When I picked up Zac Cannon’s Slantwise, I had no idea what type of book it was going to be by the cover art and title. Turns out, this is Appalachian noir at its finest. If you’re a fan of shows like True Detective, or if you’ve been captivated by novels like Winter’s Bone or The Devil All the Time, Slantwise deserves a spot on your shelf. This second novel from Virginia author Zac Cannon, writer of Sunflower, follows an unlikely protagonist on a quest to find his missing son.
The story is about Holt, a middle-aged ex-convict living a spartan existence in a makeshift cabin in the Appalachian foothills. He’s sober now, trying to live a quiet life after years of addiction and violence cost him everything, including his two sons, Casey and Coy, and his marriage to Shelby. He’s a man who is content to let the world forget he exists. He reminds me a bit of Walter White in that cabin in the middle of nowhere, in the penultimate episode of Breaking Bad.
That solitary peace shatters when Nora appears in Walmart. She’s Coy’s ex-girlfriend, who brings the news Holt’s son Coy has gone missing. His car has been found abandoned, half-rolled down an embankment. Despite his instincts telling him to stay out of it, Holt is pulled back into a world of danger and buried secrets. What begins as a search for a missing son becomes something far darker. As Holt digs deeper, he uncovers a tangled web of crime involving dirty cops, local drug operations, and human trafficking networks hidden in the shadows.
What struck me first about Slantwise is how engaging it is to read. Cannon’s prose is deceptively simple, eschewing purple flourishes or literary pyrotechnics in favor of clean, evocative language. There’s a subtle poetry to his writing that sneaks up on you, the kind that doesn’t announce itself. Take this early passage that establishes Holt’s morning routine, “Holt was nothing if not consistent. A creature of habit, the crack of knuckles and the flick of a lighter preceded the waft of cigarette smoke. It ascended like a bitter prayer in the morning cold. He observed it drifting lazily toward the ceiling. Another day, he thought. Just another day.”
Cannon excels at these small, perfectly observed moments. Likewise, the atmospheric descriptions are equally strong. The Appalachian setting isn’t just backdrop; it’s a character in its own right. Cannon renders the landscape and small town vibes with a painter’s eye for detail, and as a European who has never been there, I felt immersed throughout the book’s 298 pages.
What makes Holt a compelling main character is that he’s not romanticized. His past is ugly, including addiction, violence, time in prison, and abandoning his sons when they needed him most, “He’d been solely to blame for ruining every gift the universe had tried to hand him, tossing them aside because he could never believe he was capable enough to treasure them the way they deserved.” The novel doesn’t ask us to excuse those choices. You root for Holt (at least I did) not because he’s heroic in the traditional sense, but because he’s human and ultimately means well.
Though I could go on about the writing, Slantwise is a missing-person mystery and crime thriller at its core, and thankfully, the mystery at its heart is a gripping one that will keep you turning pages. The book keeps you on the edge of your seat about where Holt’s son went, and what exactly happened to him, with plenty of twists and turns. The novel is also not afraid to tackle some dark topics. I want to applaud the author for tackling the issue of human trafficking. This isn’t a topic often used for shock value or as a mere plot device, but here it’s portrayed realistically and thoughtfully.
The pacing of the book is well-done. It’s a bit of a slow-burn thriller that prioritizes atmosphere and character over breakneck action, so don’t expect a lot of car chases. The structure is largely linear, with flashbacks woven throughout that deepen our understanding of Holt’s past and his relationship with his sons. I also appreciate the choice to keep thing simple and have Holt as the only POV character, as I’m kind of tired of reading multiple POV stories that keep jumping around every chapter. At its heart, Slantwise is a story about a father’s love for his son, and so the novel depends a lot on our liking Holt. Thankfully, there is no issue there.
Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a bit and found that despite tackling some dark themes, it’s an approachable read and very easy to get through. There’s a rawness to Slantwise that won’t be for everyone. It’s heavy, and it doesn’t offer easy answers or tidy resolutions. But for those who do get it, this book will stick with them for a long time. Here’s hoping it gets adapted into a Netflix crime miniseries, so I can binge the adaptation.
Final verdict: Readers who love Daniel Woodrell, Donald Ray Pollock, Ron Rash, or Michael Farris Smith will find so much to admire here. If you were gripped by Winter’s Bone, unsettled by The Devil All the Time, or moved by Desperation Road, this is absolutely your next read. A tense, lyrical, and often gripping Appalachian epic.
You can get your copy of Slantwise here!
