The County Line: a novel
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2024-02-06 07:23:06
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Steve Weddle
- ISBN：1491594950
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
From Steve Weddle， the author who the New York Times calls “downright dazzling，” comes the story of a prodigal son returning home to hard times and harder choices during the Great Depression。 Life has never been easy for Cottonmouth Tomlin。 Raised by an uncle in a hardscrabble Arkansas town， Cottonmouth couldn’t leave fast enough。 As a young man， he set out to seek his fortune but was soon caught up in a life of low-level misdeeds， taking him from New Orleans all the way to Honduras。 Now he’s back in Columbia County， mourning his uncle and worrying on what to do with the broken-down outlaw camp that represents the sum of his family legacy。 And legacy is no small matter in a county like his。 The townsfolk remember Cottonmouth and his kin， just like they remember everyone who ever put down roots in the area。 Folks do like the way the outlaw camp helps out the local so long as criminals undertake their troublemaking across county lines， they’re more than welcome to stay and spend some of that money in county establishments。 But when Cottonmouth gets embroiled in some ill-conceived ransom plans with a few of those visiting scofflaws， he pushes the boundaries of the community’s forgiving nature。 Set against the unyielding backdrop of the Great Depression and with an unforgettable cast of ornery characters， The County Line is a lyrical and loving celebration of community and opportunity in 1933 America。
Reviews
Anne Mahy
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I found the first half of the book difficult to follow and just list of names， finally the last half of the book felt like a story。 Took a while to get involved in the book
Diane Johnson
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Wanted to love this book but just couldn't get into it。 If I didn't give it a fair chance， it will be my loss。 Wanted to love this book but just couldn't get into it。 If I didn't give it a fair chance， it will be my loss。 。。。more
MM Suarez
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"Don’t really matter what’s wrong; what matters is the getting on with it。 Hell， everybody’s got something。”If I would have gone by the Goodreads reviews of this novel （which I don't do）， I would have missed out on a great story， set in Depression Era Columbia County， Arkansas， Cottonmouth Tomlin and his band of fumbling scofflaws teach us a thing or two about small town values and what community should be。 Great characters， specially the Rudd sisters， Henrietta Rudd scared the crap out of me！ I "Don’t really matter what’s wrong; what matters is the getting on with it。 Hell， everybody’s got something。”If I would have gone by the Goodreads reviews of this novel （which I don't do）， I would have missed out on a great story， set in Depression Era Columbia County， Arkansas， Cottonmouth Tomlin and his band of fumbling scofflaws teach us a thing or two about small town values and what community should be。 Great characters， specially the Rudd sisters， Henrietta Rudd scared the crap out of me！ If you like a good heist/Depression Era/thriller country kind of story， this one is worth the try。 。。。more
Courtney
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This book was recommended by a reviewer for people who like old timey gangster stories or fans of Boardwalk Empire which I am and guess what？ I liked this book。 The main characters are not at all redeeming and they're written that way。 They are all tragically inept and in over their heads at every turn while trying to carve out their tiny version of success in a rapidly changing economic environment。 It's easy to wish them success but you're constantly reminded that nothing is on the "up-and-up" This book was recommended by a reviewer for people who like old timey gangster stories or fans of Boardwalk Empire which I am and guess what？ I liked this book。 The main characters are not at all redeeming and they're written that way。 They are all tragically inept and in over their heads at every turn while trying to carve out their tiny version of success in a rapidly changing economic environment。 It's easy to wish them success but you're constantly reminded that nothing is on the "up-and-up" for these folks so while you can sympathize with them you're not really invested in their happy ending。 I found myself simply waiting to see how terribly things can go wrong for everyone。 Sure， the dialogue takes some getting used to because Weddle moves fluidly between people saying things and him telling you what they said。 But that's easy to get past after about a chapter or two。 The sisters were a bit of a caricature of a "mob boss" with their roundabout way of making veiled threats。 They also didn't seem to pack much punch given they were older （I guess） and their only muscle was a reluctant sheriff。 I did wonder why was everyone so scared of them。 But I appreciated that the town was run for two derelict sisters。 A quick read with entertaining characters and a fast-moving storyline。 Good enough for me！ 。。。more
Blair Gormley
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The county lineAn Interesting depression era story in Arkansas that deals with Cotton mouth Rolling who has taken over the camp from his uncle who past away。 He has returned from Hondarus and is a criminal and dealing with the establishment in his home town and it was good
Kenneth F Emsweller
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God awfulWhen I start a book， 99% of the time I read the entire book。 I actually made it through 1/3 of this book before I quit reading it。 I should have quit after the first couple of chapters。 It was slow and boring。
Stephanie （abookandadog）
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Dnf at 10%。 I realize that’s not much but this writing style is not working for me and I don’t have any clue what’s going on yet or any desire to figure it out。
Scott
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This was a tough read。 The build up of the story was SO boring。 The last 30-40 pages were good-lots of action。 It was brutal getting to that point。 I do not think this story was executed well at all。
Mandy
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The plot did not end up interesting me。I also did not really enjoy how the book was written。I did finish it so it wasn’t the worst book。
Lena
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Great Read The book just got better and better as it went on。 I enjoyed reading it and couldn't put it down。 Great Read The book just got better and better as it went on。 I enjoyed reading it and couldn't put it down。 。。。more
alexandra omo
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Difficult to readThe sentence structure was difficult to follow。 Then there was the disjointed conversations， the talking on code。 Finally， after slogging my way， determined to “win”， and nearing the end of the book， I figured it out。Was it worth the effort？ Of course。 Winning is always worth the effort… and that， eventuality， is the story told in this book。
Kathie #
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Bandits & ConsNot the best criminals and conmen， but that didn't keep me from rooting for Cottonmouth to succeed。 A very slow start。 Some truly despicable characters。 Rich descriptions。 You could almost smell the dust on the streets of this small town in Arkansas。 Decent ending， considering how the story ultimately played out。 Bandits & ConsNot the best criminals and conmen， but that didn't keep me from rooting for Cottonmouth to succeed。 A very slow start。 Some truly despicable characters。 Rich descriptions。 You could almost smell the dust on the streets of this small town in Arkansas。 Decent ending， considering how the story ultimately played out。 。。。more
Mike
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The same story could have been told in 1/4 the time。 I nearly DNF several times but decided to stick it out。 Very little character development and the writing style， though I realize that the author was trying to capture the dialect of the era， was tough to follow。
Carol Ann Tack
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Hook， line， and sinker。 Loved it。 Gritty and page-turning。
Chelsea Triano
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I felt myself super unengaged with this story， besides a few moments of reflection about knowing who you are based on where you are。 The environment was easy to envision but the lack of character connection left me unmoved。
Robert Minto
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Not to my liking。 Plot was predictable and the flow between chapters was disconected。 That said， the author writes well and others may enjoy this tale。
Mia
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Couldn't get into this one Couldn't get into this one 。。。more
Megan Eure Roebuck
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This book was hard to get into。 There were a lot of characters to remember and the writing was difficult to follow。
Jeffrey Swenson
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I love novels like The County Line。 The hard-boiled but often hapless characters set to the backdrop of the Great Depression drew me in early。 The book shines as a period piece， capturing the automobiles， homemade liquor and the political climate of the day。 The overall tension of the times is captured well through the strength of Weddle’s writing。 The dialogue， especially that of Everett， Jimmy， and Beans shines。 Cottonmouth is a multi-faceted protagonist as he attempts to lay roots after year I love novels like The County Line。 The hard-boiled but often hapless characters set to the backdrop of the Great Depression drew me in early。 The book shines as a period piece， capturing the automobiles， homemade liquor and the political climate of the day。 The overall tension of the times is captured well through the strength of Weddle’s writing。 The dialogue， especially that of Everett， Jimmy， and Beans shines。 Cottonmouth is a multi-faceted protagonist as he attempts to lay roots after years of wandering and unsuccessful self-seeking。 His decisions strain relationships and he is caught in dangerous situations – this is one aspect of the novel that kept me reading。 The character of Lorena is a strong woman who is a grounding force for Cottonmouth。 Their relationship has all the complexities of a male/female friendship searching for the boundaries of their relationship。 I plowed through The County Line immersed in the story eager to find out what happens next。My The County Line Playlist centered around the music of the time:Jelly Roll Morton – Doctor JazzDuke Ellington – Blues in OrbitJack Hylton and His Orchestra – Vol 2 。。。more
Jenny Echols
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I couldn’t get very far into this book。 I never do this， but I’m quitting and going to start a different book。
Melissa Dixon
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Couldn’t get into it
Toby Rosen
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This was a hard read。 Very sad characters。 I got through it but wasn’t happy。
Joy Walker
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interesting bookI enjoyed looking up the many historical references to the many gangsters / criminals mentioned to learn more about them。 The twists in the book were very appealing。 The timeline and characters were made easy to imagine。
Linda Rogers
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What a different kind of book for me。 I read it in its entirety。 but I can't say that I really enjoyed it， but it does have some good character development and descriptions of some of the places in the area in which the story is located。 I don't know much about what went on in that area at the time the story is written， but I am no sure that this particular story is really relevant to this time period， but only the author really knows if it was possible or not。 What a different kind of book for me。 I read it in its entirety。 but I can't say that I really enjoyed it， but it does have some good character development and descriptions of some of the places in the area in which the story is located。 I don't know much about what went on in that area at the time the story is written， but I am no sure that this particular story is really relevant to this time period， but only the author really knows if it was possible or not。 。。。more
Steve
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Strong FinishIt seemed to get Bogged down in The middle But the ending was great。 I couldn't stop reading as the action picked up Strong FinishIt seemed to get Bogged down in The middle But the ending was great。 I couldn't stop reading as the action picked up 。。。more
Adrienne Floriano
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Likeable criminals At first I wasn’t too sure that I would like this book; being about criminals and petty criminal activity but I grew to like the characters。 I loved the depiction of the era and location and the story was fascinating。 Well done， a good read。
Geralyn Soles
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DNF。 About 20% in and just could not get into the characters or the subject matter。 I usually try to stick with a book to the end hoping it will get better。 Some do & some don’t。 Didn’t want to gamble my time on this one。
Leslie Bolte
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Read 40% of book， still not into it。 You shouldn’t have to “make” yourself read a chapter。 Too many good books out there， moving on！
Cynthia Thomas
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almost didn’t finish itDidn’t like the story line。 Sometimes it spoke in 1st person。 Other times in second person。 I struggled to finish。
Steve Johnson
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This book takes place in the Depression era and is reminiscent of an old Elmore Leonard crime novel in that it features a cast of two-bit thugs trying to become four-bit thugs。 Like Leonard's books， the dialogue is good but unlike Leonard's books， some of the conversation is interrupted with a distracting flow of he-said， she-said segments。 It would have been better without the extra layer of narration。 The first part of the book drags， and the story rambles in a way that makes the reader wonder This book takes place in the Depression era and is reminiscent of an old Elmore Leonard crime novel in that it features a cast of two-bit thugs trying to become four-bit thugs。 Like Leonard's books， the dialogue is good but unlike Leonard's books， some of the conversation is interrupted with a distracting flow of he-said， she-said segments。 It would have been better without the extra layer of narration。 The first part of the book drags， and the story rambles in a way that makes the reader wonder where this story could possibly go。 But somewhere around the last third， the pieces begin to come together。 By that point， the reader will realize that they have been treated to an intriguing character arc in the form of main thug Cottonmouth， who has grown and changed in interesting ways。 Cottonmouth returns home to Arkansas from Honduras after inheriting a remote camp that was run by his late uncle and is frequented by outlaws who break even more laws than himself。 Cottonmouth learns that the camp is in the red， and much of it has been signed away to the unscrupulous Rudd sisters who run the county and have the sheriff wrapped around their fingers。 Will Cottonmouth take all of this lying down？ Will he simply run away again when the going gets tough？ His girlfriend， who is the local auto mechanic， hopes to have something to say about that。 Cottonmouth is a bad guy， and the story is full of them， but the reader may find themselves rooting for him anyway。 。。。more
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the county line a novel
Reference
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