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Hard Cash Valley: A Novel Hardcover – May 5, 2020

by Brian Panowich (Author)

1,118 ratings

Book 3 of 3: Bull Mountain

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MARILYN STASIO, THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW – ONE OF THE 10 BEST CRIME NOVELS OF THE YEAR

"The plotting is skilled, as is the sleuthing, and the landscape is stunning. But it’s the hard-jawed characters, with their tough talk and scarred souls, who really get under your skin.” ― Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

Return to McFalls County and Bull Mountain in Hard Cash Valley, where Brian Panowich weaves another masterful tale of Southern Noir.

Dane Kirby is a broken man and no stranger to tragedy. As a life-long resident and ex-arson investigator for McFalls County, Dane has lived his life in one of the most chaotic and crime-ridden regions of the south. When he gets called in to consult on a brutal murder in a Jacksonville, Florida, motel room, he and his FBI counterpart, Special Agent Roselita Velasquez, begin an investigation that leads them back to the criminal circles of his own backyard.

Arnie Blackwell’s murder in Jacksonville is only the beginning – and Dane and Roselita seem to be one step behind. For someone is hacking a bloody trail throughout the Southeast looking for Arnie’s younger brother, a boy with Asperger’s Syndrome who possesses an unusual skill with numbers that could make a lot of money and that has already gotten a lot of people killed―and has even more of the deadliest people alive willing to do anything it takes to exploit him.

As Dane joins in the hunt to find the boy, it swiftly becomes a race against the clock that has Dane entangled in a web of secrets involving everyone from the Filipino Mafia to distrusting federal agents to some of hardest southern outlaws he’s ever known.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Hard Cash Valley

"Mr. Panowich, as he did in his previous novels, depicts his Southern terrain well.... There is more mayhem to come, as well as jaw-dropping twists." ― The Wall Street Journal

“Make room for this splendid genre-bender, a crime novel with emotional resonance and a steady flow of fine writing. Plus staggering plot twists, jaw-dropping revelations, and enough suspense to fill two books . . . A first-rate thriller, lavishly decked out in high style.” ― Booklist, starred review

“[D]electable rural noir . . . Panowich’s prose is languid and easygoing as a back-county road . . . Good rural mysteries excel at showing how both the land and the law that governs it are deeply personal, and Panowich knows the residents of the Georgia foothills down to his bones. Perfect for fans of Attica Locke or Laura McHugh.” ― Library Journal (starred review)

“Early in Panowich’s gritty, pull-no-punches third thriller set in Georgia’s McFalls County (after 2019’s Like Lions), two thugs corner Arnie Blackwell, who has just arrived in Jacksonville, Fla., with a suitcase full of cash, in Arnie’s motel room . . . The violent search by Arnie’s killers doesn’t end with his death. The suspenseful plot is enhanced by Panowich’s gifts at making even walk-on characters memorable. Fans of Ace Atkins’s Quinn Colson series will be pleased.” ― Publishers Weekly

“This is country noir with a bite as sharp as a rattler's.” ― AARP

Praise for Like Lions

“The action is fierce, the characters are brutal, the dialogue is filthy and the writing is so good it brings hot tears to your eyes.” ―Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

"A book filled with unforgettable characters and a tension that heightens with every chapter." ―The Wall Street Journal

“Brian Panowich makes a triumphant return to Bull Mountain, Georgia, in his second novel, “Like Lions,” as he continues to mix crime fiction with a violent family drama, perfectly melding characters with a sense of place . . . “Like Lions” moves at a brisk clip, leading to a stunning, yet believable, finale.” ―Associated Press

“A violent, gruesome, sharply focused tale. . . Panowich salts his tale with evocative detail . . . Action and reflection are skillfully balanced in a vigorously written, trenchant tale.” ― Kirkus Reviews

"This is hillbilly noir at its finest.” ―Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Brian Panowich’s glorious return to Bull Mountain is another sprawling, brutal, no-holds-barred novel that held me in a death grip from page one until it kicked me out of the door with an ending I never saw coming.”―C.J. Box

About the Author

Brian Panowich is an award winning author, a Georgia firefighter, and a father to four incredible children. His first novel, Bull Mountain, was a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist, ITW Thriller Award winner for Best First Novel, Southern Book Prize winner, and a finalist for both the Anthony and the Barry Awards. He lives in Georgia with his family.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Minotaur Books
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 5, 2020
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250206928
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250206923
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.45 x 1.06 x 9.57 inches
Book 3 of 3 ‏ : ‎ Bull Mountain

Best Sellers Rank: #2,311,132 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #839 in Small Town & Rural Fiction (Books)
- #2,271 in Police Procedurals (Books)
- #2,980 in Murder Thrillers

Customer Reviews:
1,118 ratings

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Brian lives in Georgia but he dreams of Parma.

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Customers find the book to be a page-turner and appreciate its gritty Appalachian Noir style. The plot receives mixed reactions, with some describing it as a thriller and mystery novel while others find it disappointing. The character development and writing style also get mixed reviews, with some praising the characters while others find them cliched, and some describing the writing as superb while others find it derivative.

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Readability Plot quality Character development Pacing Writing style

17 customers mention "Readability"17 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as a fantastic novel that's a real page turner, with one customer noting it's a must-read for lovers of contemporary southern gothic.

"An excellent book. I highly recommend!" Read more

"...There are some really great passages when the trailer gets raided and the farm goes to hell in a handbasket, but outside of those somewhat rare..." Read more

"...Both readings were powerful experiences. The Audible narrator, Brian Troxell, is excellent...." Read more

"...It’s a great read that I highly recommend. Schuyler T Wallace Author of TIN LIZARD TALES" Read more

22 customers mention "Plot quality"12 positive10 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the plot of the book, with some finding it engaging as a thriller and mystery novel, while others describe it as disappointing.

"...It's a thriller and a mystery novel, yes, but it's also a literary novel of grief, family secrets, and complicated relationships. Highly recommended." Read more

"...I do feel it's important to mention that Kirby's sub-plot is absolutely heartbreaking...." Read more

"...And around these unforgettable characters is woven a great story, with themes of loss, hard love and hard living...." Read more

"...I found this book underwhelming." Read more

11 customers mention "Character development"5 positive6 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the characters in the book, with some finding them great while others describe them as cliched.

"...My biggest complaint with these books is how the female characters are portrayed...." Read more

"...This is dark, gritty Appalachian Noir at its finest, filled with memorable characters and surprising plot twists...." Read more

"...But this book is absurd. There are so many characters, none of them really developed, and a convoluted plot, which depends upon ridiculous..." Read more

"...Dane is an interesting character as are his ghostly wife, his friend Ned Lemon and the oddly savant William Blackwell...." Read more

8 customers mention "Pacing"4 positive4 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book, with some praising it as gritty Appalachian Noir at its finest, while others find it slow.

"...This is dark, gritty Appalachian Noir at its finest, filled with memorable characters and surprising plot twists...." Read more

"...has the crime and the violence, but both are toned down and the pacing is slowed; most of the thrills just aren't there...." Read more

"...characters is woven a great story, with themes of loss, hard love and hard living...." Read more

"It starts kind of slow, but when they're on the trail of the killers it get moving...." Read more

8 customers mention "Writing style"4 positive4 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style of the book, with some finding it superbly written while others criticize the dialogue as pure foolishness.

"...The passages when he sees his wife are beautifully written, but man it was hard to read those as a husband without it just ripping your heart out...." Read more

"...But it was a struggle. A real struggle. The dialogue was pure foolishness...." Read more

"Superbly written ( as always) and deeply mooving. Panovich is one hell of a story teller. Great and beautyfull novel." Read more

"...publisher staff who encouraged him to publish a book that almost reads like Pulp Fiction...." Read more

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Kimberly A. Sharpe
Highly Recommend
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase

An excellent book. I highly recommend!

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Mr. Tidwell Longbottom
Pretty darn good.
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2023
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
If you're a fan of Brian Panowich and southern noir you'll definitely enjoy Hard Cash Valley, but if you're engrossed with the plot of Bull Mountain you may be a little bit disappointed here. This novel shouldn't really have been listed as part 3 of the Bull Mountain series as the only real similarity it shares is the setting. The cast, plot, and pacing are different from the prior two novels.

Instead of a multigenerational story or thriller bouncing between different events you follow an investigator, Dane Kirby, trying to solve a heinous crime and find a missing kid. The books jumps from the north GA countryside, to Florida, to Atlanta, to zoos, to farms. There are some really great passages when the trailer gets raided and the farm goes to hell in a handbasket, but outside of those somewhat rare moments, you're just kind of along for the ride during the investigation.

I do feel it's important to mention that Kirby's sub-plot is absolutely heartbreaking. The passages when he sees his wife are beautifully written, but man it was hard to read those as a husband without it just ripping your heart out. As always, Brian knows how to write an ending and this one has just as much of a gut punch as the rest of them.

Bull Mountain and Like Lions are some of the best books I've ever read in this genera, I can't give the same praise to Hard Cash Valley. It still has the crime and the violence, but both are toned down and the pacing is slowed; most of the thrills just aren't there. If you think of the previous novels as crime thrillers, HCV reads more as a dramatic detective story.

This review may come across as negative, but that's definitely not that case. This is a good book, it just isn't as good as the two previous entries in the series. I'll continue to read more of Brian's work, but I hope the next installment is more of a return to form.

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2 people found this helpful

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Darrell Grizzle
Appalachian Noir at its Finest
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2022
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
I read this novel when it first came out in hardcover in May 2020, and I re-read it again as an audiobook during a road trip in April 2022. Both readings were powerful experiences. The Audible narrator, Brian Troxell, is excellent. I've used the word "gutpunch" in describing Brian Panowich's previous novels, and that term applies here as well. This is dark, gritty Appalachian Noir at its finest, filled with memorable characters and surprising plot twists. It's a thriller and a mystery novel, yes, but it's also a literary novel of grief, family secrets, and complicated relationships. Highly recommended.

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2 people found this helpful

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Jeannette Hartman
Tired tropes about hill country outlaws and the lawmen who fight them
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2021
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
This is the story of a grieving, ailing Georgia law man, Dane Kirby, called in to help with the murder of a well-liked mountain man. The apparent murderer is Dane’s childhood friend Ned Lemon. Before he can give a thought to that, he jerked into an FBI case dealing with a violent murder in Jacksonville, FL. The victim is the recent winner of $1.2 million at an illegal cockfighting competition in north Georgia. His autistic brother is missing.

Soon, eight other people are murdered. Dane and his FBI colleagues soon circle back to where Dane began in remote Hard Cash Valley where the illegal cock-fighting competition was held.

There’s lots of violence in this book and tired tropes about hill country outlaws and the men who enforce justice. Dane is an interesting character as are his ghostly wife, his friend Ned Lemon and the oddly savant William Blackwell. But the FBI agents are ham-fisted, arrogant and hardly better than the bad guys they pursue.

This is part of a series. Perhaps it’s more compelling if you read the books in order. I found this book underwhelming.
This is the story of a grieving, ailing Georgia law man, Dane Kirby, called in to help with the murder of a well-liked mountain man. The apparent murderer is Dane’s childhood friend Ned Lemon. Before he can give a thought to that, he jerked into an FBI case dealing with a violent murder in Jacksonville, FL. The victim is the recent winner of $1.2 million at an illegal cockfighting competition in north Georgia. His autistic brother is missing.

Soon, eight other people are murdered. Dane and his FBI colleagues soon circle back to where Dane began in remote Hard Cash Valley where the illegal cock-fighting competition was held.

There’s lots of violence in this book and tired tropes about hill country outlaws and the men who enforce justice. Dane is an interesting character as are his ghostly wife, his friend Ned Lemon and the oddly savant William Blackwell. But the FBI agents are ham-fisted, arrogant and hardly better than the bad guys they pursue.

This is part of a series. Perhaps it’s more compelling if you read the books in order. I found this book underwhelming.

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3 people found this helpful

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Thomas Watson
Must read for lovers of contemporary southern gothic
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2020
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
Blown away by how vivid the characters are - the author must have lived this life, or has been close enough to it to know the world the characters inhabit. And around these unforgettable characters is woven a great story, with themes of loss, hard love and hard living. It was a random purchase without much background other than Amazon recommendations based on my other reads (which recommendations rarely get me right), but am a big fan now, and just bought his first two books that are set in this same N. Georgia area. Can’t wait to read more...

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3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Walter Bull
Bull mountain
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 25, 2021
Verified Purchase

Latest in the trilogy concerning the characters and community around Bull Mountain. Great storyline with many surprises and twists along the way. Absolutely enjoyed first two books and this was just as good. Personal taste comes into this particular genre but have to say it was right up my street.

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Annette Montgomery
Outstanding
Reviewed in Canada on February 16, 2022
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
The characters are wonderfully developed. The story is fast paced and gripping. If you like crime mysteries, you will love this book.

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Padel Mick
Brilliant
Reviewed in Spain on June 18, 2023
Verified Purchase
I'll say no more: ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT

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Kindle Customer
Do yourself a favor and read it!
Reviewed in Australia on January 13, 2023
Verified Purchase
This book is perfect for those that love to be surprised, appreciate a great prose and wish to be seated on the edge of their sit for hours at a time..

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M. Campion
A good start that failed to live up to it
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 11, 2023
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
It started very strongly, but tailed off. The story became quite ridiculous by the end.

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Hard Cash Valley: A Novel Hardcover – May 5, 2020

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5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommend

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty darn good.

5.0 out of 5 stars Appalachian Noir at its Finest

3.0 out of 5 stars Tired tropes about hill country outlaws and the lawmen who fight them

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for lovers of contemporary southern gothic

Top reviews from other countries

4.0 out of 5 stars Bull mountain

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant

5.0 out of 5 stars Do yourself a favor and read it!

3.0 out of 5 stars A good start that failed to live up to it

Highly Recommend

Pretty darn good.

Appalachian Noir at its Finest

Tired tropes about hill country outlaws and the lawmen who fight them

Must read for lovers of contemporary southern gothic

Bull mountain

Outstanding

Brilliant

Do yourself a favor and read it!

A good start that failed to live up to it