When These Mountains Burn Audiobook By David Joy cover art

When These Mountains Burn

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When These Mountains Burn

By: David Joy
Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
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Winner of the 2020 Dashiell Hammett Award for Literary Excellence in Crime Writing

Acclaimed author and "remarkably gifted storyteller" (The Charlotte Observer) David Joy returns with a fierce and tender tale of a father, an addict, a lawman, and the explosive events that come to unite them.

When his addict son gets in deep with his dealer, it takes everything Raymond Mathis has to bail him out of trouble one last time. Frustrated by the slow pace and limitations of the law, Raymond decides to take matters into his own hands.

After a workplace accident left him out of a job and in pain, Denny Rattler has spent years chasing his next high. He supports his habit through careful theft, following strict rules that keep him under the radar and out of jail. But when faced with opportunities too easy to resist, Denny makes two choices that change everything.

For months, the DEA has been chasing the drug supply in the mountains to no avail, when a lead - just one word - sets one agent on a path to crack the case wide open...but he'll need help from the most unexpected quarter.

As chance brings together these men from different sides of a relentless epidemic, each may come to find that his opportunity for redemption lies with the others.

©2020 David Joy (P)2020 Penguin Audio Crime Crime Fiction Noir Fiction Feel-Good Heartfelt Emotionally Gripping Tearjerking

Critic reviews

"Slow-burning.... With memorable characters, deft plotting, and an attention to detail, Joy has written a powerful work of crime fiction." (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

"Joy portrays his characters with unflinching realism. Creative turns of phrase and creative colloquialisms move the story forward and keep the otherwise disheartening subject matter full of thrilling surprises. As Southern noir-tinged fiction gains a well-deserved audience, Joy is one voice that never disappoints." (Booklist)

"[An] engrossing drama of violence and vengeance.... Joy's razor-sharp prose details disturbing, graphic images of brutality that begin when Raymond resolves to protect his son.... Joy handles everything with ease, proving himself to be one hell of a writer." (Publishers Weekly)
Beautiful Writing • Compelling Characters • Evocative Storytelling • Emotional Depth • Gritty Realism • Vivid Dialects
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Writing style is so easy to read in that lets you actually feel for all of the characters involved. David Joy has such skill in combining the heart-in-mouth feeling that everything is building to a disaster with genuine emotion. I was hanging on every ounce.

joy delivers as promised

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Such a good listen. The story is gritty and raw, but fulfilling to listen to. The narrator was outstanding.

This one is great

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Dynamic story, terrific character development and plot. Narration of a few of the characters are a bit grating but typical of how some mountain people talk and sound.

Great listen

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Loved it from the first chapter to the last. Wonderful performance only made it better! A fantastic story and the characters are so deep. I got it here on Audible but this is one I'm absolutely going to get the hardcover of just so I can re-read it.

A crime novel that dares to go deeper

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David Joy's stories are gritty and "real", and I have adored every single one I have heard. This one is no exception. I've spent my life near the areas he writes about, and I often find that his characters feel so familiar to me. These are not sunshine and roses kinds of stories. They are authentic, beautifully written and narrated, and I cannot wait for the next one.

Another Winner!

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The book was incredible and the narrator did a phenomenal job! I love all of the references to WNC.

Incredible performance!

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Another great book from David Joy. Such a great writer and storyteller. Character development is always great and that’s the of this book as well.

Another great one

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what a joy! This book was so artfully, wonderfully written. I could not quit listening!

unbelievable!!!!

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This is a fun book to read that is hard to set down. I think the second time I read it was even better than the first time. It’s fast past and exciting and shows a little of every side of this story. It’s definitely a book I would recommend.

A fun read that’s hard to set down

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When These Mountains Burn by David Joy
Narration by Andrew MacLeod

If you are a fan of Southern Gothic ala Mississippi, as we are, you must be familiar with David Joy’s North Carolina/Appalachian Gothic. His most recent book, When These Mountains Burn is his best work yet. Having read and/or listened to all of them so far, that is no small compliment. We’ve been a fan from the get go with his debut novel, Where All Light Tends to Go in 2015. Mind you, he is not an easy read; the stories he weaves are dark, painful, and haunting with woefully wounded, tragic, and flawed characters.

This book is not written; it is crafted via emotion, intuitive talent, and the love of his home state, warts and all. As a visceral reviewer, we do not claim to be an erudite literary (or as our creative writing teacher once called it ‘seri-ass literature’) critic. We do not dissect plots, stories, characters, or word usage. We do not read or listen to a book; we feel a book. And ‘boy howdy’ we felt this one from the first sentence.

We were pulled into the whirlpools of addiction, the the agonizingly beautiful love of a parent for an addicted man-child, the immoral world of those whose greed is their altar, the profoundly discouraging fight for justice, and the disappearing cultures of the Cherokee Nation and mountain culture of Appalachia.

Just as the literary voice of Mr. Joy is showcased in this book, so is the epic narration and talent of MacLeod Andrews. So, get this book and read it; then listen to it for an even more acute resonance.

His Best Yet

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