Two brothers, Thad and Hazen, are alone in hill country after their father dies. They must learn how to survive financially without losing their deteriorating home. Thad is a year older than Hazen, and he tries to guide his younger, impulsive brother. The brothers cut and sell wood to people throughout the valley, but it's not enough to settle the mounting bills to pay for their father's hospitalization and the taxes coming due on the property. Desperate to make more money, the brothers agree to go into Yellowstone National Park to gather elk antlers for the Scot, a known killer, to sell illegally. Easier said than done. The Scot advances cash for them to buy inflatable rafts to haul the antlers down the river and out of the park after they spend several days camping, gathering, and loading the antlers that the elk had shed. Coming back from their heist, they are spotted by park rangers and try to outrun them but fail. Thad suffers a serious injury and is potentially bleeding to death. Hazen dumps the antlers into the river. The rangers spot them again, but this time Hazen calls out for help and the rangers get Thad to a hospital.
Author Callan Wink is a skilled writer and weaves in other characters seamlessly. Much more than the straightforward plot described above, this becomes a tale of how Thad slowly recovers from his injuries and how the two brothers grow apart. As he heals, Thad begins to imagine another future for himself.
I can see this leading to a sequel and possibly to a movie. Yes, this story is that good!

People say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but I'm not at all ashamed to say that I requested an ARC of this from the publisher entirely based on the cover art and the title. I don't think I even read the blurb before I asked for it, so let's read it together now:

> Two brothers in dire straits, living on the edge of Yellowstone, agree to a desperate act of survival in this taut, propulsive novel reminiscent of the works of Cormac McCarthy and Donald Ray Pollock.

> In an aging, timber house hand-built into the Absaroka-Beartooth mountains, two brothers are struggling to keep up with their debts. They live off the grid, on the fringe of Yellowstone, surviving off the wild after the death of their father. Thad, the elder, is more capable of engaging with things like the truck registration, or the medical bills they can’t afford from their father’s fatal illness, or the tax lien on the cabin their grandfather built, while Hazen is . . . different, more instinctual, deeply in tune with the natural world.

> Desperate for money, they are approached by a shadowy out-of-towner with a proposition, and the brothers agree to attempt a heist of natural resources from Yellowstone, a federal crime. Beartooth is a fast-paced tale with moments of surprising poignancy set in the grandeur of the American West. Evoking the timeless voices of American pastoral storytelling, this is a bracing, masterful novel about survival, revenge, and the bond between brothers.

I won't bury the lede here. I really loved *Beartooth*, and it's a strong contender for my favourite book so far this year.

I'm a very fast trader generally, and this is a relatively short book, so I expected to rattle through it. The blurb promises a "fast-paced tale" but I didn't find that to be the case (which sounds like a criticism, but it isn't). There's a quality to Wink's writing, and to the sprawling, verdant setting, that almost demands you slow down and drink it in. I found myself stopping for a few minutes after each section to sit and reflect on what I'd just read before carrying on, which is not something I generally do when I'm reading.

Despite being a novel about adult men this feels like a coming-of-age story in a lot of ways. Thad begins the novel as an elder brother acting almost as a surrogate father to his younger brother, their actual father dead and their mother absent. He's dealing with debts, with trying to keep the house standing, with making sure that they have enough money to eat, with making sure that they both keep working. But it's all too much, and he's on the verge of becoming "worn out", something his father always warned him against. After their heist doesn't pan out the way they expect it to he retreats into himself, shutting himself away from the world and entering a sort of hibernation that sees him almost regress to childhood. And it's through this regression that his brother is finally allowed to step out from under his shadow and to start carving his own path - a path that leads him away from Thad, ultimately. By the time Thad finally emerges from his hibernation it's as a transformed man who, maybe, is finally ready to join the world in ways he never has before.

Wink's prose is fantastic, painting his world in small details that add up to a much larger whole. His characters feel alive, ready to stride off the page, and the relationship between Thad and his brother feels real and complex and honest. We don't spend much time with Hazen but I really felt like I knew him and understood him - possibly better than his brother understood him - despite that.

The publisher lists this under "Mystery & Thrillers" and I suppose that that's true, in that the plot concerns itself with a criminal act and the subsequent fallout from it, including an act of extreme violence that the entire narrative hinges around. But we never actually see the violence, only the consequences of it, and the heist is slow and measured and undertaker in the depths of night with nobody else around. It's the quietest thriller I've ever read. Much like the relationships that Wink develops, much of what's important here happens off the page, but we understand enough to be able to piece it together ourselves.

This one doesn't come out until February next year, but I'll definitely be picking up a physical copy when it lands.

This was fantastic. I really enjoyed reading it and didn’t want to put it down. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

3,5 stars.

Beartooth takes you in a well-described, detailed study of the psyche of Montana and two brothers Hazen and Thad.
They struggle to make the ends meet, and work hard to do so.
The quiet of their lives in the pastoral setting of the Yellowstone is then forever disturbed.
The descriptions and character studies are amazing. 5/5
Plot 3/5
Concept, mood 4.5/5

#Beartooth #NetGalley

A beautifully detailed story of two brothers, living in the mountains. With nothing but their love for their fathers house and the love of using the land around them to money. A bond like no other, this novel takes you on a journey through the heart of the countries most praised lands, griping you to the page by the detailed deception and wonderful characters. This novel will hold you to your heart till the last page, all while still wondering what happened after the last page.

I really enjoyed this book! A quick and enjoyable read! Beautifully descriptive writing puts you right in the middle of the wilds of Montana. I could smell the river, the wildlife, and was right there in the Cottonwoods in the Fall!
Brothers Thad and Hazen set out on a trip to Yellowstone to poach antlers and it all goes wrong. Some great characters and relationships between the brothers, their absent mom Sacajaweia, and a sinister man called The Scot!
Thanks to NetGalley and publishers Spiegel &Grau for my e-ARC.

I liked this book a lot more than I honestly thought I was going to. Reading the description kind of gives off an old man/dad book kind of vibe that I normally wouldn't pick up, but this book was super engaging. It reminded me of a northwest version of "No Country for Old Men."

This book is filled with such rich descriptions that it's almost like an assault on the senses. I've never been in the deep woods of Montana before, but I feel like I could recognize them by appearance and smell, such based on this authors writing.

I thought the characters were the best part of this book. Both Thad and Hazen were incredibly fleshed out and felt so real. I loved the older/younger brother dynamic. The slow reveal of who Hazen was as a person, despite seeing him mostly through the biased eyes of older brother Thad, was really well done. I wish part of the novel had been done in Hazen's POV because he was my favorite.

My only issue with the novel waa that I was expecting more of the novel to be them out in the mountains conducting the 'heist'. It felt like it came and went pretty quickly to me. I also feel a lot of the action id like to have seen happened off the page.

Thank you to Netgalley and Spiegel & Grau for providing me an ARC.

This was a well written quick and suspenseful read. My heart races several times while reading this book. I couldn’t take my eyes off the page.

Two brothers Thad and Hazen, scratch out a living off the land in the wilderness of Montana.
Callander Wink’s descriptive language takes you so close to the wilds you can almost smell the sweat, chopped wood and buffalo carcasses.
In the heist to take antlers out of Yellowstone, the tension is palpable as the brothers battle to get down river past the Park Rangers!
It’s 5 stars from me and another author added to my must read list!

Beartooth. An apt name for this upcoming novel by Callan Wink, not just in location but in imagery. A bear's average bite force is strong enough to crush a bowling ball, and that's how reading this book feels: fast, visceral, gut-punchy. I felt this deeply as a Coloradan, living an hour from the Rocky Mountains, and as an older brother trying to do best by my little brother. Some of the language was perhaps veering towards insensitive, and the end felt a bit rushed, but overall it's a sound novel and a beautifully crafted thriller.

This novel follows two brothers trying to make ends meet in Montana. They live in their dilapidated family home after their father passed.

Saddled with mountains of debt, the two scrape by by selling firewood and doing odd jobs. Thad, the reasonable, older brother, takes the lead and looks after his brother Hazen. When faced with the real threat of losing the only home they have ever known, they make an illicit deal of poaching elk horns from Yellowstone- a crime that carries a steep fine and mandatory prison time.

This novel is so atmospheric. The landscape itself is a vivid character. Alive, reciprocal, beautiful, and savage. These young men face choices that will have readers questioning what is right and wrong and who gets to determine that.

The novel is fast-paced and suspenseful. There is a role reversal among characters, which leads to empathy and understanding. This genre is not my go-to, but I knew I wanted to read it after seeing the description. I’m so happy I took the leap. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Spiegel & Grau for the ARC!

An intriguing character-driven story of two brothers trying to make ends meet in rural Montana. After the death of their father and a heap of medical bills, Thad and Hazen are struggling. Work is sporadic and the home their father so lovingly maintained is falling apart. When a notorious local businessman makes Thad and Hazen an offer (or is it a threat?), the brothers embark on a risky journey.

The writing is lovely and immersive and both Thad and Hazen are mysterious and compelling characters. Overall, this is an entertaining and, at times, thrilling read.

Thank you to Spiegel & Grau and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Truly gritty and raw, yet deeply beautifully descriptive of the high country of the Yellowstone area. The contemporary story of brothers left to eke out a basic life in a tough place. Their sibling relationship is tentative at best, but as the author pulls us deeper into the mesh of what becomes a survival mode, they are surprised to learn they respect and honor one another. Filled with action adventure including a very close call on a very fast river intensify the plot. Overriding all, however, is the growing awareness of hope found by both brothers in a world of impossible situations. I liked it.

Beartooth is a deeply sensory novel about two brothers doing what they need to do to not only to survive, but find themselves after the death of their father. Despite its straightforward prose, the beautiful writing, complex themes, and excellent character work elicited quite an emotional reaction from me.

Thad and Hazen are two brothers living alone together in the Montana mountains, reeling with the financial strain of hospital bills after the death of their father. Facing the loss of their house, they’ve taken on small illegal poaching gigs from a strange local guy and his “daughter” to keep them afloat. Thad, being more grounded, deals with the planning and logistics of these jobs, and keeps much of the details of their financial crisis from his brother, who is more nature oriented and better at executing the tasks. When approached with a larger, riskier job, and with the unexpected return of their aloof mother, Thad and Hazen have no other choice but to accept. Due to circumstances around this job, both brothers have to grow as individuals for better or for worse. And as they do so, they both need to face a reality in which they won’t have each other anymore.

This is probably one of the most sensory books I’ve ever read. I came out of this in total awe with how well the serene, and often dangerous, nature was described, I felt like I was up there in the Cottonwoods in the Montana mountains. This paired perfectly with the subdued story which focused more on the gentle exploration of relationships amongst family among the backdrop of a sort of nature heist plot.

While the heist story line might have roped me in, it was the excellent characters that held me onto this. Everyone was so deeply complex and interesting, realistic and flawed in wonderful ways. Critics of this book might say that it is too slow paced, or that not enough happens, but I think it did a perfect job of fully exploring each of these characters as they grew. It was a truly beautiful reading experience.

A story set in the rugged landscape of Montana, focusing on themes of identity, masculinity, and the American West. We story follow the life of August, a young man who navigates the complexities of growing up amidst personal and environmental challenges. The narrative delves into his relationships with his family, particularly his father, and his journey towards self-discovery against the backdrop of a changing world. Wink's prose in Beartooth, is often described as lyrical and evocative, capturing the stark beauty of the Montana landscape. His writing style blends a deep sense of place with a keen observation for human nature. Wink's descriptions are vivid and detailed, immersing you in the setting and emotional landscape of the characters. His writing reflects a sense of authenticity and rawness, fitting the story's themes of survival and resilience. A rich tale that offers a profound exploration of personal growth and the enduring connection to the natural world, all conveyed through Wink's masterful prose and character development.

I liked the descriptive passages in this book, I could almost smell the Montana air and I really liked the characters. The two brothers Thad and Hazen live in proximity to Yellowstone Park and survive on chopping wood and selling it. They live off grid in a cabin and struggle to pay bills after the death of their father. That's it really, it's a story of survival with little plot line to follow. thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.