Hunting Ground: The Forgotten Story of Cazadero is based on the true story of divine healing evangelists who square off against moonshiners in 1890s along the lower reaches of the Russian River.
George Montgomery was a two-fisted drinker, seducer, and a member of San Francisco’s Bohemian Club. His connection with the fraternity prompted him in 1888 to purchase a small logging town along the Russian River in rural Sonoma County, naming it Cazadero. With a world-renowned evangelist as his bride, he changed his ways and sought to abolish alcohol in the area. Country bumpkins, moonshiners, and good ol’ boys, however, had a different take on how things should move forward. Sinners squared off against Bible thumpers with fate deciding the fatal blow.
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Don’t Stop the Music
wins Shelf Unbound Notable Indie Book award!
See us in the April/May 2018 Issue of Shelf Unbound Magazine!
For many in 1967, the Summer of Love brings freedom from parents, government and convention. But for Jonah and Otis it is a time of reckoning. The Vietnam War and the back alleys of San Francisco vie for possession of the two teenagers. Uncle Sam wants to draft them, but the boys waver on the idea of turning into killing machines. The mean streets at home, however, offer little in the way of an alternative as a crooked cop and a mobster roam the Haight Ashbury unchecked.
The boys are spotted while overhearing a discussion regarding the murder of an influential music producer. Scared, the boys flee the City to hide in the rural environs of west Sonoma County. They bounce from one small town to another along the banks of the Russian River, evading the close pursuit of the gangsters.
While seeking refuge in an abandoned cabin in Rio Nido, Jonah and Otis become entangled in a dragnet as the Sheriff’s Department swoops up a horde of illegal squatters. The crooked cop from San Francisco takes custody of the boys at the local jailhouse and delivers them to the mobster. Pinned in a corner, the boys must figure out how to escape and live another day.
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What Readers are Saying…
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John McCarty
Historian & Author
John is affiliated with the San Francisco-, Sonoma County- and Russian River Historical Societies. He is also a member in good standing with the Fulbright Association and the Redwood Writers. His articles and novels reflect on his thirty-year career as a history instructor and researcher on both the secondary and graduate levels. Complete biography here.
To Purchase my novels locally in Sonoma County:
- Duncan Mills:
Poet’s Corner Books - Guerneville:
Books/Letters Bookstore
Five & Dime
Lark’s Drugs
Russian River Art Gallery - Jenner:
Jenner by the Sea Gifts - Monte Rio:
Bia’s Coffee - Occidental:
Hand Goods