Review: MAMMOTH By Douglas Perry

From the first page, I felt a heavy dark cloud hanging over my left shoulder, the type that promises severe electrical storms and tornadoes. Only this cloud promises imminence of destruction, for the town of Mammoth View, and for the girls' camp on the mountain-the only runner's camp for adolescent girls in the nation. The cloud doesn't identify its form of destruction; but the reader will labor under a breath-suppressing dread nonetheless.

This perception carried throughout the book, but the numerous characters so engaged me that my attention remained riveted. Both writing and character are excellent. As for plot: after several decades of mystery reading, guessing at villains and outcomes, MAMMOTH fooled me, totally, and more than once! I had the thrill of discovery, because "I sure didn't see THAT coming!!"

Definitely a Best of 2016!

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This is a strangely complex yet compelling novel. This feels more like a crime novel than a standard mystery.

There’s a huge cast of characters and a series of terrible events, seemingly unconnected, that meld together to form a dark and furiously stark book. Because of the large cast, it takes the reader a while to really get to know anyone, but when you do, you discover unexpected complexities in each of them.

While there’s some violence in the book, it’s more of an overwhelming sense of menace as you witness a town and its people devolve in the face of an unknown terror.

The author does disclose the truth behind the terror, but it’s almost at the end of the book. It’s ultimately a satisfying reason, but there was a part of me that wished the truth was vastly different.

Note that the characters (again that huge cast) also have a lot of backstories – and many of them felt unimportant. I really didn’t need to know the histories, hopes, dreams, and motivations of every character – but I got to read them!

Four stars. It’s a weighty book and may not be to everyone’s taste, but if you stick with it, you’ll start to find that the various characters and stories meld into a meaty and satisfying read.

A bank robbery that goes undetected for a long time. A mysterious something in the woods near an all-girls runner’s camp. Snippets on the radio about some sort of attack. Mass panic and people fleeing town en masse. This is the setting for Mammoth, by Douglas Perry. We are drawn into this suspenseful tale by way of a large cast of characters, each of whom has a story to contribute to the whole. No one seems to know what the panic is all about, but the few people remaining in town begin to descend into a chaotic lawless melee. Is anyone safe?

As the story unfolds and the suspense builds, we see bits of the lives of several characters who seem unrelated at first. Gradually, they are drawn together and we see more connections between them. The ending is quite a surprise and it does explain what caused the chaos in a neat way.

This is an enjoyable and suspenseful tale.

Thank you to Netgalley and Amberjack Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this in an exchange for a review.

Not quite what I was expecting, which I think is the general feel judging by others reviews. Be warned, this isn’t a creepy paranormal, alien type of thing. I don’t think that’s a spoiler either, I wouldn’t want you to pick this up and be greatly disappointed. If you love character focused novels then this will be your kind of book! This gives you some really in depth information about each of the characters, but it can get confusing because there are so many characters! There are eleven main characters, plus more characters that relate to these characters in little sub plots.

Characters: Tori, Billy & Becky, Jackson & Sam, Hicks & Lloyd, Oscar - “King”, Melvin & Gordon , Winnie Lloyd

If you find it difficult to keep up with lots of different people in books then this won’t be for you. It can get a little confusing at times and I often forgot what was happening to one character by the time we got back to reading about them after having read about 4 characters in between.

I though this novel was superbly written. Possibly one of the best written books I’ve read in quite a while! There is some really grotesque imagery in this book, not in a violent way though, so I wouldn’t give it any trigger warnings, though rape is implied. My only problem with the writing was that sometimes it was really difficult to understand where the characters were in Mammoth View or Bakersfield or what. That was my one annoyance, I wasn’t able to keep a grip on where each character was.

In terms of the plot that there was, which wasn’t much, it was an interesting story line. Lots of things going on a once which could definitely add to the confusion. I feel as though Perry had created seven(ish) separate short stories and then tried to mash them into one… which in my opinion worked. I felt let down by the ending in a way but at the same time I thought it was really unique. You do find out why panic ensues in the small town of Mammoth View and I can bet you won’t see it coming… Though now I’ve told you it’s not paranormal or aliens then maybe you might…

If you like to really get to know a character and don’t really care about a well developed plot then this book is a definite read for you, but if you’re expecting something scary or creepy form this then don’t bother as it isn’t that kind of thing. I will definitely look out for more of Perry’s work!

When I first saw the cover of the book my immediate thoughts were that it looked eerie and hauntingly beautiful. It was the cover that drew me to it and then when I read the blurb it was like a double whammy. It definitely intrigued me and I was very excited to read it.

Mammoth view in California is hit with news of an attack one evening. Nobody knows what happens but they know it is bad. Residents of the town begin to panic and leave town whilst the local chief of police and his deputy head out to investigate. Billy Lane is the only one who thinks the disaster is a good thing as it provided a welcome diversion from news of a robbery at the local bank, a robbery he committed. Over the next 24 hours chaos descends on the town of Mammoth View. What really happened?

The first scene of the book begins with local policemen Tony Berenson and the Chief Kenneth Hicks discussing the discovery of a fully loaded HK33 assault rifle and its origins. Whilst they are discussing it news comes in of an attack. “It’s spreading everywhere. It’s coming this way. About twenty yards to my right-“then there was a screech from the radio and nothing. What happened?
I found the first chapter suspenseful and engaging and it definitely made me want to read on.
I loved the style of writing of this book, phrases like “the horizon shimmered like tinsel.”
Billy Lane struck me as a thoroughly unlikeable character. He met his wife when she was a frustrated actress and he was a frustrated singer, they decided to exercise their frustration by embarking on a life of crime. During a bank robbery gone wrong Becks got shot by a security guard and he and his accomplice left her behind and she later died. He comes across as selfish and self-involved.
Tori, Billy Lane’s 16 year old daughter, is staying at the only running camp for girls in the country. She is a bit of a loner at the camp and her need to have some time away from the rest of the girls leads to an interesting day for her. I liked that this story had lots of little twists and how each aspect of the story intersected at various points along the way. I genuinely cared about what was happening to each character and where their tale was going to end up. I liked the ending, it was unexpected and I don't think that was a bad thing. I enjoined the suspense throughout the book and the fact that it keeps you guessing throughout.

With vivid imagery and a prevailing sense of menace, the author leads a multitude of characters with varied back stories to a unique and unexpected ending.

This is a strangely complex yet compelling novel. This feels more like a crime novel than a standard mystery.

steady, slow, excellent. about lots but at the same time not a story with a defined start, journey or end. I felt like I was following the authors though-span. GREAT writing.

I got a bit thrown at the end.. Just because I didn't really get the punch. I also felt that it finished with too many loose ends. It was so many characters involved that only later did I realize that I didn't get closure for most of them. Janice and Jackson? Sam? Gordon and Melvin? Winnie and Lloyd?

Still 4 stars for the unique writing.

Mammoth is a refreshing departure from the norm. It's a complex, intricately-woven tapestry of characters and events whose relationships, at the outset, seem too disparate to connect.

The characters, events and places are so well-drawn that it verges on pure genius. The author has an extraordinary talent for describing simple things -- such as the way light filters through a window, down a hall and through slanted blinds to create alternating lines of sunlight and shadow -- that evoke perfect pictures in your mind. He includes some of the inane thoughts we all have, unbidden, even in times of extreme stress; these random, often silly, thoughts bring the characters to life in a way few other authors seem capable of doing.

The story is told from the perspectives of over half a dozen individuals: a talented young 16-yr-old girl sent to a camp in the mountains above Mammoth View designed specifically for up-and-coming runners; her father, living a secret life of petty theft until his involvement in a major and deadly bank heist in the town below; an aging but determined Sheriff and his young Deputy; a has-been DJ with an long-time unfulfilled desire to break into acting; a pair of lifetime criminal brothers with a penchant for violence.

It's difficult to imagine, at first, how all these characters' lives could possibly intersect (except, of course, for the pursuit of the obvious criminals on the run), but miraculously they do... often in the most unexpected of ways. There were a couple of scenes that stretched credibility a bit, thus the one-star demerit; however, the richly-drawn characters and the interactions between them were so perfectly nuanced that you nearly forget the plot as your concentration is drawn inexorably back to those characters. While the ending is not how I wished it to be (sometimes fairytale endings just don't happen), it was completely realistic.

This is definitely a book I'd recommend to anyone looking for something that will inspire deep connections with the people and places depicted. It's well worth the time to read and savor every line.

*** This book was provided to me by the author and/or publisher for free through NetGalley, and in exchange for my honest review. ***

This was an interesting little read, packed with a diverse cast of characters. Teenage Tori, a cross country runner away at camp and struggling to find her place on the social ladder, " King", a past his best radio DJ, with delusional dreams of future fame, Police Chief Hicks who wants to protect his town, and of course the town good for nothings, the Johnson brothers, small time low life criminals who are more than happy to take advantage of a mysterious event that causes the evacuation of the small town of Mammoth one morning. The real nature of this event is speculated about through out the book, and several hints are dropped but what really happened is only revealed in the final couple of chapters.
This is a book that will divide readers. Some, who like character driven stories will love it, while those who prefer their books heavy on plot may find the ending a little off putting. Personally I loved the clever little plot device, and looking back I remembered plenty of clues, but I am sure some will feel it was a cop out.
Aside from the ending, the book is well written, with some good character development , particularly for Tori, her Dad, and chief Hicks. At first it was a little hard to keep the myriad characters straight, as we were introduced to many in quick succession, but this became less of an issue as the book went on and the characters became more differentiated. The pacing was fast, and the use of short chapters from different perspectives added to the feelings of apprehension and panic for the reader.
Overall an enjoyable read, and one that I would recommend.

I'm a sucker for multiple character arcs that all slowly weave together throughout a story, so this book was right in my wheelhouse. For the first few chapters I was a little confused about what was actually going on, but once the different character connections started to fit together, it was easy to follow and as the layers of the story deepened I became genuinely attached to many of the characters (while, of course, also wanting some of them to fail miserably at their nefarious tasks).

Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and it’s primarily because Perry’s character building is absolutely outstanding. Every single voice is well realised and it’s so easy to picture the person leading the chapter.

Where it falls down slightly is in the final reveal – there’s a madcap brilliance behind the true nature of the attack that sends people running for the hills (well, from the hills), but it’s such an abrupt revelation that it makes all that world building and characterisation see, a little pointless.

That being said, the more I’ve thought about this book since finishing it (and I’ve thought about it a lot), the more I’m okay with that. The point of the novel is not necessarily in finding out what actually happened in Mammoth View, but rather getting to know the people moving in and around the area – it seems to work best as a showcase for Perry’s really quite impressive cast of characters, and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when so many of the characters are still sticking in my head days later.

It might not be what you expect – from reviews I’ve read and even from my own expectations, that seems to be a common theme – but if you’re looking for well developed characters and a pervading sense of mystery, you could do a lot worse than Mammoth.

There is a lot going on this book which centres around the town of Mammoth. Terrifying news unfolds one morning forcing residents to flee. There seems to be lots of mini stories - Billy Lane targeting the local bank, the local police, the teen athletic camp, the small time criminals (the Johnson brothers) and King the local radio DJ. I found the different story plots difficult to follow but slowly everything started to come together. Would recommend that readers tempted to give up should continue, as it all comes together it is a great book and would really recommend.

Mystery
Adult
A summer morning earthquake in a ski resort town in the California mountains rattles residents. It’s California so they are used to it, but when explosions follow, a sense of disaster causes people to flee, creating a traffic jam that just increases the panic. Even the DJ takes off in the middle of his radio show. No one really knows what’s going on, including the reader. Billy Lane and his two cronies take advantage of the mayhem to knock off the small-town bank. No one was supposed to be hurt, but the bank manager is shot and a teller is left unconscious and bleeding. The crooks take off up a mountain road to hide out, where Billy’s daughter is at a running camp. But when Tori returns from her morning run, the camp is deserted. Police chief Kenneth Hicks and his deputy discover the bank robbery and set off after the Johnson brothers, local miscreants they believe to be responsible. There are a lot of people to keep track of in this mystery! Author Perry has developed strong believable characters and a spooky mountain setting in late 1970s California. This is a time of change and fear, of everything from illegal aliens and communists to UFOs and black men. And there are no cellphones. So when power goes out, people really don’t know what’s going on. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these flawed and honestly human characters and what drives their decisions. The cause of the panic isn’t as important as the actions they take. Be prepared for a level of confusion as you work your way through, but that’s part of the enjoyment. An excellent character-driven mystery that would make for a great movie, though I’m pretty sure the surprise ending would be revised. My thanks to Amberjack Publishing for the advance reading copy provided through NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this novel: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29106568

Good book I enjoyed it.It was a bit different and I liked the main character.kept my interest throughout.