True Grit + Huck Finn + "The Tiger" by John Vaillant. A Western version of "Moby Dick." I enjoyed the cast of characters but felt that the book was repetitive at times. A solid read nonetheless.

4 haunting stars to The Which Way Tree! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

The Which Way Tree was recommended by my friend, Diane S. Thanks, Diane!

Living in the Texas frontier, Benjamin Shreve has quite the story to tell written in his own twangy voice in letters of “testimony” to a judge. The Which Way Tree is considered a pursuit narrative, and I would add that it was very much an adventure in that pursuit.

Benjamin and his sister, Sam, are pursuing a panther that not only scarred Sam’s face, her childhood, and her future, but also tragically killed her mother. She wants revenge.

I absolutely loved hearing Benjamin’s voice and his natural gift for storytelling. Sam is a strong, invincible girl, and I rooted for her throughout. The abiding and enduring sister/brother relationship between Sam and Benjamin was beautiful to watch unfold. Their struggle to survive was impactful.

There were some triggers (violence human-to-human and between animals and humans), and living on the wild frontier “some” violence is certainly understandable.

Overall, The Which Way Tree is a well-written, engaging, and beguiling tale of the brother and sister bond and a thirst for revenge no matter the cost.

Thank you to Elizabeth Crook, Little, Brown and Company, and Netgalley for the ARC. The Which Way Tree is available now!

I loved this book! Author Elizabeth Crook presents some interesting characters and great storytelling through the eyes of young Benjamin Shreve, a seventeen year old orphan who is living on his own with his younger sister.

Set in the Texas hill country immediately following the war between the states, Benjamin and his sister Samantha experience a traumatizing event involving a panther. They soon learn the panther is widely known throughout the area and even has a bounty on his head. Samantha becomes obsessed with getting revenge on the panther, to the point where she disregards safety for herself and others.

Through a series of Benjamin’s letters to a circuit judge concerning an unlawful hanging, readers learn the story of Benjamin’s family and what happened when the panther crossed their path. As Benjamin writes these letters, it is evident that he is growing into an upstanding young man. His letters have a wonderful voice and give life to the other characters in the book.

I enjoyed the unlikely group of panther hunters--a Tejano cowboy, a humble preacher with a past, a panther-tracking dog named Zechariah, Benjamin and Samantha. And of course, no western is complete without a villain. Benjamin is so eloquent in describing Clarence Hanlin, an unsavory Confederate soldier who is one of the men responsible for the unlawful hanging that occurred.

This one is going on my list of favorites and I can recommend it to anyone who loves westerns, historical fiction or just wonderful storytelling, no matter what the setting.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown & Company for allowing me a copy to read and give my honest review.

Civil War era, Texas, the hill country where a panther attacks a homesteading family. The young daughter is severely injured, will wear the marks of the panther on her face, her mother killed trying to defend her daughter. Eventually Benjamin and his half sister Sam, will only have each other. Sam, vows to hunt down and kill the panther, and so the tale begins. A few others will join the group, including Zachary, a panther hunting dog.

A judge is looking into the hanging deaths of three men found on the trail. Benjamin knows exactly who killed these men, and using materials the judge has given him sets out to tell his tale. So the story is told in a series of letters to the judge. Benjamin is a wonderful story teller, his writing engaging and humorous. This could be a tale told and passed on by cowboys in the old West, sitting around a campfire. Many times their trek to capture and kill the panther stretches credibility, but it is so well told, put together like a comedy of errors. Things happen, the group encounters tough conditions, serious mishaps, but the brother, sister bond is strong despite everything. Benjamin loves to talk, and his account is thorough, he seems to believe that every detail must be noted.

Despite the harsh conditions, the friendship between the group grows in wonderful ways. I enjoyed this account of Benjamins very much. Such a humorous story, but adequately enveloping the times.
At books end we pick up fifty years or so later, and we find out what happened to this group in the intervening years. A very well done yarn of a story.

ARC from Netgalley.

Benjamin Shreve is just a little boy when he sees his sister maimed and his stepmother killed by a very large, very vicious panther.

Set in Texas during the Civil War, The Which Way Tree by Elizabeth Crook is a Texas-sized tall tale of revenge and adventure through the wilderness in pursuit of El Demonio de Dos Dedos. It is at times a tad bit far-fetched, but what great story of vengeance isn’t? Aided by an honorable Mexican horse thief, a reverend, and an elderly panther sniffing dog, Benjamin and Samantha set out to hunt the demonic predator. Hindering their progress is one Clarence Hanlin, a confederate soldier guilty of murder.

Told almost entirely in an epistolary format, specifically Benjamin’s letters-as-testimony to a judge trying to convict Mr. Hanlin of his crimes, this novel is both earnest and deadpan, with a narrator both endearing and frustrating. Truly, The Which Way Tree is a treat, with a subtle hint of True Grit and a subtle-as-a-hammer nod to Moby Dick. This quest for vengeance, interspersed with real, true sibling love*, will charm you.

*meaning constant bickering, as any parent/sibling knows

I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

Ben and his half-sister Sam are orphans. Sam is doggedly determined to find the panther that killed her mother and scarred Sam.

Ben tells the tale in a series of letters which keeps this story moving forward although it did lag in places.

3.25☆

I lost interest in this about half way through. I think it definitely has an audience, just not one with me!

The Which Way Tree by Elizabeth Crook commanded my attention from the fist page. I loved the voice and the story kept my interest.

In 1866 Texas, Ben is called to testify about a murder incident that occurred three years previous. The judge hopes to determine if Hanlin murdered eight Union soldier prisoners. Ben said he had come across Hanlin at the scene of the crime and that he was also at Hanlin's death.

A natural story teller, the boy's statement starts at the beginning of his life and the circuit judge, needing to move one, asks the boy to write down his testimony and mail it to him.

In a series of letters the boy relates a tale of single-minded vengeance.

Ben's mother died when he was a few years old. His father brought home a former slave to take care of the home and children; Sam was soon born.

When Ben was eight a panther attacked Sam. Her Sam's mother fought the cat and hacked off several of its toes. She died saving Sam's life, but the girl was left hideously scarred.

After the death of their father, the children struggled on their own. The nearby Civil War prisoner of war camp have cleared out ready game. Ben must travel far for game and one day he happened upon Hanlin pick-pocketing the bodies of dead Union prisoners.

Sam is obsessed with killing the panther. While stalking the panther, the children come into conflict with Hanlin. They rescue his prisoner Pacheco. Hanlin now holds a grudge against them, but in Pacheco they have found a friend.

Ben's Testament is told in a series of letters, showing a fatalistic acceptance of his hard life in a hostile environment filled with danger from Secesh, Indians, and bandits. He works a job and takes care of their few livestock but Sam is idle and defiant. Her obsession with killing the deadly panther takes the children on a journey fraught with danger and filled with colorful characters who have lived ungodly lives.

Preacher Dob warns Sam that vengeance belongs to the Lord, and she replies, only if he can beat me to it. Preacher Dobs found religion and seeks to expiate his sins. The Mexican Pacheco knows all his mistakes are behind him.

Ben's life is filled with loss and hardship but there is something noble and perfect about him. He is unassuming and grateful and earns the judge's esteem. And the readers. He is a marvelous creation.

Ben is a natural story-teller and the judge comes to appreciate the boy's love of writing. When Ben requests more paper and ink, the judge readily provides them. When Ben complains about his worn quill pen, wishing he had a modern pen, the judge sends that as well. The judge's gifts increase, sending Ben books including Tristram Shandy.

When Ben threw ears of corn over the fence to the Union prisoners someone in return threw back his treasure: a copy of Moby Dick. The novel enthralled the boy and he mentions the book twice in his Testament.

Ben's tale is inspired by Melville's novel. There is Sam's single-minded obsession with revenge on the beast called El Demonio de Dos Dedos--the Demon of Two Toes. I also noted how Pacheco face scarred by pocks of black gunpowder parallels Queequeg's Maori tattoos. I had to wonder if Ben has embellished his Testament, writing not subjective truth but transforming his tale. Isn't that what writers do? Take life and tweak it, giving it meaning and form?

An Act of God, or nature, brings Ben's tale to a nail-biting conclusion, revealing at last what the judge wanted to hear at the beginning: why Ben is convinced that Hanlin was a murderer and is deceased.

In her Acknowledgement, Crook states that her manuscript came to Robert Duvall, who played Gus McCrae in Lonesome Dove. (A marvelous movie and book!) I can imagine Crook's book as a movie. Here's hoping!

I received a free e-book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Rarely does a book so quickly grip me in its first pages, but The Which Way Tree has done it with a harrowing story of survivalon the Texas frontier during the Civil War. Bringing to mind the tight narratives of Charles Portis, the novel weaves a story of violence, survival and frontier justice.

Early one morning a panther attacks young Samantha outside of the homestead where she lives. Her mother is killed when she intervenes and the attack leaves Samantha terribly disfigured. From that day on, Samantha can think of nothing but avenging her mother’s death and killing the panther.

The Which Way Tree (Little, Brown and company, digital galley), by Elizabeth Crook, is narrated by Samantha’s older, half-brother Benjamin. When their father dies shortly following the panther attack, Benjamin and Samantha are left to eek out a meager existence in a remote hill country where they are plagued by the ravages of a shoddy house, a “Yankee” blockade, Comanche Indians and violent Sesesh (secessionists).

When an opportunity to track the panther presents itself, the siblings and an eccentric cast of sidekicks set off in pursuit of the legendary beast. The Which Way Tree is a testament to the human spirit to overcome obstacles and to find meaning in even the most dire of circumstances.

I got a few chapters in, and couldn't help but think of Ambrose Bierce's "The Boarded Window," Charles Portis' "True Grit," and James McBride's "The Good Lord Bird." What a great read for those who appreciate a great Western and empowered young people! Thanks to Little Brown and Co, and NetGalley for the ARC #TheWhichWayTree #NetGalley

'The fact that she was so hard on me and on Samantha makes it all the more curious the way she laid her life down, in such a bloody fashion, in defense of Samantha the day a panther came calling.'

I usually don’t read a lot of novels set in the Civil War era but this story is written in such a way that the reader feels they’ve traveled back in time. The language feels authentic, I marvel at authors with the ability to place the proper drawl in their writing. The mother of Benjamin died after his birth, in the hard scrabble existence of the times, his father needed a woman so he found a mate in Juda, a ‘borrowed’ black woman whom he decided to love or keep, depending how you look at the situation. She birthed a daughter, his half-sister Sam. Mean to the bone, she fast showed young Benjamin who was boss of the house, but the meanness was born of hardness she must have experienced, as one night when she disrobed to show Ben he has already been beat in ‘leaving his mark on her flesh’. She certainly doesn’t take kindly to threats, especially from young boys. When a panther comes calling, she sacrifices herself to save her daughter Sam, but the panther can’t be bested by Juda’s grit. The attack on Sam can’t be stopped, leaving her face ravaged. A taste for vengeance is born in her, as her mother is dragged off by the big cat. It’s too late by the time their father returns to save Juda.

Through letters to a judge, Jim is testifying about the deaths of prisoners one Clarence Hanlin may have a part in, but this becomes for the reader the story itself. “For six years, Sam had been waiting in a way that was eager. It seemed sometimes that all she did was wait, and watch for that panther.” Her obsession among other hardships they face force them to venture out after their father dies. They interfere with a Secesh named Hanlin, saving one Lorenzo Pacheco (the Mexican) . Taking a finger off with a hell of a shot, they discover that Hanlin’s uncle, Preacher Dob owns a dog that is a great tracker of… panthers. Hanlin is a bad seed, as the preacher is fast to remind with stories of his childhood deeds. The dog decides to help the children hence, the preacher joins them on their journey. Things don’t pan out as Hanlin thought they would, he wants his money, and he will stalk them as they stalk the devil panther and get his horse back too!

Life is more than hardscrabble, in fact Sam has grown to be as hard as her own mother was, minus the work ethics. She isn’t the most likable person, but if you explore what you learn about her, it’s hard to imagine her any other way. A face wrecked by a wild animal that killed her mother, her mother was ‘given’ to her father so there is her mixed race to contend with, the environment, the hardscrabble existence, what’s to be so dang happy about anyway? Ben, where does Ben get his light? He doesn’t seem to carry the same poison inside of him his wounded, angry half-sister does. He too lost his mother, though he never knew her. The only touch of a mother he ever knew had been through Juda, and based on the prologue we know she was mean to the marrow of her bones yet somehow manages to maintain a natural peace. By simply writing his letters, he encounters everything from rattlesnakes, to back-breaking work, hunger, not to mention the hassle of his spitfire sister who can’t seem to be bothered, to the point even Sam’s mare would be happy to see her elsewhere. It’s simply the state of his life, not one he complains about. He charms the judge through their correspondence, and receives help without ever asking for it. Sam is a different story entirely, and she makes her own ending, one Benjamin hears much later.

Do they kill the panther, avenging Juda’s death? Can they survive the threat of the Secesh, the Comanches, and all the hard luck things that befall them? Will the truth of just how bad Clarence Hanlin is ever be proven? You have to read.

I don’t usually read western novels, but I wanted a break from my usual reads. I wasn’t disappointed.

Publication Date: February 6, 2018

Little, Brown and Company

A wild west tale of old Texas after the Civil War where an orphaned white teenage boy and his mulatto half sister must survive near starvation trying to keep a family farm going after a rogue panther kills Samantha's mother and their father dies. Told in an accurate voice for the time, the story is told through the written testimony of Benjamin to a judge in hopes of convicting a sadistic man who has plagued them. You empathize with Sam the most in her relentless quest to kill the panther that scarred her and killed her mother. They are composed of a strange band of travelers - an outlaw, a preacher, tracking dog, Sam and her brother Ben as they are pursued by the murderous Hanlin. Brutal but honest it gives a true accounting of how hard life was in the Texas frontier filled with violence and racial hatred. My thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy.

Sees Robert Duvall read it.
Immediately requests a copy.

This was really different from any other “western” style books I’ve read. I loved the narration through letters. This only took a day to get through, which is a definite perk. I don’t thinking Sam would be my friend, but she is totally someone I would secretly creep on social media.

Elizabeth Crook spoke to me in a mid 19th century Texas drawl. So earthly, I could taste it. The Civil War era was one of my favorite times in American history. Life was different back then. Long before many of the modern conveniences we've grown accustomed to. I suppose that's what folks will be saying when they look back to the 21st century. The author delivered a rousing, well-written narrative in this character-driven storyline. I couldn't help but get tangled up with the main characters. There was just no getting out of their way. Suited me fine. The action was set on one long slow fuse. Burned with anticipation of a big bang. I was not disappointed.

Just a few years before the start of the brutal Civil War, in the back hills of Texas, Samantha Shreve, age six was viciously mauled by a panther. Her mother had valiantly come to her rescue only to suffer mortal wounds in the melee. Though Samantha survived, her face was left a mask of horror. Older brother Benjamin, age eight, could offer little help in fending off the enraged big cat. That guilt weighed heavily upon his shoulders. Samantha always talked and dreamed about exacting her revenge on that four-legged scourge of the West. That's all she lived for. Waiting for the showdown to come. It would. Woman against Panther. Only one would survive.

My thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.