Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jun 2018
352 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
James McLaughlin expertly brings the beauty and danger of Appalachia to life in an elemental, slow burn of a novel - one that will haunt you long after you turn the final page.
Rice Moore is just beginning to think his troubles are behind him. He's found a job protecting a remote forest preserve in Virginian Appalachia where his main responsibilities include tracking wildlife and refurbishing cabins. It's hard work, and totally solitary - perfect to hide away from the Mexican drug cartels he betrayed back in Arizona. But when Rice finds the carcass of a bear killed on the grounds, the quiet solitude he's so desperately sought is suddenly at risk.
More bears are killed on the preserve and Rice's obsession with catching the poachers escalates, leading to hostile altercations with the locals and attention from both the law and Rice's employers. Partnering with his predecessor, a scientist who hopes to continue her research on the preserve, Rice puts into motion a plan that could expose the poachers but risks revealing his own whereabouts to the dangerous people he was running from in the first place.
Edgar Awards, 2019
BookBrowse Review
Bearskin begins with a high-impact blunt force of violence, the undercurrent of which runs through the rest of the atmospheric novel. Set mostly in the Appalachian wilderness, it's the story of a troubled man, Rice Moore, who even in the deep woods, can't quite shake off his past. Moore has betrayed the Mexican drug cartels back in Arizona and he is on the run, hoping to find camouflage as the caretaker of protected land in small-town Virginia.
The novel brims with the stillness of the lush forest and the descriptions of rural Appalachia are spellbinding. But Moore remains a frustrating and obtuse character whom the reader can't fully root for. The novel's switch between the two parallel plot lines in Arizona and Virginia feels gimmicky at times, especially since they take their time coalescing. All in all a novel that might be worth picking up for its lush descriptions of the forests, especially if you don't mind a dash of violence.
Other Reviews
"Starred Review. The novel's denouement, a smoothly orchestrated confluence of the greater and lesser subplots, plays out against a tempest-tossed natural setting whose intrinsic beauty and roughness provide the perfect context for the story's volatile events. This is a thrilling, thoroughly satisfying debut." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. An intense, visceral debut equal to the best that country noir has to offer." - Kirkus
"This versatile debut is hard to pin down, successfully straddling the line between the evocative erudition of Gabriel Tallent's My Absolute Darling, Tom Franklin's Poachers, and page-turning suspense of C.J. Box. " - Library Journal
"C. J. Box and Paul Doiron fans will enjoy this edgy tale, with human greed and wildlife exploitation at its heart." - Booklist
"One of the year's most buzzy, fascinating thrillers. ... A suspenseful, emotionally resonant journey into one man's dark past." - Entertainment Weekly
"A journey into the wilds of Appalachia. ... Tightly plotted and beautifully written, Bearskin marks an auspicious debut." - Nylon Magazine
"Bearskin - a gripping tale written in spare, beautiful prose - tells the tale of Rice Moore, a reluctant hero, competent, resilient, and utterly engaging." - Scott Smith, NYT Bestselling author of A Simple Plan and The Ruins
"Bearskin is visceral, raw, and compelling - filled with sights, smells, and sounds truly observed. It's a powerful debut and an absolute showcase of exceptional prose. There are very few first novels when I feel compelled to circle brilliant passages, but James McLaughlin's writing had me doing just that." - C.J. Box, #1 NYT bestselling author of The Disappeared
"A secret past, old foes, bloodthirsty locals, and the destruction of the natural world converge in McLaughlin's debut novel. An intricately written thriller that explores the darkest parts of human nature against the beauty of unspoiled American wilds." - Ace Atkins, New York Times bestselling author of Robert B. Parker's Old Black Magic and The Sinners
"At once brutal and beautiful, Bearskin is a tense, haunting thriller brought to life by McLaughlin's deft and vivid rendering of the rugged mountain landscape and the beasts that dwell within. A powerful debut." - Laura McHugh, author of The Weight of Blood and Arrowood
This information about Bearskin was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
James A. McLaughlin holds law and MFA degrees from the University of Virginia. His fiction and essays have appeared in The Missouri Review, The Portland Review, River Teeth, and elsewhere. He grew up in rural Virginia and lives in the Wasatch Range east of Salt Lake City, Utah.
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