Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The cover simple but gets the job done.

The storyline is good. This book covers an extremely sensitive and important topic. Opiods and their effects on SO many people. Addiction is difficult, raw and real.

I'll definitely be looking out for other work by this author.

Wow. This is an exceptional example of investigative reporting done right. Eyre covers the decade long fight to get to the truth of the opioid epidemic that struck West Virginia and many other rural southern towns. It was mind blowing to me (although I shouldn't be surprised) the depth at which these distributors would go to either deflect blame or down right deny it. Also shocking, although, again I shouldn't really be surprised, the DEA's complicity in this epidemic. Eyre weaves together an easy to follow timeline of events interspersed with compelling first hand accounts. Also amazing that he, while writing this book, was diagnosed with Parkinsons.

Well worth the read. Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC for review.

I think it proper to begin my review of Eric Eyre's "Death in Mud Lick" with a disclaimer. I am a native West Virginian, so the issues within were familiar and visceral for me and that may contribute to a slight bias! Bias aside, I think this is an important work for any reader interested in the culture of Appalachia. It shows how the rest of the United States views this area of the country and focuses an investigative eye on the flood of prescription pills that rolled over the region and led to so many deaths. The stories of pharmacies entertaining crowds so large they brought in popcorn makers and a food truck seem like something out of fiction, but the consequences Eyre's charts are very real and their effects are still being dealt with today. The book does end with hopes for justice, but as a native daughter of the state notes in the book, it's difficult to "trust that the money [will] go where it's needed." Hopefully a work like this will lead to more treatment centers and less abuse from the "painkiller profiteers."

Read if you: Want a better understanding of how the "pill mills" in West Virginia set that state on a devastating road to opioid addiction.

There are many books about the opioid crisis, but this is unique in that it explores how West Virginia was uniquely targeted for massive distribution of opioids, and how state lawmakers turned a blind eye. It is an infuriating read--but an important one. It's also an eye-opening look at a local newspaper's struggle to survive.

Librarians and booksellers: Buy this for your current events section, especially if your area has experienced opioid crisis.

Many thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.