They All Fall the Same: A Novel

by Wes Browne

An organized crime boss in Kentucky believes money and power are everything until his enterprise collides with a family tragedy, in this gripping noir thriller perfect for fans of S.A. Cosby and Eli Cranor.

Cannabis kingpin Burl Spoon has reigned over the Jackson County area for three decades, building a powerful backwoods empire. But behind a well-run organization, his personal life is crumbling–his daughter can’t stay clean; his son has hated him since coming out; and after enduring years of infidelity, his wife is straying too. The only person not on his payroll who still adores him is his six-year-old granddaughter, Chelsea. 

When his daughter overdoses on heroin laced with fentanyl and one of his employees is murdered, Burl’s retaliation against Clovis Begley, the patriarch of the heroin-dealing family involved in both deaths, is inevitable. As Burl’s plan spirals into a firestorm of vengeance that threatens the safety of his granddaughter, his drive for revenge conflicts with his longing for redemption.

On the brink of losing everything, Burl must find a path between retribution and protecting what’s left of his family.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Noir

297 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 7, 2025

About the author

Wes Browne lives within the Kentucky River Basin in Madison County, Kentucky. He has practiced law as a criminal defense attorney, prosecutor, and public defender in Appalachia for over 24 years. He also helps run his family's pizza shops.

His novel They All Fall the Same was named one of Book Riot's Best Books of 2025 (So Far) and one of the Biggest Mysteries and Thrillers of 2025 by Goodreads. His 2020 debut, Hillbilly Hustle, was named one of the Best Lockdown Reads by Merriam-Webster.

Reviews

[Fairuz ᥫ᭡. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC! 💫 I just wrapped up They All Fall the Same by Wes Browne, and honestly... I’m a little torn. It was okay—not a total win, but definitely not a flop either. There were some cool moments, but it just didn’t completely click with me. It’s not my usual jam, and I wasn’t 100% sold on the narration either. The accent was tricky to follow at times, but it did match the character vibe, so... I’m conflicted! 😅

✧ Crime Boss Vibes 👑
✧ Family Drama 🤯
✧ Revenge Galore ⚔️
✧ Dysfunctional Family ❤️‍🩹
✧ Morally Grey Characters 🥀
✧ Dark and Gritty Noir 🌑

Okay, so we’ve got Burl Spoon, a tough guy running a cannabis empire in Kentucky. Things take a nosedive when his daughter dies from a heroin overdose. 😔 Now, he’s deep in family drama, trying to hunt down the people who did it. It’s definitely gritty and dark, with some chaotic moments, but I was expecting more twisty turns and jaw-dropping stuff, and honestly, it didn’t hit those highs for me.

The characters? They were decent, but I feel like they could’ve been developed more. It's not highbrow literature, but it’s a pretty raw dive into loyalty and revenge. If you're into Southern noir or gritty crime, this could totally be your vibe. For me though? Eh, not so much.

Would I recommend it? Maybe to fans of dark crime thrillers or those who love morally grey characters. Just don’t expect it to totally blow your mind!

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burl Spoon has been running a successful crime gang in Kentucky for decades. He has only marginal attachments to his wife, son, daughter and mistress, but he is devoted to his granddaughter. Clovis Begley and his family are in the heroin business, and when Burt’s daughter dies from a dose of fentanyl-laced heroin supplied by Clovis the two crime operations go to war And I mean that literally. Their engagement had the feel of a military campaign.

I am a little tired of books about criminal lowlifes, but this one was very well done. Burl and Clovis were both interesting characters, the strikes and counter strikes just kept coming and there was a chilling last sentence. If bad language and/or violence disturb you, avoid this book. I found it both fast paced and entertaining and I would read this author again. The narration by Matt Godfrey of the audiobook was very good.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.

[Thomas Edmund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for this Advance Copy!

They All Fall the Same started a little tough for me - it sort of has that "no good guys here" trope, however somehow despite this I found the pacing pick up quickly and it was really smooth read. The vibes are akin to Mystic River - a violent tragic and confronting sort of story which leaves you guessing at every moment.

An interesting side-note is that the emergence of Covid-19 is included in this story, the lockdown and use of face-masks adding to some of the intrigue of how this crime family vs crime family drama was going to play out.

Despite me saying "no good guys" the truth is the goodness of this story is around the 'edges' so to speak. Our MC Burl Spoon isn't even close to redeemable, and neither are his adversaries, yet in the mix are the innocent and semi-innocent bystanders, including the wider Spoon family. They All Fall the Same provides an unusual expression of the excitement and drama of a deadly organized crime war while still showing the collateral (and direct) damage and horror of such an event. While this might not be considered high literature exactly there was something interesting and meaningful about how this novel plays out - highly recommended!

[myreadingescapism · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't bad by any means, it just lacked a wow factor.

[Mandy K · Rating 5 out of 5]

They All Fall The Same(audio)
4.5⭐️

Not your typical organized crime boss novel. I was expecting more of a cliche feel, but was pleasantly surprised at the depth and well-rounded characters.

Burl is a tough guy who can basically do whatever he likes because everyone fears him. But Burl has a soft spot for his daughter and granddaughter. When his daughter goes missing he crosses paths with another local drug family empire. Burl holds them responsible for his daughter, they retaliate, and then vice versa. How far will each side go? How many lives will be sacrificed in the name of their feud?

I ate this up. I loved the writing and characters. The narration was absolutely wonderful!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audio ARC. This review will be shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.
Pub Date Jan 07 2025

[Jamele (BookswithJams) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books #partner for the gifted copy to review. I got (and had signed by Wes Browne) at Bouchercon.

I have not read Wes Browne before, and I enjoyed this Southern Noir revenge crime novel. It was gritty and atmospheric, and I loved Matt Godfrey’s narration on audio. I listened in one sitting as I was captivated from the start and could not put this down until I knew how it would end, and man, it did not disappoint.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a trip. I wanted to read it because it was supposed to be like a revenge story, like SA Cosby would tell and I love me some him! Even though the story was action packed and the revenge plotting was there and carried out to the point you felt like you were in a movie...the biggest missing piece for me was the narration. I disliked it, which made me drag through listening to it. I would see this as a movie though!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Maven_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

They All Fall the Same by Wes Browne – Review

They All Fall the Same by Wes Browne is a gritty rural noir set in the hills of Kentucky, centered on cannabis kingpin Burl Spoon, a seasoned organized crime boss whose carefully maintained empire begins to collapse when his daughter overdoses on heroin laced with fentanyl and one of his employees is murdered. As Burl’s thirst for vengeance pits him against rival dealer Clovis Begley’s family, the violence escalates in a dangerous feud where love, loyalty and retribution collide, threatening the safety of his beloved six‑year‑old granddaughter. Browne, drawing on his Appalachian legal experience, infuses the story with sharp dialogue, vivid sense of place and morally complex characters.

Right away I was drawn into the raw emotional pull of Burl’s impossible conflict: even as his actions grow darker, his fierce love for family made me feel both dread and sympathy, and that tension held me close to the narrative. The pacing felt relentless in the best way, propelling me through tangled revenge and brief moments of reflection with real emotional weight.

Rating: 4 out of 5 because its powerful depiction of loyalty and consequence made it a compelling, unforgettable thriller.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here’s my encomium for this book. 5 stars no hesitation. If you don’t mind a gritty, page turner, crime thriller with some bad characters but some good ones thrown in, this is for you. It’s violent but somehow the author made me cry in the last chapter. The title is perfect. Kentucky should be proud to house this new to me author. Next up, his debut novel, Hillbilly Hustle.

Note: audio and ebook were available on Hoopla.

[Nurse Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was not my usual genre and I’m not sure what compelled me to request it through NetGalley, but I’m glad I did! This read as a general fiction for me and I loved it. I listened to the audiobook and highly recommend this voice narrator!

This story is a sober example that regardless of your socioeconomic class, friends/family, job, etc., you can still be vulnerable. In this case, the MC went from untouchable to bottom of the barrel with nothing left. I found the story to have perfect pacing, an unpredictable ending, and I loved all the characters!

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ALC!

[Jason Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for a novel that evokes a sense of place, and Wes Browne draws the reader into a vivid patch of Kentucky filled with crime bosses and dirty cops and vengeful fathers and complicated families. It’s dark and propulsive and one of the best examples of Southern neo-noir I’ve read lately. Highly recommend.

[Alfonso Zapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feeling more 3.5 but we round up in this household.

Pretty calculated (maybe too calculated for me?) crime thriller. Browne says he was writing with TV pacing in mind and you can feel that; it really speeds along, but there were areas where I wish we could have lingered longer, and made things a bit less smooth, I would have liked a messier, more risky treatment of some of these themes

[Scott Blackburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

They All Fall the Same is an impressive novel very much in the vein of David Joy and Eli Cranor. What struck me with Browne's writing is the crispness of his prose in a genre that's apt to lean on tired phrases and cliché. The story itself grabbed a hold of me from page one, and I was blazing through the pages to see what madness Burl Spoon would do next. I love a good tale of revenge, and this one delivered at the highest level. Thank you to Crooked Lane Books for an early look at this fantastic Southern noir.

[K~Terror · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ | This book kept me at the edge of my seat. I’m not sure why I waited so long to read it!

[Rhonda 🌒🌕🌘 🐈‍⬛ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed emotions about this. As a Kentuckian, I want to support a Kentucky author. Plus it’s set in Kentucky. That being said, I hate our states distasteful underbelly. I know this happens but I also know it happens in pretty much every state. Our state and the residents are made fun of and ridiculed enough. I just hate feeding the fire and fanning the flames. Don’t expose the dirty laundry.

[Dan]

An excellent rural noir novel. Highly recommended.

[Joanne Leddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two drug families fighting like the Hatfields and the McCoys in rural Kentucky. Tit for tat, the patriarchs despise one another and no wrong goes unpunished. It’s a “last man standing” story. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants a homegrown thriller read!

[Jody Blanchette · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of SA Cosby Books, or Netflix’s Ozark, you’re going to want to read this. This is a revenge novel with a ton of outlaw $hit! Lol
The main character, Burl Spoon, is an unlikeable king pin who is grouchy, entitled and hot headed. I don’t think he really ever grew on me, because of how much of an ass he is. Yet, I couldn’t stop rooting for him. Im not sure how that works. lol his quest for revenge for his daughter’s death really is the whole story. I do think we are supposed to feel a little sympathy for him, and he kind of redeems himself, but I just really enjoyed my disdain for the character. I kind of think that’s what the author wanted.
The whole book is cinematic. It could easily be a series, or movie. I would watch it. There is so much action, gunfire, car chases and memorable characters that it all comes to life as you’re reading it.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

It only took reading a few lines from Wes Browne’s They All Fall The Same Way to know I was in store for a pleasurable Southern Noir experience. Upon finishing the novel, my assumption was proven to be quite correct.

Browne has woven together a crime tale describing a battle between competing forces with wonderfully crafted sentences capturing a sense of time, place, and circumstance, while easily moving to my list of top novels of 2024.

In Jackson County, Kentucky, for over three decades, things have mostly gone well for cannabis mogul Burl Spoon, however, lately, troubles originating along the domestic side of his empire seem to be more trouble than issues on the crime side.

Clovis Begley is similar in ways to Burl, but at the same time, is vastly different. He, too, is in the illegal drug business, but mostly deals in the harsher types of drugs and possesses a greater taste for outright brutality.

Soon, due to unusual circumstances, the worlds of Burl Spoon and Clovis Begley not only encroach upon each other but collide in seemingly never-ending carnage where many dead will be left behind in the remaining ash and rubble.

To me, other than the wonderfully worded novel, what drew me to They All Fall The Same Way was how Browne has written a novel full of nasty characters where their introduction does not automatically cause the reader to viscerally dislike the villainous characters in a novel. While it does not cause any of them to be admired or seen favorably, what it does do is allow the reader to complete the novel and not ask oneself when finished why hours were wasted spent on a novel full of rotten characters. Browne is even able to somewhat humanize Burl Spoon and one other villain purposely weaponized for carnage.

One way Browne does this is by producing one-dimensional characters beyond that of merely villainous people and adding at least some aspect of humanity to their character that tends to sprinkle a dusting of sympathy.

Another way was how when it came to the introduction of villains in this novel, Browne was able to create and flush them out in a progressive manner where each was more disturbing than the previously introduced one.

They All Fall the Same Way is set to be published in January 2025 and is highly recommended to readers of Southern Noir/Rural Noir, with wonderfully developed characters. Netgalley provided an ARC for the promise of a fair and unbiased review.

This review was originally published at MysteryandSuspense.com.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Social had an author event at 3rd Turn Brewery in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, where Wes Brown was discussing this book. I had never heard of him of of his book, so when my friend mentioned going, being the book nerd I am, I was able to get off work early & attend the event. The discussion was interesting, & I bought a copy of the book when I got there (right before the discussion began), & Wes signed copies of the books.

If you know anything about Appalachia & Appalachian culture, especially crime involving drugs, this is the direction of the book. It reminded me of Elmore Leonard’s Styx if writing, and the show Justified, only coming from the crime syndicate perspective instead of law enforcement perspective. The book is very well written, with accurate Appalachian dialects & how the culture is there (with everyone having randomly weird or unusual nicknames, everyone knowing everyone, etc), & if anyone has ever lived in a small town for any length of time, it takes you back to that world. I did enjoy the names of actual places named. I may live in Louisville, several hours from the Appalachian foothills of Eastern Kentucky, but having been to the foothills numerous times in my life, the descriptions took me right back.

I really enjoyed this book & highly recommend

[Trey Grayson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went to law school with Wes, so I’m biased, but this is truly a great book. It has received a lot of national buzz, and it is well deserved. This “revenge” book rings true with interesting, yet believable characters. Those of us from Kentucky will appreciate some of the accurate mannerisms and sayings. Once I was able to get focused - it took me a few days to really get a chance to start reading - I couldn’t put it down. Well done!

[Michael Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Wesley Browne's Hillbilly Hustle (2020), maybe my favorite pandemic read. When I learned that novel's antagonist Burl Spoon would be the central character of Browne's next novel, I thought, How's that gonna work?. Spoon is a scary and unlikable character in HH, at least he was for me, so I was curious how he could carry a story that I could like. . . . Well, it works! They All Fall the Same works! By means mostly to do with three new female characters--Spoon's daughter DeeDee, his mistress Whitney, and especially his granddaughter Chelsea--Browne tenderizes Spoon and humanizes him. He's still violent and surrounded by violence. He's still even largely despicable. But we see him learn from mistakes--significant mistakes--and grow into a character with whom we can empathize, maybe even like a little bit. They All Fall the Same is an action-packed, well-paced romp through Kentucky, from Harlan to Louisville, with a brief side trip into Tennessee. A strong second outing for novelist Wesley Browne.

Thanks to the author--via NetGalley--for the advance copy.

[Katarina Agata Marković · Rating 4 out of 5]

"They All Fall the Same" is a gritty, fast-paced noir thriller set in the backwoods of Kentucky, following Burl Spoon, a cannabis kingpin whose personal and criminal life collide with devastating consequences. The novel dives into the underworld of organized crime, with themes of revenge, family dysfunction, and the price of power.

While I didn’t find it to be my cup of tea, as I prefer Agatha Christie-style murder mysteries, this book is more in line with fans of Ozark, Narcos, or Peaky Blinders, blending crime, family drama, and moral decay. My husband, on the other hand, loved it and could easily see it adapted into a TV show or movie. His score: 5/5, while I would give it 3/5, making it a well-crafted book for those who enjoy darker, edgier crime stories.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advance copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

[itsallaboutbooksandmacarons · Rating 4 out of 5]

The audio presents a deep and powerful narration. The voice is strong, commanding attention from the very beginning with its presence and clarity. The pacing and tone add to the intensity, drawing listeners into the experience.

The style of delivery, however, is quite intense and leans toward a military and aggressive tone. This might come across as too forceful or overwhelming for some listeners, especially if a softer, more balanced approach is preferred. The strong focus on authority and power may feel too much at times.

The execution of the audio is undeniably impressive. The production quality is high, and the narration is clear and well-articulated. The depth of the voice work adds a significant layer to the overall effect. Despite the tone feeling somewhat too aggressive for personal preference, the work is professionally done and demonstrates strong skill and attention to detail."

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a really cool setting and concept, and overall the story was interesting. I was curious to know what would happen, but not as immersed in the story as I’d liked. I really enjoyed that the characters were morally grey and liked the dynamic between characters.

The audiobook narrator was great with characters’ conversations and did great with character conversations. This being said, I found the narration to be extremely choppy when reading the book’s non-dialogue text.

*** ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

[Shelby Horn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I fear I might be in my thriller era. What a great, fast-paced story set in Kentucky! This was extremely engaging especially in audiobook format . I really appreciate the way the author depicted some of the mannerisms and felt more attached to the story since it all hits close to home to me (an EKY girly). I would never have gravitated towards this book normally but I am super pleased with the way this book turned out.

[Nadia Meriouli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review

I really enjoyed this book, it was a sad story but so unique and really interesting. I was gripped the whole way through. I felt like all of the characters were really interesting and I think it was really well written. Can’t wait to reread it, I recommend it.

[Florence Tandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I lived in Lexington and Richmond for 25 years so all the places where the book was set were familiar. I’m not usually a fan of books (or movies) with lots of violence, but this one held my attention. I couldn’t wait to see how/if the two villains got their comeuppance and whether the few innocents were saved.

[Marianne Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark, compelling read

Crime fiction this gritty is not my usual choice, but another reader recommended this title and it was an Amazon Editor's Choice selection. Vivid, memorable characters are the single biggest factor that determines my satisfaction with a novel, and this book has several. If the author writes a follow-up to this book, I will certainly read it. Burl and Whitney are too intriguing to miss. Recommended with 4 stars.

[Andrew Monge · Rating 5 out of 5]

THEY ALL FALL THE SAME by @browneallover follows two backwoods drug families, detailing what happens when a skewed sense of manhood, duty, and loyalty leads to an all-out war where no one gets through unscathed. Helluva crime novel, with an all-timer epilogue.