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Devils Ridge
"We are here and it is now. Further than that, all human knowledge is moonshine." ~H.L. Mencken.
Dark corners, hidden stills, and fast cars linger in the shadow of Devils Ridge. While God rules rural Appalachia, it is soon Man's Law that is challenged when notorious rum runner Connor Ridge takes on a local deputy who may outpace the moonshiner's illicit enterprise. With the help of the new Editor in chief, deputy Walter Irwin works to bring Ridge and his gang to justice. Can Irwin stop the shadows of Devils Ridge from swallowing his town whole? Or will they over the law, once and for all?
Dark corners, hidden stills, and fast cars linger in the shadow of Devils Ridge. While God rules rural Appalachia, it is soon Man's Law that is challenged when notorious rum runner Connor Ridge takes on a local deputy who may outpace the moonshiner's illicit enterprise. With the help of the new Editor in chief, deputy Walter Irwin works to bring Ridge and his gang to justice. Can Irwin stop the shadows of Devils Ridge from swallowing his town whole? Or will they over the law, once and for all?
310 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 20, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 4, 2021
Author Stacy N. Hawks is one of those independent writers who is destined to have a national readership. Her debut novel “Dividing Ridge” was a masterwork of a true-crime tragedy In Allegheny County, North Carolina. In her latest work, “Devils Ridge”, Ms. Hawks returns to Allegheny County, focusing on the bootlegging/moonshining world of the 1930s.
Simply put, I loved “Devils Ridge”. Admittedly, I'm a sucker for stories of bootleggers and crime. But “Devils Ridge” is so much more than the typical crime story. Ms. Hawks captures what I believe to be the essence of the American experience of Prohibition. Although the bootlegger character, Connor Ridge, is itself a triumph, the voice of 1930s America is captured beautifully through supporting characters like mechanic Darrell Jones or Connor's wife and his mother.
For example, when the bootlegger Connor Ridge offers mechanic Jones a job, Jones weighs his options in a manner that encapsulates the national debate: “On one hand he knew what the man was doing was wrong, but on the other he knew it also put a lot of food on people’s tables. Darrell understood his neighbors made moonshine and even his own cousins have been arrested for bootlegging once or twice.
Moreover bootlegging afforded some luxuries others struggled to afford like shoes and coats in the winter. If the tobacco crop did not turn out, Darrell also grasped he would have to pitch in to help his family survive the winter and that could mean abandoning the garage for good.”
When Connor is on trial, his mother snaps at Deputy Irwin, “my boy wasn’t doin’ a thing other than providin’ for his family.” When Connor’s wife confronted the same deputy, she asked, “why punish a man for doing something the law should stay out of in the first place?”
The best historical fiction, in my opinion, chronicles the feeling of a period through the action and dialogue of characters. Stacy Hawks accomplishes this masterfully in Devils Ridge. Americans are divided about many issues these days, but there is one historical issue on which we all agree. The national social experiment Prohibition was flawed from its inception.
I give Devils Ridge an enthusiastic five stars.
Simply put, I loved “Devils Ridge”. Admittedly, I'm a sucker for stories of bootleggers and crime. But “Devils Ridge” is so much more than the typical crime story. Ms. Hawks captures what I believe to be the essence of the American experience of Prohibition. Although the bootlegger character, Connor Ridge, is itself a triumph, the voice of 1930s America is captured beautifully through supporting characters like mechanic Darrell Jones or Connor's wife and his mother.
For example, when the bootlegger Connor Ridge offers mechanic Jones a job, Jones weighs his options in a manner that encapsulates the national debate: “On one hand he knew what the man was doing was wrong, but on the other he knew it also put a lot of food on people’s tables. Darrell understood his neighbors made moonshine and even his own cousins have been arrested for bootlegging once or twice.
Moreover bootlegging afforded some luxuries others struggled to afford like shoes and coats in the winter. If the tobacco crop did not turn out, Darrell also grasped he would have to pitch in to help his family survive the winter and that could mean abandoning the garage for good.”
When Connor is on trial, his mother snaps at Deputy Irwin, “my boy wasn’t doin’ a thing other than providin’ for his family.” When Connor’s wife confronted the same deputy, she asked, “why punish a man for doing something the law should stay out of in the first place?”
The best historical fiction, in my opinion, chronicles the feeling of a period through the action and dialogue of characters. Stacy Hawks accomplishes this masterfully in Devils Ridge. Americans are divided about many issues these days, but there is one historical issue on which we all agree. The national social experiment Prohibition was flawed from its inception.
I give Devils Ridge an enthusiastic five stars.
January 23, 2022
If you want to take a ride with the Devil, back into the past of the old Appalachian mountains then this isn't something you wanna miss. From the days of bootlegging comes a plot of high speed, bullet flying adventure.
We've all read the books based on moonshining and local gangs in the hills of North Carolina, but it's nice to see a new fresh approach to both the good guys and how the bad guys move the story forward, how they were limited with resources and by the technology of their era, instead they had to rely on their wit, and old fashioned common sense to figure out what and who did it.
My advice? Come along and find out why they call it Devil's Ridge.
We've all read the books based on moonshining and local gangs in the hills of North Carolina, but it's nice to see a new fresh approach to both the good guys and how the bad guys move the story forward, how they were limited with resources and by the technology of their era, instead they had to rely on their wit, and old fashioned common sense to figure out what and who did it.
My advice? Come along and find out why they call it Devil's Ridge.
February 15, 2023
A rich historical set in Appalachia during the Great Depression. The story unfolds family drama and the will to survive. Fans of Yellowstone tv series will love this book. I raced through it in one week.
January 23, 2022
This story unfolds like an old newspaper article. Bit by bit the author introduces a gang of moonshiners who run the gambit of getting caught after stealing a prominent member of a nearby community's car. Devils Ridge also features familiar characters from the authors debut book Dividing Ridge. I loved the origin story premise to this book too, and how the author details the unique way bootleggers would run moonshine through counties. Devils Ridge is a slow burn that could have an explosive ending for the main character, Deputy Walter Irwin and those helping him to apprehend their ring leader. Highly recommend both books by this author.
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April 1, 2022Devil’s Ridge, written by Stacy Hawks, is a riveting historical fiction novel set in Appalachia during the 1930’s depression era. Stacy has developed her novel based on real life characters and events. You will follow the lives of the characters as they use car theft, robbery, and the making and transporting illicit moonshine, while local law enforcements are hot on their trail. You won’t be able to put this novel down until you find out what happens.
Stephen Marsden
Stephen Marsden
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews