Dogs of Parsons Hollow

by James D. McCallister

A bereaved mother seeking solace in the rural Carolina countryside instead finds herself embroiled in a depraved, backwoods fever dream, an animal lover’s nightmare:

Finding a beautiful, secluded home far from Randi Margrave’s troubled life in the city seems like a step in the right direction—away from ruinous grief over her sweet son Denny, killed in a tragic accident.

Until, that is, she discovers her creampuff of a house sits uphill from a mysterious, camouflaged compound by the river, and from which she begins to hear a haunting chorus—dogs in distress.

The sound of suffering.

Once Randi learns the shocking truth about her new neighbors and their dogs, she decides to risk all she has left—including her own life—to stop Esau and Julius Macon from ever abusing another innocent animal.

290 pages, Paperback

Published May 8, 2018

About the author

James D. McCallister, an award-winning author of novels, stories, creative nonfiction and poetry, lives in West Columbia, SC, with his wife Jenn and their beloved brood of cats, muses all.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story deals with the subject of raising dogs for fighting and a courageous neighbor who takes action. This story and characters are so well done. You feel like you are there alongside Randi. Full of human emotion at its highest level. Kept my attention from start to finish. You will not want to put this book down until you are finished. I highly recommend this book.

[R J Mckay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Goodreads in exchange for a review.

There are as many reasons to write a book as there are authors. Some books are for enjoyment, some teach a lesson, while others point out an injustice. In ‘Dogs of Parsons Hollow’, the reader learns about the culture of dog fighting.

All Randi wanted was to find a place to lick her wounds and start anew, to be able to move past the death of her young son. What she found in Edgewater County, was far from the peace she sought. The mournful cry of a dog in the distance haunted her. And finally, one day, Randi had to investigate. What she discovered was a something that tore at her heart…buried deep in the sticks, far away from prying eyes, was a center for breeding and training fighting dogs. And unlike everyone else in the county, Randi was not willing to close her eyes to what was happening in her own back yard.

I have to admit that this story upset me. I am a dog lover. I have seen stories about dog fighting in the news, but this story reminds the reader so vividly about the savagery found in the terrible blood sport. That this is still ongoing in the U.S. should be a concern for everyone. This book is vivid, sometimes hard to read, but it will stay with you long after you close the book. That makes it a good book.

[Micheal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel was a very interesting read for me. It entailed grief (loss of a child), infidelity (the husband prior to losing their child), forgiveness, relocating from a city in South Carolina to a small country town in South Carolina and trying to start all over in life only to have to deal with small country folks and their "old" southern ways. In the midst of all this, the main character, Randi discovers in her own back yard, breeding of Pit bulls in which they are being raised and trained for illegal dog fighting. Randi's main focus shifts from the grief of the loss of her son to helping the dogs and uncovering the actual activities so people become aware of what's happening in their county only to find out that in a small town, pretty much everyone knows what's happening. I really enjoyed reading this novel and loved the character Randi and her love for animals.

[Meryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book from Goodreads. It is about a couple that lose their son and move out to the county. They find out that their neighbors raise Pit Bulls to fight, and gives Randi, the wife, a cause to fight for when she really needs one. But these people are not going down without a fight and it gets very dangerous.

[Courtney Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

So so good! Picked up this in his shop in Columbia SC!!! 100% recommend