While the family dynamics of this multigenerational tale was intriguing, the violence was over the top. While I enjoyed the finely wrought plot, I just couldn't read through the large sections of violence, especially toward women. I understand that the masculine violence was a large part of the character development, but still feel uncomfortable about recommending this title to others.

There were some that liked it and some that did not. We chose this book because of comparisons that had been made to the TV series "Justified." We found some of the characters to be interesting and had good discussion about the value of family and blood being thicker than water. The story had an interesting concept, but at times it seemed rather unrealistic -- maybe because we don't live in the same type of culture as the characters in the book. All in all, we were glad we read it and if we recommend it to others, we will have a few caveats. We felt that the author may have drawn from many stock perceptions of southern people that are not actually true. There were hints here and there that let you know what could be coming so that some things were not a total surprise. The layout was interesting and how he tied things together was pretty good. Some felt pushed to like certain characters that actually were not all that likable. If you are looking for something about current drug culture and people that deal in that trade, or if you are into violence that just pops up out of nowhere, you will probably enjoy the book.

Everyone in the club read it quickly!