Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Bayou Trilogy by Daniel Woodrell

This is a look at life in the deep south, the parish of St. Bruno, Louisiana.  He's a detective, determined to do his job and stay alive, both at the same time.


Mulholland Books sent me an ARC of this book for review (thank you).  It was published at the end of April and is now is available at your local bookstore.  This contains:  Under the Bright Lights, Muscle for the Wing, and The Ones You Do.


Rene Shade is himself a dark shadow who maintains a low profile to do his job.  His brothers are a bartender and a lawyer; they all fight as much as they get along.


This is a powerful story of a family that does what it needs to in order to get by.  They don't have much, but they have enough.  There are family secrets, the past comes to haunt the future, and the parish they live in is rooted in poverty and hurt from times gone by.  


Mr. Woodrell writes gritty stories with the feel of truth, even if it isn't pleasant.  This is the first compilation of all three stories in this series, and they easily flow from one into another.  You can smell the hot muggy air filled with the rich scent of the bayou and you feel yourself sweating on the hot days.  He takes you within the characters and makes you interested in how it's all going to end.  Not like you imagined, I'm sure.


Why not pick up a copy and have a sit and read an intriguing tale of a dysfunctional family that has remained tight and is trying to fight the good fight?


If you'd like to have my ARC, leave a comment here on my blog and email me at info @ bookfaerie.com (take out the spaces) with your name AND address.  I'll draw a winner in about a week.


Happy reading!

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