A Swollen Red Sun

By Matthew McBride

God, drugs, corruption, and morality come together in this gripping tale of desperation.

In Gasconade County, Missouri – once called the meth capital of the world – Deputy Sheriff Dale Banks discovers $52,000 hidden in the broken-down trailer that Jerry Dean Skaggs uses for cooking crystal. And he takes it. Banks knows what he did was wrong, but he did it for all the right reasons. At least, he thinks so. But for every wrong, there is a consequence.

Jerry Dean can't afford to lose that $52,000 – he owes it to his partners and to a crooked cop. He also can't afford to disappoint the crazed and fearsome Reverend Butch Pogue, who is expecting Jerry Dean to deliver the chemicals the reverend needs for his next batch of meth. To avoid the holy man's wrath, Jerry Dean sets in motion a series of events that will threaten Banks's family, his life, and everything he thinks he knows about the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Head of Zeus
• Release date: Dec 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781784089559

Matthew McBride

Matthew McBride is a former assembly-line worker living in rural Missouri. In his words, “These people are the people I know and see every day, and this is the world I know.” He is also the author of the cult hit Frank Sinatra in a Blender.

Reviews for A Swollen Red Sun

[bluminc00p · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

This book brought the nasty world of Meth into focus. Well paced and vivid and I have recommended it to a few fellow readers.

[datrappert · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another winner from McBride. Nonstop violence and depravity from cover-to-cover, but with a depth of (usually disgusting) characterization that sets it apart. The story of cop Dale Banks' involvement with a bunch of meth-heads in a backwoods Missouri County is going to win any awards from that state's Chamber of Commerce, but it will keep you entertained--unless you have a weak stomach--for a few hours. The audio version, read by John McLain, is superbly done.

[zmagic69 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Raw, brutal, funny, terrifying, and tragic. Mathew McBride, does not write lighthearted books. Everything you need to know about lowlife meth heads, living in Missouri. Really everyone is dirty in this book, has nothing going for them, and would be better, as would society if they were dead.A fantastic book!

[ssimon2000-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Good page-turner, a noir set in backwoods Mississippi, complete with crooked cops, cranked-up fiends, and all the white-trash you can handle. The writing was excellent, and the dialogue was well-written in the local vernacular and slang you'd expect.

I'd recommend this to anyone that's a fan of noir-style thrillers, or fans of Deliverance... :D

[druidgirl_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book tells the story of the criminal element and drug dealers in Missouri. He wrote about the trailers that were used as meth labs and how these cookers could outsmart the police who did their best but there just was not enough of them. The characters,language and the region was so realistic. This book held my attention and I finished it in 3 days. I will certainly read more by Mr. McBride.***This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review***

[dokfintong · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I grew up in meth country a few states northeast of Matthew McBride's Gasconade County and I recognize his people. For those of you without direct experience check out the book and film "Winter's Bone" for another look at the bleak lives of the rural poor. In "A Swollen Red Sun" Mr. McBride tells a grotesque, yet mostly believable, story of the tangled lives of people tied to their place and to their dead-end lives by poverty, history, inadequate schooling, and drugs. Anyone with experience in these communities will "know" McBride's people and their patterns of thought and action. With the exception of Reverend Butch Pogue, who is so whacked out that he must surely be derived from some Missouri tall tale, these people could be some of my neighbors.Close reading of the text reveals some inconsistencies, of weather particularly, and some unlikely details of farming activities, animal nutrition, and the road stability of an old Bonneville. These rough bits do not detract much from the story and probably won't be noticed by most readers. I must say, though, that I do not think Mr. McBride has driven a vehicle through a creek recently and I am pretty sure his leg is not strong enough to stomp a 2 x 4 in half on a short brace.The Advance Review Copy has lots of incorrect object pronouns and a few odd word choices that I hope have been cleared up in the print edition. I received an Advance Review Copy of "A Swollen Red Sun" by Matthew McBride (Open Road Integrated Media) through NetGalley.com.

[col2910_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Synopsis/blurb…..God, drugs, corruption, and morality come together in this gripping tale of desperationIn Gasconade County, Missouri—once called the meth capital of the world—Deputy Sherriff Dale Banks discovers $52,000 hidden in the broken-down trailer that Jerry Dean Skaggs uses for cooking crystal. And he takes it. Banks knows what he did was wrong, but he did it for all the right reasons. At least, he thinks so. But for every wrong, there is a consequence.Jerry Dean can’t afford to lose that $52,000—he owes it to his partners and to a crooked cop. He also can’t afford to disappoint the crazed and fearsome Reverend Butch Pogue, who is expecting Jerry Dean to deliver the chemicals the reverend needs for his next batch of meth. To avoid the holy man’s wrath, Jerry Dean sets in motion a series of events that will threaten Banks’s family, his life, and everything he thinks he knows about the world.Matthew McBride's new novel, A Swollen Red Sun, is rough and ready suspense, encompassing a wide array of characters from the sour side of life, and smashing them together with vigorous and blunt prose." —Daniel Woodrell, author of The Maid's Version and Winter's Bone"The words practically vibrate off the page in Matthew McBride's amped-up and intricately-plotted novel about meth freaks and dirty cops. Filled with scenes of both tremendous brutality and heartrending compassion, it is the best fictional depiction of the current drug epidemic raging across the Midwest that I have ever read." —Donald Ray Pollock, author of Knockemstiff and The Devil All The Time-----------------------------My take………..Praise from two authors who I have read and enjoyed, always has me optimistic as opposed to merely hopeful when embarking a new book!I do like reading books concerning drugs, drug dealers and drug users – perhaps I’m an addict! Add in a mess of cops – straight, crooked and one halfway in-between – we’ll call him conflicted. Throw in an odd-ball, disturbed preacherman; the one with two wives, one of which is chained up in the cellar with a ball-gag in her mouth. Even the crooked cops won’t venture onto the mountain where Rev. Pogue is cooking up his crystal!Dale Banks is the cop who cashes in after kicking over a mess of cat litter during a raid. Banks, a family man and an otherwise honest cop up until this point at least, succumbs to the temptation, in full knowledge of repercussions further down the road. Banks endangers his young family and straight-laced partner with his impulsiveness, but doesn’t regard returning the money as a viable option. As events escalate and spiral into further violence; Jerry Dean - $52k light – hatches a plan to recover his money and with a glint of ambition in his eye, rescue Pogue’s young ball-gagged wife whilst taking over Pogue’s operation. All the while, Banks is trying to figure out who he can trust to combat the growing threat to him and his family and Banks’ nemesis on the force, a man with political aspirations starts cleaning away any links to his involvement in the meth trade. Fast and violent. Not everyone’s cup of tea but certainly mine. Extremely enjoyable, with an ironic twist at the end.5 from 5I have Matthew McBride’s debut sat on the pile, the enigmatically titled – Frank Sinatra in a Blender. To be enjoyed soon, I think.I accessed this one via Net Galley. A Swollen Red Sun is published and available now from Mysterious Press.