As much as I wanted to like this book it just did not hold my attention after trying this book three times I always got to the same place and I could not move forward for some reason. I do know others will like it.

This was a DNF for me. Wasn’t able to get into the story line since I haven’t read the other books. Will update my review if I try to read later.

This one was a swing and a miss for me. An attempt at Country Noir that had too many cliches and not enough genuine storytelling. The plot is a bit nonlinear (which is not a problem in and of itself), and there are a bunch of narrative information dumps (which is a problem) - segments where huge chunks of backstory are unceremoniously dumped into the narrative. The author seemed to be trying for emotional and psychological impact but because of a lack of character depth it came across more like manipulating the reader.

I haven't read the previous two novels in this series so that may have made a difference. It was just not a good match for this reader.

There is intense violence, adult situations, and adult language. I would give this one an R-rating mainly based on graphic violence.

***I received a digital copy of this title from NetGalley.

So when I requested this book I didn't know that it was the third in the series, although this could definitely be read as a stand alone. Let me tell you though Brian Panowich can write and I devoured them all in less than a week. If southern grit lit is your thing then this series is for you. With writing so descriptive I felt like I was watching a movie play out in my head. I couldn't look away even though Hard Cash Valley was pretty intense.

Hard Cash Valley by Brian Panowich is a 2020 Minotaur publication.

Gripping Southern Noir!

In his third novel, Panowich moves his southern saga forward with a new cast of characters, introducing Dane Kirby-a part-time fire investigator who has been tapped to consult with the GBI on a case that involves a missing boy on the autism spectrum.

Dane is also trying to help his old friend, Ned, who has been accused of murder, on top of keeping a terrible secret from those closest to him.

Once again, the rural locations, the shocking criminal underground, rooted in greed, and a haunted main character that pulls the reader’s emotions in all directions, makes this a riveting, unputdownable crime drama.

This another impressive effort by Panowich!

4 stars

When the idea of seeing it all the way through is filling you with dread, you know that you are not the right reader for the book.

The book is laden with details, which is really making it difficult to engage with what I expected to be a fast-paced thriller.

I am also not a fan of the uncomfortably heavy stereotypes.

The few tense scenes that did pique my interest included a lot of graphic violence as well. I don’t like gore very much, but will tolerate it for the sake of a story I’m enjoying. In this case, it doesn’t seem worth the push.

I gave it a fair chance and I’m declaring a DNF at 48%.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my digital review copy.

Thanks to Netgalley, Minotaur books and Brian Panowich for this ARC. My first by this author and I found this book intense ! I couldn’t stop reading it even though at times I couldn’t read the description on the abuse suffered by man or animal. I liked the storyline and found his characters to be interesting but at times a bit complex. Because this was third in a series and I hadnt read the first two,, i can actually say that this can be a read alone book, 4 stars as it was a very good book, even if it was a bit to intense for me, I would recommend it.

A dark, propulsive read. For my own taste, a bit too much violence, but it's done in a way that fits with the genre and readership. This novel is third in a series but reads well as a stand-alone. Solid writing.

This is a dark tale that is suspenseful and emotional. I have loved this series from the start and this installment did not disappoint. The characters are flawed and realistic, the country atmospheric. Panovich is a word artist.
Many thanks to Minotaur Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Hard Cash Valley is totally immersive, gritty, dark, violent suspense with just a glimmer of hope tossed in to keep a couple characters and us readers from falling off the edge of desperation.

Pacing is steady, building tension as we move headlong into a twisted criminal organization.

Panowich excels at setting mood and atmosphere. I experienced all the emotions. I might've even choked on the blood and dust a few times.

While this is the third Bull Mountain novel, it reads perfectly as a stand-alone. Still, I recommend reading Bull Mountain and Like Lions, the first two books, because they're too good to miss.

The amount of violence in this novel is very off-putting. I wanted to learn more about Dane Kirby, but the character was lost among the slashing, burning, killing and torture.

HARD CASH VALLEY by Brian Panowich is the 3rd book in the “Bull Mountain” series that begins with Arnie Blackwell finding himself in a situation that changes quickly from seemingly having pulled off a lucrative heist involving dangerous people to realizing that mistakes made along the way have landed him in a situation he can’t possibly get out of.

Seeing no way out, Arnie commits himself to not revealing the the location of what his captors are searching for, or where his younger brother is hidden and who’s safety is affected as a result of Asperger’s Syndrome, thus leaving him vulnerable to harm by the criminals in pursuit.

Dane Kirby has a background investigating fires resulting from arson, and he is called in to determine what’s taken place and why in the hotel room Arnie’s altercation took place; although the damage in the aftermath of the fire has seemingly destroyed any possible evidence in the case.

Rosalita Velasquez is a tough and capable special agent with the FBI who sometimes misses important clues in her impatience to get results, along with being focused on overcoming the difficulties faced by a female in a position that is predominantly held by men who are prejudiced, resulting in her having to battle for respect at all times.

Strengths of both make it possible for them to combine their skills and tenacity to learn things others in the investigation overlook, which causes animosity with local law enforcement and FBI officers.

Can Dane and Rosalita prove successful in solving the case with identification of those responsible for the arson after attempting to learn where Arnie has hidden what they’re looking for, also can they find the key to the location where Arnie’s younger brother is hidden and why he is a target, and can Rosalita find redemption in succeeding after a tragedy took place in a previous investigation that went so badly?

Excellent novel by an author who’s books I’ve not read in the past, and this was a book that I read from cover to cover without interruptions that for me is a statement of how much I enjoyed reading it, and I will definitely follow up on this book with others by the author in this series.

5 stars.

The physical violence in this book in the beginning…. well, suffice it to say, don’t start reading after a good meal. Luckily, the scene changes and Dane Kirby, who is with the FBI is investigating a murder of a crabby old recluse. Excellent writing and a beautiful setting alone make this a good book to read, but it’s the deeply developed hard-nosed characters who really make the book.

This book.... This book knocked off my feet. This is one of those RARE books that stays with you long after the last page. Brian Panowich is an incredible talent. The ending touched me in such a personal way and broke my heart. Such real people... not just characters in a story, although it is one HELL of a story.

In Hard Cash Valley Brian Panowich takes us back to McFalls County and Bull Mountain with another hard-hitting story. When state investigator Dane Kirby is called in to consult on a brutal murder in a Jacksonville, Florida he does not expect to find himself back on home turf, confronting well-known bad guys. Soon Dane figures out that the whole case hangs on the dead guy's younger brother, a boy with Asperger’s Syndrome who sees numbers in a very lucrative way.
Hard Cash Valley is another un-put-down-able power house read from Panowich and I can't wait for the next installment.

I really really liked Panowich’s book “Bull Mountain,” which was practically claustrophobic—and fittingly so—in its close exploration of a family and a community in which everyone (as well as everything dark and everything good) was inextricably linked.

In “Hard Cash Valley,” we spend page time with small-time drug dealers, cockfighting masterminds, Filipino gangsters, and crooked law enforcement. William was a promising character, but we don’t have much time with him.

Especially for the first portion of the book, I was jarred by extra explanations on matters I think a reader could grasp pretty readily. Having Dane feel petty about the attention his young nephew received from Dane’s girlfriend felt off, as did repeated situations in which he was so back and forth, he and his point of view were tough to get a read on: “I wished she would do X, but she didn’t; she brought up what I was thinking about—why was she always bringing up what I was thinking about?”

The interpersonal interactions sometimes felt false to me. There are a couple of odd point of view shifts to Roselita’s perspective. And I was annoyed by Dane’s giving up on himself and then, late in the book—and possibly too late to change his situation—reconsidering. Misty is a saint.

The Dane and Ned friendship was a strong point for me, and I enjoyed learning more about their past and seeing their present-day situation shift and grow.

Published by St. Martin's/Minotaur Books on May 5, 2020

Dane Kirby has lung cancer. It’s at stage two, but he doesn’t plan to get treatment. Years earlier, he lost his wife and daughter in a car accident after he hit a deer. Kirby has lost his enthusiasm for life. He is living with a woman but hasn’t told her about the cancer. He isn’t quite sure how to break the news, and saying it out loud would make it real. In any event, he never let go of his wife and has never fully invested in the new relationship.

Kirby works for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation after spending most of his career fighting or investigating fires. He’s happy to end his years with a nice, obscure desk job. That plan goes up in smoke when FBI Assistant Director August O’Barr summons him to a crime scene in Florida. Arnie Blackwell was murdered in a motel room and his body was set on fire. The case appears to have a connection to Georgia, so Special Agent Roselita Velasquez is temporarily detached from her partner, Geoff Dahmer, and assigned to work with Kirby. Velasquez isn’t happy about the assignment. She’s a feisty, interesting character who makes some surprising decisions as the story unfolds.

An ordinary murder doesn’t seem like a federal crime, but a large amount of cash was stolen from the victim. The money was won in a cockfighting event in Georgia. Arnie managed the improbable feat of betting correctly on every contest. To discover the secret of his success, he was tortured and killed by two mobsters from the Philippines, where gambling on cockfights is a way of life.

That setup sends Kirby and Velasquez on an investigative path that leads to unexpected destinations. Their primary goal is to find Arnie’s autistic brother William, a goal shared by a formidable Filipino killer and a mysterious figure who occasionally commits a murder of his own.

The plot offers an intelligent blend of action, mystery, and suspense. Hard Cash Valley is one of those rare thrillers that actually thrills, in part because the story never loses its credibility. The threats that Kirby faces always seem genuine, and he’s not the kind of hero who is going to fight his way out of a jam. Kirby has to rely on his smarts, and he has just enough of those to do his job well.

The plot is sufficiently complex to keep the reader guessing but not so byzantine that the reader will lose track of details. A subplot involves Kirby’s estranged friend Nat Lemon, who seems to have committed a murder that is unconnected to the main plot. Connections eventually develop that tie the stories together.

Characterization is well above average for the genre. Velasquez is a lesbian so she doesn’t enter into a predictable romance with Kirby. That’s one of many good choices that Brian Panowich made to tell a fresh and convincing story. The resolution might depend on more karma than the world generally offers, but it’s difficult for a reader to complain about feeling good at the end of a novel.

RECOMMENDED

Brian Panowich established himself as a bastion of Southern Noir with the brilliant and evocative debut novel BULL MOUNTAIN. He further cemented his reputation with LIKE LIONS, which this reader enjoyed even more than Panowich's much lauded debut. So I came into this newest entry, HARD CASH VALLEY, with high expectations and the comfort of a good track record. I'm happy to say that Panowich did not disappoint. This novel has a few flaws, for sure, but I can safely place Panowich on my list of must-read authors whenever he has a new release. This is a simple enough story, but with enough layers to complicate, implicate, and fully trap the reader within its embrace. The main character, Dane Kirby, is an ex-arson investigator for McFalls County. He's asked to consult on a brutal murder in a Jacksonville, Florida, motel room, and in the process is reluctantly partnered (at least for her) with Special Agent Roselita Velasquez. Together they search for the killer of the man in the hotel, and, more importantly, his younger brother, a boy with Asperger’s Syndrome who, as the book description states, "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." Pretty valuable little boy, huh? The race to find him is bloody and convoluted by double-crosses, shady federal agents, and a Herculean Filipino hit man. What I like best is Dane's humanity, and the depth with which Panowich drew the character. The ending is shocking, three times over, with a twist upon a twist upon a twist that felt like a Russian nesting doll. Some of the action throughout strains credulity, my one main complaint, but make no mistake, Panowich is the real deal, and this is Southern Noir at its finest. Highly recommended.

HARD CASH VALLEY
Brian Panowich
Minotaur Books
ISBN-13: 978-1250206923
Hardcover
Thriller

HARD CASH VALLEY represents Brian Panowich’s third foray into the dark criminal world of McFalls County and Bull Mountain in poverty-stricken north Georgia. While it stands independently of its predecessors LIKE LIONS and BULL MOUNTAIN there is some bleed through among all three titles. Unfamiliarity with the hard lives lived in the area, however, will not prevent your full-throated enjoyment of HARD CASH VALLEY, which is full of surprises and beautifully told.

Things jump off quickly with the introduction of Arnie Blackwell, a loser whose ship has apparently come in as he arrives at a budget hotel in Jacksonville, Florida. Panowich, who has demonstrated an uncanny writing ability from the jump, sends the reader a telegram in the first sentence, however, to the effect that things will not stay well for Arnie for very long. Sure enough, Arnie’s star-crossed life --- and death --- will intersect with that of Dane Kirby, a part-time agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). Kirby’s vocational resume includes employment as the fire chief and arson investigator for McFalls County as well as an interim stint as the sheriff for neighboring Farrin County. He is helping his successor in the latter position conduct the initial investigation of an apparent murder --- one in which an old friend of his is caught literally bare-handed --- when he gets the order to report immediately to Jacksonville to assist the FBI in an arson/murder investigation. There is more to it than that, however as Dane quickly discovers when he is paired with Special Agent Rosalita Velasquez of the FBI. The two of them get off to a very prickly start that doesn’t get much better when it develops that the case includes the Filipino Mafia and a high stake, world-series type cockfighting event which has basically taken place in Dane’s back yard. The main prize, however, is Arnie’s younger brother, a gifted young man on the Asperger’s spectrum whose special talent will be a curse in the wrong hands. If that isn’t enough, Dane, who remains physically and emotionally damaged from an accident that killed his wife and child several years before, has a time bomb riding inside of him that he is trying to conceal --- ultimately unsuccessfully --- from his current significant other. Dane is underweight and outclassed but still possesses an uncompromising urge to do the right thing, even when it might be wrong. Not everyone feels that way, however, in the Hard Cash Valley, and in the last third or so of the book Dane experiences a series of twists, turns, and double-crosses that will take every bit of his skill and knowledge to get through if indeed he can.

Panowich’s fiction is as dark as pitch. Being a character in one of his books, particularly in HARD CASH VALLEY, is a tough gig, but his plotting and complications keep things moving quickly for the reader and for the hard-luck poor who populate the book. Hopefully, there are plenty of new characters to keep the stories of this hardscrabble, crime-ridden area, coming for many years to come. Recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2020, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

3⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mystery, thriller, suspense and a new author to me. This started out good and then it got a little weird for my taste, but over all it was a solid story. It was weak in spots and some of the story felt underdeveloped.

This was a NETGALLEY gift and all opinions are my own own. I gave an honest review.