American Mythology — Giano Cromley

A charming and comic debut novel about a quirky ensemble who embark on an epic quest to find bigfootEvery month at St. Pete’s Tavern in rugged western Montana, a meeting is convened by the Basic Bigfoot Society’s members—both of them. Jute and Vergil are lifelong friends, bound by an affinity for the elusive North American Wood Ape. Jute more so than Vergil, having once had a disturbing encounter as a teenager with his father in the Elkhorn mountain range. But their monthly meeting and annual expeditions are a tradition that keep their friendship alive when so much else about their small town has fallen away: all the lucrative mining jobs, Jute’s own father, Vergil’s late wife, as well as his sharp daughter Rye, who’s now a full two hours away at college.But things are about to get exciting for the Basic Bigfoot Society. The primatologist Dr. Marcus Bernard, once an esteemed scholar and now perhaps the country’s foremost Bigfoot “expert,” introduces himself after the Society’s proceedings with a tantalizing proposition: to join their next expedition with an ambitious young documentarian, Vicky Xu. Thankfully, Rye is in town, and decides to tag along in order to make sure her dad and Jute aren’t made fools of. Thus begins the quest to find America’s great cryptid. Their trip is not without its complications. Vergil’s real reason for asking Rye to come home in the first place is so he can tell her in person about his cancer diagnosis. And Dr. Bernard, after all, has his own agenda for initiating this venture, namely to show once and for all that Bigfoot does not exist. But strange things begin to happen that seem to defy rational explanation. Is this a hoax? Or are they on the precipice of the greatest anthropological discovery ever?A spooky adventure story and a wry and heartwarming tale of friendship, American Mythology is a fabulous debut about the power of belief and our sacred bond to nature.