When These Mountains Burn
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''When These Mountains Burn'' is a 2020 novel by David Joy.


Plot summary

Raymond Mathis, a 70 year old ex-
United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...
employee, has recently become a widower. His adult son Ricky is addicted to drugs and is kidnapped by dealers who ransom him to Raymond.


Background

The novel is set during the 2016 Southeastern United States wildfires, the drug epidemic in the United States, and the encroachment of
coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...
populations. It is portrays the erosion of mountain culture in North Carolina and the reclamation of Cherokee culture in the 21st century.


Reception

The novel received positive reviews from critics.
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...
praised its "memorable characters, deft plotting, and an attention to detail". Tod Goldberg of
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
called the novel "a snapshot of small-town America at a fracture point, when the least of the concerns is the fire that could consume everyone, all at once."{{Cite web , last=Goldberg , first=Tod , title=Review: 'When These Mountains Burn' a brutal crime novel and snapshot of small-town America , url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2020/08/17/review-david-joy-when-these-mountains-burn-brutal-crime-novel/3372623001/ , access-date=2025-05-17 , website=USA TODAY , language=en-US


References

2020 novels Novels set in North Carolina Crime novels