Fun fact about me? I hate the smell of vanilla. It makes me gag. The one and only time in my life where I consumed a tad too much to drink involved vanilla flavored vodka. Despite that being over a decade ago, the smell still sends me running*. In this particular novel, the variety of killing and torture is prolific and creative, but the only scene that turned my stomach a little was one involving vanilla extract in a pantry.
That being said, The Winter Family, a gang of mismatched men headed by the one and only Augustus Winters, spans from the civil war to 1900. It’s only natural that there are a lot of casualties. Kind of. Augustus Winters likes to be cruel. He’s cold (with a rather fitting name), tough, and calculating – and he enjoys that. From Georgia to Chicago to Canada to California, the novel follows this despicable band of mercenaries as they move from one disaster – they’ve caused – to the next.
It’s quite possible that the bodies pile up faster than the pages in this one, but don’t let that put you off. It’s also a stellar, well-plotted tale of brutality and lawlessness during a time when the world was incredibly brutal and lawless. There are no heroes here, nor any anti-heroes, it’s just the story of ruthless men justifying their actions however they need to to make it through the day. If a historical western noir with more than a few bodies and bloody good writing** sounds appealing, get this one immediately.
(Also, that cover! Right?)
How do you follow up a brutal read? Do you read something a bit lighter after? Sometimes I need to and sometimes I just jump right back in.
Pair this one with Vanilla Sugar Cookies (from My Life as a Mrs.). You may need something sweet to take off the bitter edge of despair. I haven’t personally tried these, primarily for the reason listed above, but they look good, right?
*Barely an exaggeration.
**Sorry, I couldn’t help it.
flannel and folklore 
Thanks for trying this one out for me! Sometimes I feel like just this type of book.
Too bad about the smell of vanilla. I’m the same way about root beer. I once got the stomach flu after eating a root beer float (about 30 years ago), and I still can’t drink it.
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I feel like I should like root beer, but I really, really don’t. The flavor is just overwhelming. Any foods that coincided with the stomach flu generally can’t happen again.
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I hope you don’t feel the same way about the smell of coconut and lemon (coconut, lemon and vanilla scents being my favourites…).
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I don’t. Lemon is actually my favorite scent, followed by cedar (good in small amounts).
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I have been seeing this book everywhere lately. I reckon I’d have to be in a particular mood to read it but it sounds interesting (and the book cover looks different too!). But in answer to your question, yeah, I usually follow up a brutal read with a light read…
I could say I like vanilla scents in small, subtle doses. It gets nauseating when the scent is overpowering and just everywhere… O_O
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It does. Vanilla is not a bad fragrance, but too much can send me running.
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I thought this book was SO much fun! I had expected something different going in, but once I began reading I was hooked. & I know I’m not alone in thinking this is basically Tarantino in book form. 🙂 Fun, fun, fun – as long as you don’t mind the mile-long body count.
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Tarantino in book form is the perfect description. It’s fun if you don’t take it TOO seriously.
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That cover, those cookies… this puts my in mind of The Sisters Brothers, but maybe less quirky?
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Of all the ones on the list, it’s closest in nature to The Sisters Brothers, but not quite as funny.
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I really love the sound of this one and have added it on my shelves a while ago already. Glad to hear you enjoyed it.
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It was one of the better books I’ve read recently, not quite a book slump breaker, but thoroughly enjoyable.
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Ooooh, I hadn’t heard too much about this but by the sound of it, it’s something I would like. AND THOSE COOKIES!
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It brutal….and fun (wrong word, almost right sentiment). I really need someone to make those cookies for me (minus so much vanilla).
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