The Knights of Moonshine

by William McNally

They're the town losers: three no-account good ol' boys with a penchant for hard drinking and an aversion to personal hygiene. Dennis is a washed-up high school athlete who dreamed of going pro. Harley's a bad seed, a belligerent drunk always looking for trouble. And Ernie? Lord love him, but he's just not too bright. A weekend hunting trip in the remote woods frees the three from society's judging stares-and offers an opportunity to drink around live ammo. Leave it to Harley to screw things up. With one crazed act of drunken bravado, Harley stumbles into a world few know exist, dragging his unwilling buddies with him. In this new reality, bikers from a bygone era cruise the midnight highways on vintage choppers, and wolves hide behind the illusion of human skin. It's a wild world where strength, aggression, and loyalty to the pack are the only rules. For three of society's unwanted souls, the pack offers a tempting if slightly dysfunctional sense of family. Dennis, Ernie, and even Harley may have finally found their place in the world, but only if they can survive the dangerous foe stalking The Knights of Moonshine.

Genres: Fantasy

274 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2014

About the author

William McNally has always felt drawn to dark and thought-provoking stories, an interest which heavily influenced his first two books, Four Corners Dark and Beyond the Veil. A visit to an eerie motorcycle shop in the middle of nowhere inspired The Knights of Moonshine. Surrounded by a veritable museum of odd pieces of motorized history, William wondered about the shop's customers and the secrets they might hide.

A former executive, William is a husband and animal advocate who lives in the mountains surrounding Dahlonega, Georgia. For updates on William's plans and upcoming events, visit his website at www.williammcnallybooks.com.

Reviews

[Netanella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever driven down a country road and spotted a stop sign riddled with bullets holes? Ever wonder about the morons who shot those holes?

In The Knights of Moonshine, we get to meet three of these country idiots: Dennis, a washed up high school football player with a bad knee; Ernie, a mama's boy; and Harley, who enjoys alcohol and ammunition, often together.

Our story starts out innocently enough, with our three upstanding citizens heading off to a weekend adventure of alcohol and firearms up at Dennis' old cabin in the woods. It ends in bloody carnage as each of the friends, in turn, is bitten by and turned into a werewolf. Creepy and atmospheric, this first half of the story was well done, and I enjoyed the tension that was created as each of the friends were stalked by the mysterious wolves.

However, the story takes a sharp turn midcourse, once all three friends are lupine and meet the mysterious clan of werewolves, the motorcycle riding Knights of Moonshine, who live in a creepy compound in the woods. Most of these wolves are Viet Nam-era rejects themselves, who have found a home with the matriarchal Elisabeth, the ancient wolf who leads them. I had a hard time understanding why our Three Stooges would be taken in by this group, to begin with. And with the killing of a couple of sheriffs in the woods, the story seems to devolve into a manhunt for the copkillers, resulting in large groups of bounty hunters combing the wolves' woods. When the ex-Special Forces bounty hunter showed up, the one with paranormal visions, I knew we had everything and the kitchen sink!

Overall a good read, but clearly disjointed.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this quick read, but found it a little unbelievable that these 4 were chosen to join the Knights of Moonshine and how far the group was willing to go to protect them when they had remained hidden from others for so long before. I would probably pick up a follow up book to this one just to see where it goes from here.

[Marco Sanchez (Dragondarkness30) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like some parts could of been left out I liked his previous book better. I liked the description of the last battle scene you were there as he describes what's happening to the characters though I feel they needed to be more developed. If they were Knights of Moonshine like a motorcycle crew I wanted some background on it there wasn't to much description of what they were about. I recommend the previous book though this author keeps you reading I like his darker scenes. There was a part in this book that left me saying is this a different story altogether. It turns just before the last part though I like to see where the author goes next. I recommend reading his first 2 books. The ending left us hanging.

[Velvetink]

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