Lioness by Mark Powell

This novel can be read, enjoyed, even found meaningful without thinking about the title or about the Appalachian mountain lion that figures in the beginning, the end, and the middle of this novel. But that panther also adds another element of intrigue to contemplate. Which character is most like a panther? Is it Chris Bright, the ecoterrorist apparently responsible for the bomb that exploded in the Tazewell County, Virginia, water-bottling plant? Is it his lover, Mara, the divorced mother whose young son died of a terrible illness? Or is the female mountain lion simply a symbol of stealth, of power, of the need for an environment free of excessive human intervention? This is the seventh novel by Mark Powell, a native of the Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina who directs the creative writing program at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. No wonder Ron Rash called Mark Powell, “The best Appalachian novelist of his generation.” “Emotionally wrenching. . . . Haunting