Down From The Mountain

by Courtney Allen

Down From The Mountain is the historical fiction of a struggling Appalachian family working and living in a hand-to-mouth existence on hard and unforgiving land. In the beginning, Troy Stanton’s young niece, Clara, becomes pregnant, and there is much contention as to the father and how to manage the circumstances. When the pregnant Clara suddenly vanishes, Troy is mired in indecision and he finds few answers with no one to turn to. The Stantons suspect foul play from someone inside the small town, but Clara’s brother, Silas, discovers the secret and must bury it from the eyes of the community for the truth is never to be told.

From the greatest desires comes the most bitter hatred, and the Stantons must stand their ground in order to survive in a world fraught with unjust grievances and black-hearted adversaries. The story continues as Clara embarks on her treacherous journey, and brother Silas copes with living on the mountain ultimately defending his own life while Troy goes in search of his niece after she mysteriously disappears from their mountain home. Along the way, Clara's fatherless, unborn child is in peril as Clara undertakes the dangerous road to another life and onto her final destination, one that she never intended arriving at in the first place.

This story is an intriguing journey of love and struggle between the will to move their lives onward and the desire to become a family once again. Turn the cover to find the opening pages compelling, the heart of the book strong, and the ending satisfying yet bittersweet. Down From The Mountain is a tasteful début novel that will fill you with wonder, entice your soul, and leave you wanting more.

259 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 12, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Ms. Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from Goodreads First Reads in exchange for an honest review....

This book was a decent, solid read. Well written, with a unique and interest plot. I give it a total of 3.5 star rating, (I really wish Goodreads would allow us to do half-star ratings). The authors writing style is slightly unique and took a little time for me to get used too, but overall it made the book one-of-a-kind and expressed the story all the better.

Worth giving a go! I enjoyed this read reasonable well.

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

XXX I received this book from Courtney Allen on July 17th, 2015, as a Goodreads Giveaway. Thank you, Mr. Allen, for allowing me the pleasure of reading this novel!

Courtney Allen has written a fine novel, set at the turn of the twentieth century in the Appalachian Mountains. Silas and his older sister Clara go to live on Fort Mountain with their mother's sister Bly and her husband Troy, following the deaths of their mom and dad. There is a great deal of detail about everyday life at that period, in that isolated place. Courtney Allen has obviously researched this era very well. I found the story interesting, the characters well rounded and the flow of the novel smooth and timely.
Reveiwed. again November 7, 2024 at Goodreads and AmazonSmile. NOt available for review on B&N< BookBub, or Kobo.