by Davis Grubb
First published 2001
Mattie Appleyard walks out of Glory Penitentiary after forty-seven years behind bars for murder. He carries a check for $25,452.32, every penny he earned and saved through the prison work program. With fellow ex-cons Johnny Jesus and Lee Cottrill, Mattie plans to open a general store in Stonecoal, West Virginia, competing directly with the local company store. But banker Homer Grindstaff, prison guard Uncle Doc Council, and Sheriff Duane Ewing refuse to let him cash his legitimate check or realize his dream. Their schemes force Mattie and his companions into a dangerous chase through Depression-era Appalachia along the Ohio River. The pursuit brings together an array of vivid characters against the backdrop of mountain communities where good confronts evil in both violent and absurd encounters. Grubb balances warmth and humor with action and chaos as Mattie fights for the future he earned through decades of patient saving.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, crime
Vibes: gritty, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: chase, enemies-to-lovers
Setting: Glory Penitentiary, Stonecoal, West Virginia, Appalachia, Ohio River
Period: Depression-era
332 pages · Paperback · University of Tennessee Press
Content warnings: violence