The Whiskey Baron

This atmospheric, top-of-the-line debut novel, from South Carolina native Sealy, is set in his home state’s hill country in 1932. It gives a portrait of the region’s working-class inhabitants, reminiscent of Erskine Caldwell (Tobacco Road). Creaky, weary sheriff Furman Chambers investigates the brazen shotgun murders of two young men killed in front of the local tavern. The lead suspect is “Mary Jane” Hopewell, a hard-drinking but, until then, seemingly harmless ex–mill worker, while the victims are bootleg runners employed by Larthan Tull, Castle County’s arrogant “whiskey baron.” Larthan is a major supplier for Aunt Lou, a big-time booze vendor in Charlotte, N.C., and has attracted the attention of FBI agents Jeffreys and O’Connor, who decide to team up with Furman. The sheriff uncovers a scheme hatched by Mary Jane to get in on the local bootleg trade, even as the now-fugitive murder suspect makes a play against Larthan’s dominance. Meantime, Mary Jane’s nephew, Quinn, is courting Evelyn Tull, Larthan’s headstrong daughter, adding another combustible element to an already tense situation. Sealy’s impressive country noir, which follows in the tradition of such leading practitioners as Daniel Woodrell and Donald Ray Pollock, serves notice of a promising new voice. (Apr.)