A Mourning Song takes place approximately a year after the events of Mark Westmoreland’s first novella, A Violent Gospel. In this book, we find Mack Dooley and his brother, Marshall, are not only estranged, but Mack is suffering from the traumas incurred during the events from a year ago. Call it PTSD, if you will, but Mack is having a hard time sleeping. And when he does sleep, his nightmares are filled with visions that he is unable to outrun. Seems the only solace he can find is in a whiskey bottle; which brings on a whole new set of issues.
When Mack is the victim of a home invasion by an outlaw gang named the Ghostface Devils, who are hell-bent on finding Marshall, Mack realizes that he is going to be pulled back into a world that he has been avoiding for the last year.
Mack tracks down Marshall and finds out he has been working for Peanut Bohannon, who is the crime kingpin of Tugalo County. Peanut informs him that they are at war with the Ghostface Devils, and they want to put him out of business, and take over his territory. In order to help out his brother, and Peanut, Mack allows himself to be recruited in the battle against this violent gang. What ensues is one heck of a story.
I haven’t read too much of the Southern Crime genre before I started reading Mark’s books. His style of writing and storytelling is so descriptive, and so smooth, that not only can you smell the biscuits, but you can hear the bacon sizzle. The only issue I have with Mark is that the stories are too darn short. Do yourself a favor and pick up his two books.
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Purchase A Mourning Song
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Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen
