The Devil Walks in Mattingly by Billy Coffey

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.

Do you remember the time you picked up a book by an author that you hadn’t read?  The queasiness and unease that you felt?  Should you spend the money on the unknown author, or pick up the book by an author that you already know that you’ll enjoy the book?  Those were the feelings that I had after I requested this book.  Come with me and let’s peel the cover back together and find out if I made the right choice or not.

Three lives forever changed by the death of one young man.  Three lives searching for redemption but not expecting it to ever be extended to them.  As they all struggle with the guilt that comes from this single event, things begin to take on a strange life of their own.  Jake know what was happening but did nothing, his wife, Kate, shares his guilt over what has happened and Taylor is starting to come apart.  As super-natural occurrences continue in Happy Hollow, the three of them have increasingly hard times figuring truth from fiction.  Did one of them really kill Phillip?  Will forgiveness be extended to any of them, do them even deserve it?  Is the happenings real or is it just their guilt manifesting itself into reality?  Don’t keep your head up in the holler, go BUY THIS BOOK!!

I will admit that this book was tough to get into and tough to follow.  The writing style of the author is more poetic and rhythmic than I’m normally used to reading.  The characters and descriptions provided are very detailed and specific.  This tends to bog down my enjoyment as sometimes I think authors can provide too much information as they are establishing their story.  The plot of “Thin Places” is a new one to me, so this book was interesting and not something that I have read before, so from that aspect this was new and kept me coming back for more.  The mystery and supernatural elements are pretty obvious, but the Christian element is left in the background.

Is this a "guy's book"?  This book does not provide you with all of the normal mind-blowing, car-chasing suspense novels that I normally review on here.  This is more of an allegory, but one that tells a great story if you can slow your pace down to fully enjoy what the author is trying to share with you.

About The Author

I’m a writer of four novels, Snow Day (2010) Paper Angels (2011), When Mockingbirds Sing (2013) and The Devil Walks in Mattingly (2014) with one more on the way by Thomas Nelson. That may make me sound smart and/or wise. Neither is particularly applicable. I count that as a blessing, because the great thing about wandering around in the fog is you never know what you might run into 

You can connect with Billy Coffey at the following locations:

Billy Coffey's Website
Twitter
Facebook

Billy Coffey is celebrating his new book, The Devil Walks in Mattingly, with a Kindle Fire HDX giveaway.

 
  One winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire HDX
• The Devil Walks in Mattingly by Billy Coffey

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on April 5th. Winner will be announced April  7th on Billy's blog. Watch Billy give the backstory of the book here.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to stop by Billy's blog on April 7th to see if you won.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group, as part of their Book Review Blogger Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”