The Moonshine War

Narrator Mark Hammer sets the scene using a gravelly voice and an Ozark drawl for this rerelease of an early Leonard novel. During Prohibition, some mountain men in eastern Kentucky are making a living selling moonshine whiskey. They become the targets of federal agents, who can't ignore all that money. Hammer makes the well-armed distillers fit their roles as vicious, erratic, and stupid. The mistrust among them sparks an implosion as 150 barrels of the finest aged corn liquor remain hidden by one greedy rat in the woodpile. Hammer's greatest contribution comes from the lethargy he portrays as the men plot while partaking of their best product, sipped from dirty Mason jars. He maximizes the impact of the hayseed vocabulary and hillbilly comments, which seem to take forever. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine


It's 1931, and Son Martin has 150 barrels of illegal whisky hidden on his property. This draws Frank Long, a federal agent with a Browning automatic rifle and an eye for the quick profit. Frustrated in his search, the crooked agent enlists a villainous defrocked dentist with a sidekick who just plain likes killing people. Soon the whole county is at war. Mark Hammer has molasses in his voice, and cordite in his delivery. He crams more menace into his silences than other narrators can extract from a page of text. "Hey Frank... I was just fixin' to go see you." You can't stop listening. You keep checking to make sure your wallet's still in your back pocket. This is an engrossing listen. B.H.C. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine