"For all who stumble forward
by looking back"
by looking back"
For the three people tortured by their secret complicity in a young man's untimely death, redemption is what they most long for . . .and the last thing they expect to receive.
It has been twenty years since Philip McBride's body was found along the riverbank in the dark woods known as Happy Hollow. His death was ruled a suicide. But three people have carried the truth ever since—Philip didn't kill himself that day. He was murdered.
Each of the three have wilted in the shadow of their sins. Jake Barnett is Mattingly's sheriff, where he spends his days polishing the fragile shell of the man he pretends to be. His wife, Kate, has convinced herself the good she does for the poor will someday wash the blood from her hands. And high in the mountains, Taylor Hathcock lives in seclusion and fear, fueled by madness and hatred.
Yet what cannot be laid to rest is bound to rise again. Philip McBride has haunted Jake's dreams for weeks, warning that he is coming back for them all. When Taylor finds mysterious footprints leading from the Hollow, he believes his redemption has come. His actions will plunge the quiet town of Mattingly into darkness. These three will be drawn together for a final confrontation between life and death . . . between truth and lies.
"Don't go thinking you know a story
because you've been told a chapter."
There is an overriding theme of heavy guilt driving throughout The Devil Walks In Mattingly. Even at its conclusion, not much is resolved on this matter. It does eventually mellow out, but still permeates the air. The ambiance is bleak but in a very intoxicating manner.
Events taking place in Happy Hollow both past and present throughout the tale are dark. It is a foreboding canopy of the abyss on the edge of town. A type of demonic possession is infiltrating the small innocent community of Mattingly, Virginia.
The haunting of Phillip McBride is basically the underlying backbone of this story. It individually, yet collectively affects Kate, Taylor and especially Jake to the point of bodily harm. The author explains that while Phillip McBride may have physically passed away, the other three characters have done so in the spirit.
The peculiar attributes are enough to make The Devil Walks In Mattingly memorable, such as Kate's questionable notebook and Jake's inherited tomahawk Bessie. Nightmares of white butterflies and phobic revulsion of dandelions paint the story with a mystical sense.
Taylor Hathcock's twisted philosophies are steeped in sorrow with a childlike grace that the reader becomes enraptured with his demented ramblings. The kinship with the forlorn Taylor and Lucy are wielded together so beautifully, despite the sadistic misunderstandings and homicidal actions, that it is possible to sympathize and hurt for these drastically misguided individuals. This convincing alone takes talent to write.
In addition to the mournful relationship between Jake and his wife, there is also the obscure connection between Jake and Justus. The audience incessantly has their hands full attempting to guess the answers and how all of these loose ends tie together, culminating in a spellbinding finale.
The format is unlike any other that I am familiar with. The narrative is spoken quite frankly paying no heed to grammar and eloquence, yet simultaneously pushing the poetic ribbons of speech. The slang is raw and full of grit. It is a splendid concoction increasing the story's unique manifestation.
The way Coffey can describe the present occurrence of a character's thoughts and within the same sentence merge into a hypnotic state such as a dream is mesmerizing. For example, Jake's severe fatigue would cause him to drift in and out of consciousness, but the narrative patterns are carried out seamlessly without any hindrance of comprehension from the reader.
Many mysteries are unraveled though not entirely accounted for by the book's end. This is accomplished leaving the audience as if the story is still floating aloft, begging to be read and paving the way for potential continuation.
"But I was not in the now.
I was in the then, where I'd been all along."
Preview and purchase The Devil Walks In Mattingly
This book was provided free for review by
BookLook/HarperCollins Christian Publishing
