One bookseller labels this as "Appalachian noir." From the publisher: "From critically acclaimed author David Joy comes a remarkable novel about the cover-up of an accidental death, and the dark consequences that reverberate through the lives of four people who will never be the same again. When Darl Moody went hunting after a monster buck he's chased for years, he never expected he'd accidentally shoot a man digging ginseng. Worse yet, he's killed a Brewer, a family notorious for vengeance and violence. With nowhere to turn, Darl calls on the help of the only man he knows will answer, his best friend, Calvin Hooper. But when Dwayne Brewer comes looking for his missing brother and stumbles onto a blood trail leading straight back to Darl and Calvin, a nightmare of revenge rips apart their world."

Gifting fiction can be tricky, but page-turning literary fiction is my go-to crowd-pleaser. David Joy's latest novel didn't get as much attention as it deserved (in my opinion), which makes it perfectly giftable. A father, an addict, and a federal agent are brought together by chance and redemption. Told in alternating points of view, a complicated family story meets a noir-ish literary mystery. While this story isn't a fast-paced thriller, I couldn't turn the pages quickly enough. Joy's skillful character building drew me in, and I'd love to put this book in more readers' hands.

One summer in a small North Carolina town, two outsiders arrive, each with the aim of disrupting the status quo. One is a KKK member laying low after crossing the law in Mississippi, the other a Black college-aged artist activist spending the summer with her grandma. Following vandalism, intimidation, and even a murder, some in town seek to restore a sense of peace while others ask if there ever was any. A riveting mystery with a particular sense of place that asks more global questions about human nature and what it means to live in community. Joy’s best yet. For fans of William Kent Krueger’s Iron Lake and Ausma Zehanat Khan’s The Unquiet Dead.