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Peckerwood
Assault, armed robbery, and the occasional blackmail: life is pretty damn good for Terry Hickerson. He's got a dog, a best friend, enough cash to get him drunk, and a teenaged son to carry him home. Sure he's a constant pain in the local law's ass, but Sheriff Jimmy Mondale's got enough to worry about, what with his estranged daughter on a tear, and the District Attorney being onto his partnership with local ex-biker, meth kingpin, and tackle shop owner Chowder Thompson. When tragedy hits their small town of Spruce, Missouri, Terry's peckerwood bullshit will push the three of them into a volatile whirlwind complete with bullets, bodies, and broken bones.
Praise for JEDIDIAH AYRES & PECKERWOOD:
“Peckerwood is intensely original and harrowing country noir. Ayres delivers sharp-edged prose that lands like a knife under the ribs.” – Dennis Tafoya
“A masterpiece of dirty, down-low rural noir. Read it and sink a little further into the muck.” – Scott Phillips
“Some people find comfort in religion, booze, sex, drugs. I don’t judge. But I find comfort in Jedidiah Ayres.” – Benjamin Whitmer
“Jedidiah Ayres combines a crooked world view and a dark turn of mind with a genuine, increasingly rare pulse of hu- manity to create stories that stand apart.” – Sean Doolittle
“One of the most innovative crime fiction writers currently on the scene.” – LitReactor
Praise for JEDIDIAH AYRES & PECKERWOOD:
“Peckerwood is intensely original and harrowing country noir. Ayres delivers sharp-edged prose that lands like a knife under the ribs.” – Dennis Tafoya
“A masterpiece of dirty, down-low rural noir. Read it and sink a little further into the muck.” – Scott Phillips
“Some people find comfort in religion, booze, sex, drugs. I don’t judge. But I find comfort in Jedidiah Ayres.” – Benjamin Whitmer
“Jedidiah Ayres combines a crooked world view and a dark turn of mind with a genuine, increasingly rare pulse of hu- manity to create stories that stand apart.” – Sean Doolittle
“One of the most innovative crime fiction writers currently on the scene.” – LitReactor
240 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2013
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437 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
July 22, 2017
★★1/2
Man, I really wish I liked this more than I did. Jedidiah Ayres was one of my favorite author discoveries of last year. So I was excited to read this one: his debut novel and a release from Broken River Books, probably the coolest publisher out there. But although I didn't have a problem finishing the book, I realized that the reason I kept reading was due to Ayers's stylish prose and his true potential rather than much engagement in the characters or what was happening. It read a bit like an early draft, with hints of really great characters and noteworthy moments that never really reach their full potential. It felt like all the elements were turned to 50 when I feel like everything should have been hitting closer to a 100 to be truly memorable to me.
Now, it seems like I might literally be the only person who feels this way, so there's a good chance that others would love it, but I didn't feel like it matched the same quality as his fantastic novella Fierce Bitches, or his tough and creative stories in A Fuckload of Shorts. But I believe Jed Ayres is ultra-talented so I'll jump on his next book.
Man, I really wish I liked this more than I did. Jedidiah Ayres was one of my favorite author discoveries of last year. So I was excited to read this one: his debut novel and a release from Broken River Books, probably the coolest publisher out there. But although I didn't have a problem finishing the book, I realized that the reason I kept reading was due to Ayers's stylish prose and his true potential rather than much engagement in the characters or what was happening. It read a bit like an early draft, with hints of really great characters and noteworthy moments that never really reach their full potential. It felt like all the elements were turned to 50 when I feel like everything should have been hitting closer to a 100 to be truly memorable to me.
Now, it seems like I might literally be the only person who feels this way, so there's a good chance that others would love it, but I didn't feel like it matched the same quality as his fantastic novella Fierce Bitches, or his tough and creative stories in A Fuckload of Shorts. But I believe Jed Ayres is ultra-talented so I'll jump on his next book.
July 30, 2021
Adrenaline fueled red-neck crime thriller. The author has never let me down.
An absolute grit lit masterpiece!
Highest possible recommendation!
An absolute grit lit masterpiece!
Highest possible recommendation!
July 26, 2016
The long-awaited first novel by Noir at the Bar dogfather Jedidiah Ayres doesn't disappoint, and not just because it fulfills the promise of another borderline unprintable title. A bit more thoughtful and a bit less savage than his short-story collection A F*ckload of Shorts, and much larger in scope than Fierce B*tches, it still moves quick, or at least starts out already moving (you're tuning in to a show already in progress), but it also doubles back on itself from time to time, stretching out small moments to develop the menagerie of low-rent characters in interesting ways. And there are a ton of characters, cops and criminals alike. But if it feels like it takes a minute to really get going, it's because the slowburn of this narrative is important when you're dealing with a dozen or so personalities and plotlines. In fact, it reads very much like one of those "good" crime shows that are on TV these days, where the viewer rewards aren't instantaneous, but earned by binge-watching and sticking around all day and all night with these guys and their crimes, peeking in on the action, but also listening in on conversations during the downtime. The structure of the novel swoops in and out, attaching its third-person point of view to a different walking contradiction every couple pages or so, and this suits the vibe here (once you're halfway in, it's hard to imagine the book constructed any other way really). And the scenery is rural, not quite in the holler, but more around the trailer, and more than a couple people get to see the inside of a trunk, which is always fun. And, as he tends to do behind the microphone, the author continues to conjure up colorful new euphemisms, which is why quotes will be limited. So, yeah, the timing of this book may seem fortunate with the glut of small-town murderous meth-addled storylines on the screens and on the page these days, but it works harder than that. The references seem to place the story in the '90s, but really this is the kind of story that readers (and viewers) ate up in the '70s. And this book offers some heart with its slice of hell (or at least empathy), which is why it sets itself apart from both eras, and, as it turns out, why it's necessary.
May 29, 2014
If this is a debut novel, I'm a horse's ass. Ayres takes you into the muck, as Scott Phillips says amongst all the other praise this book has gotten and deserved, and that's just the best part of his success in this lacerating and knowing novel. Suspense is a hard thing to master, and Ayres has the mastery to uh, be mastered. Sheriff Jimmy Mondale is my favorite character, a man who's got ideas about how the world should operate, it's just that he's, well, a touch crooked himself, and once thrown among the wolves, it's difficult to see a a way out without some people getting coldcocked.
Get this one and read it, soon as you can.
Get this one and read it, soon as you can.
April 8, 2015
I don't know what it is about this genre. I'm repulsed by the characters, the subject matter, the lives of these people. They take the gift of life and just wipe their ass with it. But, something about this genre creates wonderful writers who write wonderful books. "Peckerwood" is no different. It has what I call the "Deadwood principle" which I define as taking a group of people who swear every other word and have little to no education and making them insightful and brilliant in a believable manner.
Rarely in my life have I literally said "Damnit" when the book ended because I didn't want to leave that world yet, but I did this one. The characters that Ayres gives us are well rounded and some of his phrases are just awe inspiring.
Rarely in my life have I literally said "Damnit" when the book ended because I didn't want to leave that world yet, but I did this one. The characters that Ayres gives us are well rounded and some of his phrases are just awe inspiring.
January 23, 2023
The book is a screamer, it has a wicked and nasty plot, brutish characters, blood and guts galore. Even though I thought it was sometimes over the top, I appreciated the author’s writing style and his inventive turn of phrase and dialogue. There’s also a fair amount of dark humor here if your mind works like mine does.
April 9, 2014
Epic, profane, stunning and simply magnificent. Jedidiah Ayres has created a complex and compelling world, peopled with characters I couldn't turn away from. They are despicable, yes, be he pulls off a hat trick comparable to Peckinpah, he makes you care about them. My only complaint is the sleep I lost because I couldn't put it down.
October 29, 2020
"Everyone was waiting for him to turn up dead, accidentally eviscerated with a can opener or hung by his nuts outside the elementary school."
PECKERWOOD is hardboiled crime fiction, rural noir as back-alley-bar balls, and as twisty full-metal gonzo as the plots are, ultimately you don't read them for plot, or even character, you read them for voice. You read them for those shivery little pleasure pellets of prose, like miniature cocaine bombs, that bounce off the walls of your blood vessels with every page.
And PECKERWOOD, I'm pleased to say, has got voice. I picture author Jedidiah Ayres as that slumped-over day-drinking drunk at the end of the bar who may look like the saddest sack in the solar system, but once you take the stool next to him, he stirs and straightens up a little and sticks a Pall Mall in his mouth and starts telling you stories. And you sit up straight with your shot of Wild Turkey and and you think, "Man, this dude has lived some life and seen some things and been through the bowels of Hades in a blender with rusty blades, but he can still smile a little and stand back from it all just enough to have a sense of humor about it." And you find yourself ordering another drink, and ordering him another drink, and suddenly in no hurry at all to get home to the missus or back to the office because you're laughing your pancreas off and your jaw is janking off the top of the bar and you're listening to him talk and thinking about roadhouses you wish you hadn't driven past and women you wish you'd made a move on years ago and chances you wish you took. And then you light up a Pall Mall and are stunned by how pleasant it tastes before you realize you don't even smoke, and you want to hit the road with this guy and hold up liquor stores and let large amounts of daylight into milk bottles and mailboxes with guns you don't have.
"He wanted Chowder to run pussy and dope in a regulated environment without competition and unnecessary violence, without women disappearing forever or only to be found later in various states of decomposition."
Well, OK, I guess plot does matter, just as you hope that the entertaining drunk's stories have a point somewhere on the horizon. Suffice it to say that in the finest rural-noir tradition, it involves pussy and dope and bent law enforcement and biker gangs and bodies in trunks and blackmail and bathroom-stall beatings and betrayal and parking-lot sex and pink mist like water balloons, all in a small town in Missouri somewhere not too far from the Arkansas state line. It involves bad people who love their family members with stunning tenderness and fingers not too far from their butts of their Glocks.
And it's all pretty amazing good.
And it's got a voice that will cut open your tongue and pour tequila all over it:
"Agent Harris was dead before he hit the ground. His face had nothing behind it anymore. What used to be there was all over the man to Jimmy's left. The pulp-blinded agent dove to the ground to avoid more bullets while he scooped his boss out of his eyes."
Yeah. Want another shot of Wild Turkey, pal?
PECKERWOOD is hardboiled crime fiction, rural noir as back-alley-bar balls, and as twisty full-metal gonzo as the plots are, ultimately you don't read them for plot, or even character, you read them for voice. You read them for those shivery little pleasure pellets of prose, like miniature cocaine bombs, that bounce off the walls of your blood vessels with every page.
And PECKERWOOD, I'm pleased to say, has got voice. I picture author Jedidiah Ayres as that slumped-over day-drinking drunk at the end of the bar who may look like the saddest sack in the solar system, but once you take the stool next to him, he stirs and straightens up a little and sticks a Pall Mall in his mouth and starts telling you stories. And you sit up straight with your shot of Wild Turkey and and you think, "Man, this dude has lived some life and seen some things and been through the bowels of Hades in a blender with rusty blades, but he can still smile a little and stand back from it all just enough to have a sense of humor about it." And you find yourself ordering another drink, and ordering him another drink, and suddenly in no hurry at all to get home to the missus or back to the office because you're laughing your pancreas off and your jaw is janking off the top of the bar and you're listening to him talk and thinking about roadhouses you wish you hadn't driven past and women you wish you'd made a move on years ago and chances you wish you took. And then you light up a Pall Mall and are stunned by how pleasant it tastes before you realize you don't even smoke, and you want to hit the road with this guy and hold up liquor stores and let large amounts of daylight into milk bottles and mailboxes with guns you don't have.
"He wanted Chowder to run pussy and dope in a regulated environment without competition and unnecessary violence, without women disappearing forever or only to be found later in various states of decomposition."
Well, OK, I guess plot does matter, just as you hope that the entertaining drunk's stories have a point somewhere on the horizon. Suffice it to say that in the finest rural-noir tradition, it involves pussy and dope and bent law enforcement and biker gangs and bodies in trunks and blackmail and bathroom-stall beatings and betrayal and parking-lot sex and pink mist like water balloons, all in a small town in Missouri somewhere not too far from the Arkansas state line. It involves bad people who love their family members with stunning tenderness and fingers not too far from their butts of their Glocks.
And it's all pretty amazing good.
And it's got a voice that will cut open your tongue and pour tequila all over it:
"Agent Harris was dead before he hit the ground. His face had nothing behind it anymore. What used to be there was all over the man to Jimmy's left. The pulp-blinded agent dove to the ground to avoid more bullets while he scooped his boss out of his eyes."
Yeah. Want another shot of Wild Turkey, pal?
October 7, 2014
This was a short, satisfying, complex little crime novel. It shifts perspectives quite often (hawks In Cold Blood sections come to mind) to a slightly-surreal/jarring effect, but nonetheless feels like classic hard-boiled noir. One unforgettable scene includes two disorganized crime yokels trying to frame a disguised televangelist in a redneck gay bar.
I hope Jedidiah Ayres keeps publishing crime books in this style; it was quite refreshing compared to other grocery-store crime Gods like Patterson, Kellerman, and the like. It is twisted, compelling, and action-packed. I reread the prologue for its somehow hypothetical tone and jarring investigation of dead possibilities several times before embarking on the unforgettable ride that is this novel.
I hope Jedidiah Ayres keeps publishing crime books in this style; it was quite refreshing compared to other grocery-store crime Gods like Patterson, Kellerman, and the like. It is twisted, compelling, and action-packed. I reread the prologue for its somehow hypothetical tone and jarring investigation of dead possibilities several times before embarking on the unforgettable ride that is this novel.
August 1, 2016
A dirty and violent backwoods noir sprinkled with a nice dose of black humor. I loved every page!
May 19, 2015
Backwoods American noir is all the rage right now and Peckerwood is among the best of them. It takes all the usual ingredients – small-town sheriff, probably corrupt; meth-labs and whore-houses run a by local hard man; three-time losers looking for a big score; wayward sons and daughters – and blends them together in a romping plot at a pivotal moment.
Along the way, heads get broken big time in a melange of shootin’, shaggin’, jackin’, whorin’, thievin’ and blackmail, but there’s more to this book than a mere criminal rampage. The author has gifted his characters with fully fleshed-out lives and an extended supporting cast. Along the way it becomes obvious that some of their situations aren’t so clear-cut as they first appear – that some of these folks may be choosing the lesser of the evils before them. Others are satisfyingly bad as can be and heading for a righteous come-uppance. It’s fascinating to watch their overlapping lives spiral towards apotheosis.
The writing and the chopping between characters takes a little while to get used to, especially if you’re not entirely familiar with the slang used. But hey, that only adds credibility to the uncomfortably realistic feel of this sordid, scuzzy rural backwater. There are a few moments of brutally blunt violence, and casually explicit encounters of the narcotic and erotic kind.
A real hot-rod of a read. It’s dark and it’s dirty and it’s nasty. I entirely enjoyed it and will grab more by this author.
8/10
Along the way, heads get broken big time in a melange of shootin’, shaggin’, jackin’, whorin’, thievin’ and blackmail, but there’s more to this book than a mere criminal rampage. The author has gifted his characters with fully fleshed-out lives and an extended supporting cast. Along the way it becomes obvious that some of their situations aren’t so clear-cut as they first appear – that some of these folks may be choosing the lesser of the evils before them. Others are satisfyingly bad as can be and heading for a righteous come-uppance. It’s fascinating to watch their overlapping lives spiral towards apotheosis.
The writing and the chopping between characters takes a little while to get used to, especially if you’re not entirely familiar with the slang used. But hey, that only adds credibility to the uncomfortably realistic feel of this sordid, scuzzy rural backwater. There are a few moments of brutally blunt violence, and casually explicit encounters of the narcotic and erotic kind.
A real hot-rod of a read. It’s dark and it’s dirty and it’s nasty. I entirely enjoyed it and will grab more by this author.
8/10
May 22, 2014
Sheriff Jimmy Mondale and local Crime Boss Chowder Thompson have the town of Spruce tied down between them. Chowder ensures no outside interference from other out of town crime syndicates, while Jimmy enforces the law on anyone in town whom Chowder puts the drop on. The arrangement works fine for both parties and the town as a whole has also benefited from Chowder's financial donations. However, when local small time stick up man Terry Hickerson gets it on with Jimmy's wayward daughter Eileen and ASA Jordan, from the D.A.'s office, starts investigating Mondale and Chowder's relationship, things in Spruce take a turn for the worse.
This is a great debut novel from Ayres, whom i hadn't heard of before reading this novel. It's packed with some great characters, most of whom are small time failed criminals and drunks but who all think they can have a crack at that one big score. The story moves fast but didn't really see the end coming and it kept me guessing as to what was going to happen right up to the end. I also got the feeling that we haven't heard the last of Sheriff Mondale and Chowder Thompson as the ending leaves things wide open for a sequel ?
This is a great debut novel from Ayres, whom i hadn't heard of before reading this novel. It's packed with some great characters, most of whom are small time failed criminals and drunks but who all think they can have a crack at that one big score. The story moves fast but didn't really see the end coming and it kept me guessing as to what was going to happen right up to the end. I also got the feeling that we haven't heard the last of Sheriff Mondale and Chowder Thompson as the ending leaves things wide open for a sequel ?
November 30, 2015
"Peckerwood" centers on the symbiotic relationship between a redneck crime boss and the local sheriff, and the forces that cause their relationship to implode. One of those forces being Terry Hickerson, peckerwood-extraordinaire of Spruce, Missouri. Terry usually sticks to booze, drugs, women, and theft. But he’s not smart enough to stay within his depth. And a chance encounter with the sheriff’s daughter lands him in the middle of two most powerful and dangerous men in town.
From the very first page, Jedidiah Ayres demands your attention. Ayres builds each scene carefully, sparing no detail without wasting words. The lifestyle and locations are distinctly southern, but are relatable to the American underbelly in any state. Poverty and inadequate education yield similar results anywhere in the country.
It doesn’t take long to realize that the characters in “Peckerwood” aren’t striving for redemption. But their paths are so intriguing, you have to strap in to see just how low they’ll go.
In “Peckerwood”, Ayres has found raw, gritty perfection that will stick with you for days. I can’t wait to see what he does next.
From the very first page, Jedidiah Ayres demands your attention. Ayres builds each scene carefully, sparing no detail without wasting words. The lifestyle and locations are distinctly southern, but are relatable to the American underbelly in any state. Poverty and inadequate education yield similar results anywhere in the country.
It doesn’t take long to realize that the characters in “Peckerwood” aren’t striving for redemption. But their paths are so intriguing, you have to strap in to see just how low they’ll go.
In “Peckerwood”, Ayres has found raw, gritty perfection that will stick with you for days. I can’t wait to see what he does next.
July 2, 2016
Peckerwood. This is chicken fried, hardboiled, hyper-violent, grit-lit at its most entertaining. Sheriff Jimmy Mondale is busy trying to keep the peace while keeping an eye on his business interests. Ex-biker Chowder Thompson is a hard edged business man with a low tolerance for outside influence. Terry Hickerson is a two-bit peckerwood with a tendency for stirring shit up. That's pretty much all the context you need to know for now. Why ruin all of the fun and surprises?
Peckerwood's narrative is split between these three characters. The triple narrative is a hoot to read especially as the characters come in contact with one another. These episodes are like a rogue waves clashing with one another and shit hits the fan! If you're a reader who enjoyed books like Hell on Church Street, Devil All the Time, and Pike then you will devour the pages of Peckerwood. There's really not much else to say.
Well... maybe one more thing. They say never judge a book by its cover. Great story, great title, and flipping awesome cover!!!!!!!!!!
Peckerwood's narrative is split between these three characters. The triple narrative is a hoot to read especially as the characters come in contact with one another. These episodes are like a rogue waves clashing with one another and shit hits the fan! If you're a reader who enjoyed books like Hell on Church Street, Devil All the Time, and Pike then you will devour the pages of Peckerwood. There's really not much else to say.
Well... maybe one more thing. They say never judge a book by its cover. Great story, great title, and flipping awesome cover!!!!!!!!!!
February 10, 2015
This is a very dark novel with a southern flavor. There are lots of bad words, drugs and sex but do not let that discourage you from reading a good novel. In a fictitious county in Missouri, close to Tennessee and Arkansas border, there is a set of characters involved in a crime conspiracy. The main characters are a corrupt Sheriff, with a promiscuous daughter, a middle age drug dealer, with a violent gay daughter, and a very inept middle aged criminal. Then an Assistant District Attorney becomes involved and things start happening. A fast pace mystery with some unconventional twists but in the end very rewarding.
January 1, 2016
I have never read a book with more despicable, unlikeable, degenerate, nasty, white trash. Not a single character had any redeeming qualities, but I instantly fell in love with the book. I couldn't wait to find out what these idiots were going to do next! If you have not read Jed Ayers this is the perfect place to start. His characters are outrageous, yet seem like they could all be very real people. The story was tight, funny, and excellent. Ayers is definitely on my "must buy" list every time something new comes out. Worth every one of the 5 stars in the rating.
April 19, 2014
Crazy wild. Imagine a raunchy, bloody "Raising Arizona" -- that's how these ribald and very funny misadventures hit me. Yet this story never got cartoonish; all the characters and situations, as horribly wrong as they got, felt real. Ayres also has quite a flair with language too, but in a subtle and unshowy way.
November 29, 2014
This was so much fun to read. All the multiple subplots start to build momentum throughout, slowly at first, and then link together as the book progresses, like snowballs being rolled down hills from opposite directions, gathering mass and velocity before meeting in the middle for the final collision. 4.5 stars.
April 18, 2015
Love this book. Read it, now.
February 17, 2014
Hear the complete review: http://www.bookedpodcast.com/2014/01/...
August 14, 2021
Well, I'm seemingly in the minority here with a 3 star rating for Peckerwood. Others have characterized this as American backwoods noir, or just a novel about poor white trash in backwoods Missouri. In any event, I suppose both descriptors have some merit. But, bottom line for me-- it's a fairly entertaining book that failed to leave me wanting another.
Jimmy Mondale is sheriff of Spruce, Missouri, a backwoods town ruled by a former bike-gang leader, meth dealing drug lord who also runs a legit (sort of) tackle and bait shop. Said bad guy, one Charles "Chowder" Thompson, also happens to be in cahoots with Jimmy, though their association is a fairly closely guarded secret. Things will become complicated quickly when a hot-shot assistant DA comes to town hunting Chowder and perhaps, Jimmy as well. Plus, Jimmy's wild-child daughter happens to bed down with one of the local losers (of which the book has plenty), much to Jimmy's chagrin. Oh, will the hilarity never end?
On the whole, this was a story with plenty of potential, told reasonably well, but for some reason, one that simply didn't resonate with me. At times it was quite entertaining, but all too often devolved as if to insure that the reader remembered this was about, well, "peckerwoods."
Jimmy Mondale is sheriff of Spruce, Missouri, a backwoods town ruled by a former bike-gang leader, meth dealing drug lord who also runs a legit (sort of) tackle and bait shop. Said bad guy, one Charles "Chowder" Thompson, also happens to be in cahoots with Jimmy, though their association is a fairly closely guarded secret. Things will become complicated quickly when a hot-shot assistant DA comes to town hunting Chowder and perhaps, Jimmy as well. Plus, Jimmy's wild-child daughter happens to bed down with one of the local losers (of which the book has plenty), much to Jimmy's chagrin. Oh, will the hilarity never end?
On the whole, this was a story with plenty of potential, told reasonably well, but for some reason, one that simply didn't resonate with me. At times it was quite entertaining, but all too often devolved as if to insure that the reader remembered this was about, well, "peckerwoods."
September 18, 2017
oh gosh. This book was good, lots of colorful characters and several unforgettable scenes....
The voice has to be the roughest I've ever read. The style, with the rotating narrators was a little jarring at first...but the voice. I dunno. I felt like some scummy person was telling me a story. It was really well done! It just took me a bit to get used to.
But I seriously didn't like a single character in this book. Not a one. The three main narrators were all unlikable, in my opinion. Terry and Chowder especially, but even the Sheriff, by the end. I had hoped to like some of the side characters...but even those were shit. That being said, I still managed to like the story and was engaged enough to keep reading.
But three stars because the ending felt a little rushed and a tad bit confusing. Lots of people dying and it was hard to keep track of who was taking care of who and for who. Also: I really was rooting for Wendell to have a part in the bloodshed, but that didn't pan out.
The voice has to be the roughest I've ever read. The style, with the rotating narrators was a little jarring at first...but the voice. I dunno. I felt like some scummy person was telling me a story. It was really well done! It just took me a bit to get used to.
But I seriously didn't like a single character in this book. Not a one. The three main narrators were all unlikable, in my opinion. Terry and Chowder especially, but even the Sheriff, by the end. I had hoped to like some of the side characters...but even those were shit. That being said, I still managed to like the story and was engaged enough to keep reading.
But three stars because the ending felt a little rushed and a tad bit confusing. Lots of people dying and it was hard to keep track of who was taking care of who and for who. Also: I really was rooting for Wendell to have a part in the bloodshed, but that didn't pan out.
June 26, 2019
Small-town noir coated with a heavy layer of grime. I honestly didn't think I'd like this book from the start. I'm all for morally dubious characters, but there's pretty much nobody likable here. And maybe I'm what you'd call a snowflake, but there were several moments I read where I stopped reading, thinking "oh jeez, that's inappropriate."
But ultimately, I ended up digging this book.
The prose is sharp, the pace perfect, and the bleak, lowbrow humor made me chuckle more than once. Every little detail fits together perfectly, leading up to a satisfying conclusion. There's no redemption arc at the end of this story--characters find themselves in a dark hole and only dig themselves in deeper. It feels real, which only adds to the heaviness. Dang, this was a great noir.
From the sounds of it, Broken River books is putting this title out of print, so if you haven't read it yet, get on it.
But ultimately, I ended up digging this book.
The prose is sharp, the pace perfect, and the bleak, lowbrow humor made me chuckle more than once. Every little detail fits together perfectly, leading up to a satisfying conclusion. There's no redemption arc at the end of this story--characters find themselves in a dark hole and only dig themselves in deeper. It feels real, which only adds to the heaviness. Dang, this was a great noir.
From the sounds of it, Broken River books is putting this title out of print, so if you haven't read it yet, get on it.
March 29, 2023
Too frequently southern noir falls into a few distinct traps. It paints a hyper romanticized picture of rural life. It's obsessed with meth. Worse, it just rings false. Jedidiah Ayres' work deftly navigates the world of southern gothic noir and avoids all the potholes. "Peckerwood" is authentic, real, and gritty. Most surprisingly its movements are clever and it's laugh out loud funny. Like, I literally lol'd.
If you're a fan of Sallis' Turner trilogy, Daniel Woodrell, or Eric Beetner's McGraw saga, you'll dig Peckerwood. But be warned, Ayres takes a jagged, wickedly grinning edge to the world.
Peckerwood is rural noir done right.
If you're a fan of Sallis' Turner trilogy, Daniel Woodrell, or Eric Beetner's McGraw saga, you'll dig Peckerwood. But be warned, Ayres takes a jagged, wickedly grinning edge to the world.
Peckerwood is rural noir done right.
July 8, 2017
Another visceral work of Southern Gothic or Country Noir or whatever you wanna call it, this one's right at home in Woodrell's Ozarks. Peckerwood drunk dances that fine line between redemptive and just plain depraved, in a life-affirming way. Cool in that original, detached, Miles Davis kinda way. You can never tell who exactly to root for in Ayres' writings, nor how much of the depravity is the characters' or the author's own, but here his increasingly confident tone makes it clear he doesn't f*cking care and neither should you. Can't wait for the forthcoming movie.
July 9, 2017
Country Noir at its Finest
Jedidiah Ayres (Fierce Bitches) has done it again. His debut novel explodes off the page with an unforgettable cast of shitbirds, corrupt lawmen, ex-bikers, backwoods babes, Memphis drug dons and a dogged states attorney out to make a name for himself by bringing down a crooked lawman. And did I mention it was laugh out loud funny? Can't wait for the movie and the sequel.
Jedidiah Ayres (Fierce Bitches) has done it again. His debut novel explodes off the page with an unforgettable cast of shitbirds, corrupt lawmen, ex-bikers, backwoods babes, Memphis drug dons and a dogged states attorney out to make a name for himself by bringing down a crooked lawman. And did I mention it was laugh out loud funny? Can't wait for the movie and the sequel.
August 6, 2019
Another one of those books you buy for the title alone!
Meth makers, bikers, trailer trash, loose women, crazy women, stupid drug and alcohol influenced behavior, and crooked cops.
What is not to love?
This is an excellent addition to the White trash, rural, dark southern noir genre.
Meth makers, bikers, trailer trash, loose women, crazy women, stupid drug and alcohol influenced behavior, and crooked cops.
What is not to love?
This is an excellent addition to the White trash, rural, dark southern noir genre.
May 10, 2017
7/10 - Great writing and memorable characters. It was a little over-the-top, to the point of absurdism at times. I will definitely be reading whatever he puts out next.
November 24, 2025
Nasty country-fried noir (complementary)
January 14, 2019
I loved this book!! Rednecks, drugs, family, crime bosses and the law. The story really works through the gears, until its in revving out in top gear. Ayres works in some other unexpected twists, which really pay off and add some darkly comic elements. This book was such a blast, I was left with a big old grin and I wanted to race through it again.
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