he has to extract his deadly revenge on her and everything she loves.
Fans of Kendra Elliot, Melinda Leigh, and Angela Marsons will be utterly engrossed.
Great reviews for the Detective Alyssa Wyatt Series! “Wow, did All His Pretty Girls pack a punch! I was shocked when I found out this was a debut…a heart-in-your-mouth read that will have you racing through those pages.” ―On The Shelf Reviews
“Oh boy, was I swiped off my feet as what was already a totally gripping read escalated into my top five for this year…It felt like my heart was beating in the back of my throat!” ―Books From Dusk Till Dawn
“A serial killer chiller where the action never flags, the suspense is red-hot and the twists and turns jaw-droppingly brilliant, fans of the genre need to add Charly Cox to their list of must-buys.” ―Bookish Jottings
“A compelling thriller that I could not put down! The killer was insane, the story was addictive and the writing was fantastic. This is everything I want when I pick up a police procedural!” —Jessica Belmont, writer/blogger
This is a debut novel. As far as those go, it is solid. I had this series by Charly Cox on my wish list for a long time and I decided to take the plunge before it wasn’t included in my audible membership anymore. It was okay. Probably three stars. Middle of the road characters and story line. I will read the rest of the Alyssa Wyatt series because I can’t not read it after I’ve already started it. Reasonably entertaining. No kids or puppies die, so I guess it was okay.
Detective Alyssa Wyatt – Protagonist, works with the Albuquerque Police Department
Brock Wyatt – Alyssa’s husband
Isaac Wyatt – Alyssa and Brock’s son
Holly Wyatt – Alyssa and Brock’s daughter
Mable Wyatt – Brock’s mother
Detective Cord Roberts – Alyssa’s partner
Sarah Roberts – Cord’s wife, nurse
Evan Bishop/ – Antagonist, the killer, whose perspective is also featured in the story, providing insight into his motivations and actions
Callie McCormick – one of Evan’s victims, found nearly dead after being missing
Former homicide detective Nicole Foster has hit rock bottom. Driven off the force by her treacherous partner and lover, she’s flat broke and struggling with a gambling addiction. All Nicole has left is the dream of a warm bed at a homeless shelter and the haunting memories of three-year-old Kelsey Chase―whose murder case ended her career.
As Nicole obsesses over the old facts, she realizes everything about that case felt off: a disinterested mom, a suicidal pedophile, and too many questions left unanswered. When the little girl’s grieving father begs Nicole for help, she’s drawn back into the investigation…and given one shot at redemption.
But the deeper Nicole digs, the more evil she uncovers, including betrayals that hit painfully close to home. Will a shocking discovery be the key to finally getting justice for Kelsey and resurrecting her own life?
Characters:
Nicole Foster: The main character in the book who becomes homeless after losing her job. She accepts a place to stay from Julian Chase. In return, she helps him learn the truth about his murdered child.
Julian Chase: The father of the murdered child, Kelsey Chase. He offers Nicole a place to stay in exchange for her help in learning the truth about the crime.
Sister Stacy: Married to Cy, who works for Microsoft. She enjoys Nicole’s shortcomings.
Emma: Stacy and Cy’s only child
Cy: Stacy’s husband, who works for Microsoft.
My take:
I was introduced to Gregg Olsen about a year ago when I read If You Tell. I will read everything he writes. I liked this story enough to read the next in the series. The ending just fell a little flat for me. I am hoping more will be explained in the next book in the series, The Weight of Silence. I rated it 3.5 stars. It may be my mood. The other Olsen books I’ve read were better, in my opinion. Alas, I will journey on through the rest of them…
Cara Bastone is a full time writer who lives and writes in Brooklyn with her husband, son, and an almost-goldendoodle. Her goal with her work is to find the swoon in ordinary love stories. She’s been a fan of the romance genre since she found a grocery bag filled with her grandmother’s old Harlequin Romances when she was in high school. She’s a fangirl for pretzel sticks, long walks through Prospect Park, and love stories featuring men who aren’t crippled by their own masculinity.
True love is put to the test in this romantic comedy brought to hilarious life by Santino Fontana (Frozen, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Stephanie Einstein, and a full cast!
This Psych 312 assignment just might send me off the deep end. Determining whether love at first sight really exists with Robbie Moravian as my project partner, of all people?
He’s the sappiest man alive, so upbeat I could scream, and clearly rooting for happy endings at every turn. How does he not learn from experience considering our own meet-cute last semester almost got us expelled?
But we both need to pass this course to graduate. So we’re interviewing five random couples about their meet-cutes and relationships and spending all this time together. Which is certainly…educational.
Because it turns out Robbie isn’t just the charming golden boy I thought I knew. There’s some actual depth beneath all those lame dad jokes and the ‘70s-inspired thrift wardrobe (even if he does look ridiculously great in a flared collar). Next thing I know he’s walking me back to my office on the regular and finishing all my sentences and protecting me from freak storms, and…
Wait. Could Robbie be right? Can happy endings really come from unhappy beginnings? Is he about to change my entire world view?
Group projects are the worst.
I’m not a big romance fan, so I thought I would dip my toe in the genre by listening to a short audiobook that is currently free on Audible. It is 4 hours and 35 minutes long and honestly a delight. It is light, fun, and spins a hopeful look on romance and love. The narrators are perfect for the roles, in my opinion, and I highly recommend the listen. The plot is based on Robbie and Marigold working together on a romantic psych project. They interview several couples about their respective relationships for their class. I love that a lesbian, divorced, and elderly couples were included in the work. The professor of their class also references his husband, Scott. I am big on inclusion. This is a great choice if a break from serious, intense, or emotional reads is needed. It makes me miss that flirty, light stage in the very beginning of relationships… a little.
Marigold – 27 years old, working on her bachelor’s degree, working on a project for Psych 312 class with Robbie, striving to prove love at first sight does not exist, parents are divorced science teachers employed at the same school, light brown hair, petite
Robbie – 28 years old, working on his bachelor’s degree, working on a project for Psych class with Marigold, striving to prove love at first sight exists, father owns a car dealership and mother is a retired superintendent, tall, has an infectious smile
Lucy Foley studied English literature at Durham University and University College London and worked for several years as a fiction editor in the publishing industry. She is the author of five novels including The Guest List and The Hunting Party. She lives in London.
THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“Told in rotating points of view, this Tilt-A-Whirl of a novel brims with jangly tension – an undeniably engrossing guessing game.” — Vogue
“[A] clever, cliff-hanger-filled thriller.” — People
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List comes a new locked room mystery, set in a Paris apartment building in which every resident has something to hide…
Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up – to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? – he’s not there.
The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.
The socialite – The nice guy – The alcoholic – The girl on the verge – The concierge
Everyone’s a neighbor. Everyone’s a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling.
This starts with the prologue. We see at the very beginning that Ben is most likely in some kind of trouble. An intruder enters his apartment and he is obviously afraid.
Jess arrives to the apartment and immediately thinks she sees a shadowy person crouched hiding behind a car. She then looks up and sees someone watching her from a window above. Soon, after talking to several people in the building, she knows that something is very off with the situation and Ben may be in some trouble. She is also in some obvious trouble and running from something or someone.
Foley creates characters that you can’t quite trust, so everyone is under just a little bit of suspicion at least. I love that. The characters are well-developed, as usual, and the ending will knock your socks off as well. I gave this four stars and would definitely recommend. I read it in a few days, so definitely a solid page-turner.
Ben (3rd floor) – Benjamin Daniels, missing when the story begins, aspiring writer, journalist, Jess’ half brother (they share a mom)
Jess Hadley – brave, intelligent, independent, Ben’s half sister, from London, former foster kid
Antoine (1st floor) – angry alcoholic that abuses his wife
Dominique – Antoine’s wife, they split early on
Sophie Meunier (penthouse) – rich, 50 years old, married to Jacque
Benoit – Sophie’s silver whippet
Jacque – Sophie’s husband, business owner, frequently travels,
Concierge (lives in guard cabin) – elderly lady, very private, cleans and watches over the property
Mimi (4th floor) – 19 years old, convent educated, naive, fragile, and maybe mentally compromised, obsessed with Ben
Camille – Mimi’s roommate, promiscuous, polar opposite of Mimi
Nick Miller (2nd floor) – unemployed but obviously rich, oxy addict, attended Cambridge with Ben
Theo Mandelson – Ben’s Paris editor
Irina – the mystery girl that surfaces later in the story
New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Amazon bestselling author Freida McFadden is a practicing physician specializing in brain injury who has penned multiple Kindle bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. She lives with her family and black cat in a centuries-old three-story home overlooking the ocean, with staircases that creak and moan with each step, and nobody could hear you if you scream. Unless you scream really loudly, maybe.
“Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I’ll soon learn that the Winchesters’ secrets are far more dangerous than my own…
Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.
I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.
I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.
But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.
They don’t know what I’m capable of…
A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller and winner of a 2023 ITW Thriller Award. This unbelievably twisty read will have you glued to the pages late into the night. Anyone who loves The Woman in the Window, The Wife Between Us and The Girl on the Train won’t be able to put down The Housemaid!
“I got severe whiplash from the twistiest turns… Every time I thought I had it figured out… WRONG!!!… I am still reeling… outstanding… If you love a top notch psychological thriller that will have you questioning your own sanity, then this 5 star read is for you.” NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“What a wild ride!!! Freida definitely delivered the best twisty ending… Gripping from start to finish… honestly, I just could not put it down… An absolutely mind-blowing shocker that kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat literally until the very end.” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“One wild ride!… So many twists and turns… I was hookedright away – I even read my Kindle while waiting in my kid’s school pick-up line so I wouldn’t have to put this book down!… addictive… pure perfection!” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book was hyped up quite a bit, so I shied away from reading it for awhile, then I wished I’d read it sooner. It was a bit more sinister and dark than I expected, but I figured out some parts of the ending pretty early on. Halfway through, there is a huge switch-a-roo that I knew was coming but couldn’t put my finger on exactly what the author had in store… It lived up to its reputation as being a thrilling page-turner. I like listening to books with multiple voices instead of reading them, and I highly recommend the Audible version of this one. I was very happy with the ending. It will not disappoint. I have the sequel, The Housemaid’s Secret, on my reading short list.
Wilhelmina “Millie” Calloway – a young woman, 27 years old, with a criminal past, who is employed as a housekeeper by a rich woman, Nina Winchester, with a seeming mental health condition. At 27, Millie Calloway emerges from a decade-long imprisonment, embarking on a challenging quest for employment. Her journey leads her to the Winchester household as a live-in housemaid, a role she accepts with eagerness, given her limited options due to her criminal past.
Nina Winchester – the story’s co-narrator and a woman in her late thirties, presents a facade of the affluent, troubled housewife.
Andrew Winchester – initially seen as a sympathetic character trapped in a loveless marriage, is gradually revealed as the antagonist.
Cecelia “Cece” Winchester – Nina’s young daughter, initially appears as an odd, demanding child.
Lucy Foley studied English literature at Durham University and University College London and worked for several years as a fiction editor in the publishing industry. She is the author of five novels including The Paris Apartment and The Guest List. She lives in London.
A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST THRILLERS OF THE YEAR
“I loved this book. It gave me the same waves of happiness I get from curling up with a classic Christie…The alternating points of view keep you guessing, and guessing wrong.” — Alex Michaelides, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient
“Evok[es] the great Agatha Christie classics…Pay close attention to seemingly throwaway details about the characters’ pasts. They are all clues.” — New York Times Book Review
A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the New York Times bestselling author of The Hunting Party.
The bride – The plus one – The best man – The wedding planner – The bridesmaid – The body
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.
But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.
And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?
Lucy Foley was suggested to me by a dear college friend (Thank you, Erika!), so I knew she’d be my next read. We find out pretty early on that there is something mysterious that happened while the guys were at boarding school together that may have included someone dying. It’s mysterious as to who or what throughout the book. We also find out that something happened with/to Charlie on the stag (bachelor party) that was pretty severe but no one will talk about it.
The narrators for this book are Aoife, Hannah, Charlie, Olivia, and Johnno. Each chapter of the book bounces between the perspective of each of these characters and between the present and past. At first, the sequencing irritated me, but when I got to the middle of the book, I absolutely loved it. There are some twists, folks, and I WAS HOOKED. The more I read, the easier and easier it is to guess the endings. This one surprised me, and because of that, I highly recommend. I am reading The Paris Apartment next, and I’m excited to see if that one lives up to Foley’s reputation.
Olivia – Julia’s bridesmaid and half sister (they share a mother), withdrawn and not at all happy to be at her sister’s wedding, recently had a traumatic breakup
Will – Julia’s groom, tv star
Julia (Jules) – Will’s bride, owns a magazine called “The Download”
Hannah – Charlie’s wife, feels like a fish out of water in the posh, expensive surroundings of the venue and the wedding guests, the “plus one”
Alice – Hannah’s older sister, commited suicide
Charlie – Hannah’s husband and Julia’s best friend and best man, MC for the wedding day/night
Aoife (pronounced EE-fa) – the wedding planner and owns the wedding venue property
Freddy – Aoife’s husband and resident chef on the property
Pete – groomsman, boarding school friend
Femmy – groomsman, boarding school friend
Duncan – groomsman, boarding school friend
Johnno – Will’s best man, became friends in boarding school, surley, brooding, forgot his suit for the wedding and borrows Will’s spare
Barbara Kingsolver is from Appalachia and set out to write The Great American Appalachian Novel… AND DID SHE EVER.
Y’all… 21 hours and 3 minutes (560 pages) and I SAILED through it. LISTEN TO THIS BOOK instead of reading it. The narrator is absolute perfection. No one could be a better Demon. Unlike some of the reviews I’ve read, I absolutely wanted it to end. This is not an easy read. It made my heart bleed and overflow almost simultaneously. Regardless of his misfortune and addiction, Demon IS SO GOOD. He remains so good throughout the entire book, which is a testament to humanity as a whole. He describes the happy times of his childhood as anyone would. I can relate to his descriptions of playing with friends outside during childhood years. This gives us all a thread of continuity and weaves us into Demon’s train of thought and perspective.
I loved Ma and HATED Stoner and Romeo. These men prey on single mothers and are horrific subhumans. I literally reacted to much to the gut wrenching parts of this book that my Apple watch congratulated me on my workout… and I wasn’t working out… While most of us aren’t Ma and Mariah, we feel like it. Motherhood is so hard and we all feel like we are failing unforgivably sometimes, and honestly, sometimes we are. Parts of this book made me recall my inadequacies as a mother and wonder how my kids will remember it all. I was angry at Ma for staying with Stoner, but in her position, and as beaten down as she’d been her entire life, she’d just given up years ago. I can’t imagine and I’m grateful I am not and never will be in that position. I was so stupid at 18 years old, but I thank God for family and resources that would never let me sink into Ma’s life.
This is a necessary read and truly a work of art. I was up at 3:30 am this morning thinking about Demon and his chosen family, as they aren’t fictional characters at all. There are countless Demons and Emmys and Dories and Junes and Hammerhead Kellys and Tommys and Fast Forwards all over our great nation and the world, surviving as they know how. I watched several documentaries that realistically depict the drug epidemic in Appalachia. The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia is a 2009 documentary film directed by Julien Nitzberg chronicling the White family of Boone County, West Virginia. It isn’t an easy or tame watch, but I highly recommend it. It elicits the same emotional rollercoaster as this work. And under the differences, traumas, addictions, lifestyles, and intensity is the raw underbelly of people just doing their best to survive bigotry, shame grief, and hunger. Most humans on the planet can relate in some way to that.
The style is unmatched. It reminds me of Cutting for Stone in the sense that you need to read it slowly to absorb all of the beauty, but I loved it even more. I loved the way Demon references religion and the Bible. I can totally see his perspective. And OH MY GOODNESS the figurative language in this masterpiece… Otherworldly. It addresses society as a whole – poverty, addiction, domestic violence, child abuse, discrimination in various forms – while fostering the connective heartbeat of raw, unfiltered humanity straight through all of the impossibilities and devastations.
Some of my personal favorite gems from this masterpiece…
“Pestering the tit of trouble”
‘The monster truck mud rally of child services”
“Keeping secrets from young ears only plants seeds between them.” (woosah….)
… and that is just in the first 11 minutes…
“One nation, underemployed”
“A thing grows teeth once its put into words.”
“Spittin’ poison in my brain” referring to Stoner’s influence on Demon regarding Maggot’s sexuality
(Most of the character analyses for this book are paraphrased from LitCharts. There are a ton of characters and I was so enamoured with the writing that I didn’t take great notes…)
Demon Copperhead – Demon, born Damon Fields, is the novel’s protagonist. Demon is born in a trailer bathroom to a young mother who is addicted to drugs. Throughout the novel, Demon struggles to overcome the circumstances of his birth—poverty, generational trauma, and his mother’s addiction, which he ultimately inherits. He serves as an example of the hardships that people in Appalachia face as a result of external forces like inadequate social services, poverty, and a lack of employment opportunities. Demon’s character, in particular, helps illustrate the harm caused by pharmaceutical companies that targeted the Appalachian region and overprescribed opioids they knew to be addictive.
Ma – Demon’s mom is young when she has Demon. During Demon’s childhood, Mom works at Walmart and tries, at various times, to enter recovery from addiction.
Maggot – born Matt Peggot, is Demon’s closest friend growing up. Demon spends as much time at Maggot’s house as his own. When Mom becomes involved with Stoner, Stoner forbids Demon from spending time with Maggot because he suspects that Maggot is gay.
Stoner – Murrell Stone, nicknamed Stoner, is Mom’s boyfriend who is physically and verbally abusive to Mom and Demon.
Satan – Stoner’s dog
Mrs. Peggot – Nance Peggot, more often referred to as Mrs. Peggot, is Maggot’s grandmother who, along with Mr. Peggot, helps raise Maggot after his mother, Mariah, is sent to prison. The novel portrays Mrs. Peggot as kind and caring, and she and her husband become a surrogate family to Demon.
Mr. Peggot – Mrs. Peggot’s husband, is a kind and patient man, He helps raise Demon. He sustained a leg injury while working in the mines and has not walked easily since.
Mariah Peggot – Maggot’s mother, serving prison time, 18 when she went to prison, due to retaliating for domestic violence.
Romeo – Maggot’s father, egotistic and self-proclaimed too good for Mariah, “A fox in the hen house” as Mrs. Peggot says
Emmy – the daughter of Humvee, who passed away before the novel takes place. After Humvee died, the Peggots took in Emmy. When Maggot’s mom was sent to prison, though, the Peggots couldn’t raise two children, so Emmy went to live with her aunt June in Knoxville. June eventually formally adopts Emmy. Emmy is depicted as smart and wise beyond her years.
Aunt June – Maggot and Emmy’s aunt who becomes Emmy’s adoptive mother. June is a nurse in Knoxville who then moves back to Lee County to be closer to her family. She also steps in to help both Demon and Emmy when they are at their lowest and then financially supports their journeys to sobriety.
Angus – born Agnes Winfield, is Coach Winfield’s daughter. She does well in school and initially plans to leave Lee County to go to a four-year college as soon as possible.
Fast Forward – the larger-than-life football star who Demon first meets at Crickson’s farm. At first, Fast Forward seems charming to everyone who meets him, and Demon thinks of him as a kind of real-life superhero. As the novel, progresses, though, this charming façade peels away to reveal a darker, more sinister personality.
Coach Winfield – takes Demon in and helps raise him. Demon lives with Coach and Coach’s daughter, Angus.
Dori – Demon’s girlfriend. Demon is surprised to learn that Dori is a heavy user of opioids, which are prescribed to her father Vester, who is dying of cancer.
Tommy Waddell – one of the foster boys whom Demon meets at Mr. Crickson’s farm. The novel portrays Tommy as a sweet, kind, caring, and gentle person. Tommy is one of my favorite characters in the book.
Dr. Watts – the doctor for the football team and the doctor at a pill mill, a kind of pain management clinic that will write prescriptions for anyone who pays for one.
Kent – Aunt June’s boyfriend who is a pharmaceutical representative. Kent’s job consists of trying to get doctors to prescribe opioid painkillers more often.
Hammerhead Kelly – a cousin in the Peggot family, related through marriage. He is a sweetheart.
Miss Barks – meets Demon when he is 10, one of Demon’s case managers through the Department of Social Services (DSS).
Mr. Crickson – the foster parent whom Demon first goes to live with after Mom overdoses.
U-Haul – born Ryan Pyles. Coach Winfield’s assistant who will later become an assistant football coach.
Mr. Armstrong – an English teacher at Demon’s middle school. He recognizes that Demon is a strong student and recommends him to the gifted and talented program.
Ms. Annie – the art teacher at the high school. She encourages Demon to pursue his talent for drawing. Ms. Annie is married to Mr. Armstrong. Ms. Annie is white and Mr. Armstrong is black.
Mr. Ghali – the owner of Golly’s Market
Rose Dartell – one of Fast Forward’s friends, though Fast Forward seems to treat her only with contempt. Rose seems jealous of Demon for the attention that Fast Forward gives him.
Pretty Colors Unabridged 