Steve Weddle’s novel is steeped in a forgotten time and place when desperate times, aggravated by war and the Great Depression, called for desperate measures. Some folks turned to bootlegging, others to robbery or kidnapping, followed by a race across the county line ahead of the law. Cottonmouth Tomlin knows all about hardship. Abandoned by both mother and father, he’s learned some hard lessons. He’s been off fighting in the Honduran jungle, and in 1933 returns to take up an unlikely inheritance, a used-to-be hunting lodge turned outlaw camp, left to him by his deceased uncle. Located at the edge of the Dorcheat bayou and inaccessible by road, it’s a safe haven for outlaws to rest up and plan their next heist. The townsfolk don’t care who shows up there as long as they spend their money locally and commit their crimes outside the county line.

Unfortunately, Cottonmouth’s uncle borrowed heavily from the Rudd sisters, who profit from protection money and run the sheriff, the town, and the community. Cottonmouth, a man of few words and big ideas, plans to do things his way. Henrietta and Abigail Rudd’s self-aggrandizing control for the good of the community is still control, and Cottonmouth isn’t willing to play their game.

An eclectic cast of characters take the stage here. Outlaw Beans, in particular, is thick as two planks yet so endearingly amenable. Cottonmouth brings in an out-of-county partner, which ruffles Henrietta Rudd’s ruthless feathers. Determined to keep control of what she presumes is her community, she and the gin-soaked Abigail up the ante, putting Cottonmouth squarely in their sights. With nostalgic reminiscences, some local dialect and wry humour, Weddle writes of hardscrabble times and ordinary people who are just trying to get by. A rollicking good tale about the meaning of community and little-people power, set in Depression-era Louisiana.

Steve Weddle’s The County Line (2024) is a big-hearted, wholly engrossing tale of thievery, betrayal and murder in the early years of the Great Depression. In the summer of 1933, Cottonmouth Tomlin returns home to a small town in southwest Arkansas just over the Louisiana border, after adventuring first to New Orleans and then to Central America. Leaving for Honduras, he’d had “a change of clothes and hope in the future. He’d come back with just a change of clothes. Better clothes, it was true, but not by much.”

Cottonmouth has returned for his uncle’s funeral, having been left an outlaw camp, “a scattering of cabins and an impassable road,” with a reputation for unsavoury goings-on. It is a useful place to hide kidnap victims or small-time outlaws on the run. As Cottonmouth gradually realises, however, his dilapidated camp is also a place that more powerful crooks might scheme to make their own. The County Line gives us a wonderful gallery of affectionately created ne’er-do-wells struggling to get by, hoping, after a drink or two, that they might, if luck is with them, knock over a bank with their four guns and seven bullets. Higher up the social scale, there are the formidably respectable but even more criminally inclined old sisters, Henrietta and Abigail Rudd – more than a match for any of the men in the town. And, eyeing the deficiencies of this local criminal hierarchy, there is the wholly untrustworthy interloper, Martello, who owns clubs in neighbouring Louisiana and “runs the whole corner of the state” – a man to both emulate and fear.

Caught between dangerous adversaries, Cottonmouth considers whether he could work with the well-heeled Martello, maybe welcome him as a guest and go over some ground rules with him: “That had been the plan, hadn’t it? Bring Martello in; bring in business.” But as he carries forward his underhanded schemes, Martello tells Cottonmouth, “Look around. This is my camp now. My men. Possession is nine-tenths of the law.” For Martello, it isn’t “about the history of the place” but about the future of a place he intends to shape and control. For Cottonmouth, on the other hand, it is home. There is continuity and a sense of belonging imparted by land his family has owned for nearly a hundred years: “I’ll take family and community over Hessian soldiers any day”.

The County Line is a lively, humorous and above all compassionate story of lives worn down by the grinding years of the Great Depression, and of the choices forced by desperation. As Cottonmouth ponders his direction in life, he reflects, “Head back home from Honduras, and the next thing you know, you’re running a kidnapping ring out of your family’s hunting camp. What a world, he thought. What a world. —“

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me and I couldn't get past 100 pages. I just couldn't get invested in the story and I didn't like the characters. Having said that, I can see that other people might like this type of book a lot, especially for the descriptions of Depression Era America.

Thank you to Net Galley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC of this novel. My opinion is my own.

This was an interesting read, but it just wasn't for me! I had a difficult time keeping the characters straight and couldn't keep up with everything that was going on. I normally love Historical Fiction reads, but this may have just come at the wrong time for me.

This book's immediacy is part of its appeal. Some may find the staccato narrative difficult to follow, but for fans of southern grit it should be no problem. Cottonmouth is a keen observer of his surroundings and his story moves rapidly in the early days of the Roosevelt era in Arkansas. The supporting characters are richly drawn while Weddle is smart enough to leave room for reader imagination. 

The plot moves like a Bonnie and Clyde getaway, with violent storylines punctuated with dark swamps and woods. The writing lacks sparkle but is very readable. The author follows a few too many tangents in Cottonmouth's introductory chapters, but the narrative settles down quite nicely into a clear crisis with divergent subplots.

I picked this one up because I usually love books set in the Great Depression, but unfortunately, that’s about the only thing this book had going for it. I honestly have no idea what this book was about. I didn’t follow the story at all and about a third of the way in I stopped trying to figure out what was going on because I honestly didn’t care. I wouldn’t have finished if I didn’t have a review copy.

Fans of historical crime novels might enjoy this one set in 1930s Arkansas. For me, however, not so much. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I absolutely loved this book. It was really well written and it was also surprising. Thank you for the arc. I really appreciate it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the Advanced Reader Copy of County Line.

County Line was a really, really tough book to get into. The characters were very dry, didn't show much emotion and not much happens during the first 70% of the book.

What was very interesting, however, was the setting and time period and the working dynamics of the citizens. The Rudd sisters added such an element of intrigue. I wondered throughout the entire book how/when they were going to wreak havoc in Cottonmouth's life.

The ending was very unexpected and for me, saved the book. Cottonmouth came up with a brilliant plan and executed it to perfection. But the ultimate brilliance was in Cottonmouth's realization that when a town sticks together and works together great things can be achieved. The comeuppance of some of the characters was extremely satisfying.

ummm this book was horrribble. I dnf'd the heck out of it.


Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

I really liked this book, it was different than anything else I've read which was a breath of fresh air. I will be recommending this to my friends, and auto buy this author!

The novel was just okay. I feel like Weddle's narrative voice is a bit trite. I didn't find myself very invested in the characters - the narrator especially. I think there's a seed of a great novel here, but it hasn't quite flourished yet.

I'm a sucker for hardscrabble upbringings and anything set in the Depression era, so this was right up my alley. The author brought that time and world to life in beautiful, vivid imagery, and developed numerous characters in such a way that I will miss this ragtag bunch.