I had never heard of Gary A. Braunbeck until I read MR. HANDS. One of his first novels that Leisure released. I liked the book, but did have a few small issues with it. The same can be said for COFFIN COUNTY, however COFFIN COUNTY turns out to be one hell of a ride, it’s getting though the first few chapters that was the hard part for me.
COFFIN COUNTY is a very hard book to describe because it covers so much, from different characters to different locations in the the town of Cedar Hill. Cedar Hill is a small town where over years and years of it’s existence there have been many tragedies and many mysterious murders. There odd events go all the way back two centuries where a really bad mass murder happened, and ever since the curse has stuck with the town. People going mad for no reason, people end up missing, graves mysteriously ending up in the graveyard and so on… In order for me not to give away certain key factors of the story, lets just say that book follows a few characters around, mainly the police of this small town and the events that unfold in front of them. They are trying to keep this case under wraps under the threat that the town’s mayor might get the feds involved. But with each passing hour things seem to be getting worse and worse and someone, or something is killing people off in the town, and I’m not just talking one or two people at a time.
I have to admit that it really took me a while to get into this book, I almost in fact put it down and figured it was a story I was not going to be able to get into. I felt the beginning of the book kind of took me off into many different directions and I got a bit confused as to who was who in the book and how things were going to transpire. But when I go past the initial first few chapters, I found myself in a world full of chaos and mystery. What started off as a slow read for me quickly turned into a fast pace page turner. Braunbeck had me right in the front seat of a Cedar Hill police car among all the murderous mayhem that was unfolding. This is not a book for the weak hearted, it’s vicious and packs quite the punch.
Overall, yes the book does start off slow, but what we get in the end is one hell of a ride. Braunbeck’s writing reminded me of that of early Clive Barker, and the detail and brutal killings in the book really take you to a town turned upside down by the unknown. The story also ends with a great twist in the plot that is very hard to see coming, so it’s a real treat when the story comes to a conclusion. Braunbeck also has a mention of MR. HANDS in the book, so it does take place in the same Universe as most of his others stories. The book even has a bonus two short stories as well that also take place in the Cedar Hills area. Both stories are pretty good shorts that are well worth reading when you finish COFFIN COUNTY. One other thing I need to point out is how well researched the stories are as well. In a nutshell, COFFIN COUNTY is a pretty good read once you get past the set-up chapters in the book. It’s full of plenty of blood and gore you can almost feel it coming off the pages.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
