Gone South, by Robert McCammon

Dan Lambert is a man at the end of his rope. Diagnosed with leukemia, out of work from his carpentry job for months, and still incurring flashbacks of Vietnam, he can't imagine how it could all get worse. That was until he drove to his bank where he needed to make another extension on his truck loan, only to find his trusted bank manager was there no longer. His only means of getting to job opportunities was quickly trying to be taken from him by this new and unforgiving man, until Dan decides to take something precious from him. Now on the run, Dan receives a trinket of good news. His ex-wife knows of a place he can remain holed up until the situation hopefully blows over, and Dan can escape the country. The only things that stand in his way are bounty hunters, the Louisiana bayou, crazy gun toting hotel owners, and a girl named Arden Halliday who is on her own quest deep within the swampland.

I am a novice to McCammon's works, this only being the second I've read. I truly enjoy his writing style and his need to bring you into the world the characters are living, so you can really become one with the words on the page. The start of the book was strong, as was the ending, but at times in the middle I found it to be a slog to wade through. While there is information to be gathered and happenings that occur, sometimes it takes away from the full experience and makes me care a little less about what the characters are going through. This is not something specific to this novel, this is something I find with many books I've read from the 70s, 80s, and some of the 90s, in multiple genres. Overall though, the story was one that I enjoyed, but at times wished it could have been tightened up for a more enjoyable reading experience. I'd give it a B-.

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Gone-South-Robert-McCammon/dp/1416577793/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=gone+south&qid=1612255419&s=books&sr=1-1

Written by Kyle Lybeck