The Devil Walks in Mattingly

As I finished the latest novel from Billy Coffey, The Devil Walks in Mattingly, I remember what he told me when I interviewed him on what the reader would find in this one. He told me it will be much darker. And it is. Much darker!

To those of you that are looking for a happy story of some facet of Billy's walk in life, this is NOT that novel. Ir reminds me in fact of the opening line that Jude Law narrates for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, "Dear reader, there are people in the world who know no misery and woe. And they take comfort in cheerful films about twittering birds and giggling elves. There are people who know that there's always a mystery to be solved. And they take comfort in researching and writing down any important evidence. But this story is not about such people.The movie you are about to see is extremely unpleasant. If you wish to see a film about a happy little elf, I'm sure there is still plenty of seating in theatre number two."

This novel is actually the prequel to Billy's third novel, When Mockingbird Sings. I've been a huge fan of Billy's since the days I first came across his stories on his Blog, "What I Learned Today", and fell in love with his uncanny abililty to do more than just tell a great story. He makes it come alive and makes you part of the action. I wanted to run ahead and read The Devil Walks in Mattingly as fast as possible, because you will always come away changed after reading ANY of his books. This one was NO different, however much like a race horse yearning to run ahead at the start of the gun, this one held me back restrained. No matter how much I wanted to run ahead, this one made me go slow. To say this novel is deep and dark, is an understatement. I believe it's Billy's finest examples of just how versatile of a writer he truly is.

I liken this novel to something a bit of a blend between Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe and M. Night Shyalmalan's Sixth Sense. This is about what we all face when dealing with the guilt of sin in our lives. Especially in this case where the murder of a young boy, Phillip McBride that happened twenty years ago, is now being felt in the town of Mattingly, Virginia by those with guilty consciences, the local sheriff, Jake Barnett, his wife, Kate, and the recluse that lives in Happy Hollow, Taylor Hathcock. Each of them believes that they have had a hand in the murder of Phillip and each have found a coping method that is slowly unraveling at the seams.

For Jake, he is trying to avoid confrontation at all costs in his job as Mattingly's sheriff, including the apprehension of his own father, Justus wanted for the murder of three men. Jake is haunted by nightmares of that fateful day by Phillip to deprives him not only of sleep but in moving forward in his life. Phillip is the spectre with a warning that he is coming back for him and Kate, and no one will escape. But is it really happening or it just the over active imagination of a guilty conscience?

Kate is stuck making amends for her guilt, one I related to the most. She keeps a notebook of all the young people she has helped to atone for her sin. She is hoping one day, she will achieved enough good deeds to make up for the one she can't apologize for and for the innocent loss of life she claimed that day when her prank took an unexpected turn on the last day of high school.

For Taylor, he spends his days waiting for just the right moment to "wake" them all up. He suffers from a mental snap and believes that the life his is living is merely a dream and that he is the only one who can help them all. He cautiously spies upon the sleepy residents of Mattingly knowing that the day is close at hand. The one event that brings things to life is the day footprints appear in the Hollow from a protective grove that Taylor is the keeper of, that lead back to Mattingly and back to her. Now he just needs to find the clues to piece it all together, but this will also bring to the town of Mattingly, an evil they have never experienced before and one that will forever change the town.

I received The Devil Walks in Mattingly by Billy Coffey, compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own, unless otherwise noted. This is a novel that showcases much more than a well written story. It shows how far guilt can carry us if we allow it to fester unresolved. It also teaches us the power of forgiveness. People often say that forgiveness is for others, but I beg to differ, it is for us that have been wronged instead. There is freedom in being able to forgive those who have wronged us, no matter what has happened. Those who can't are likely Jake, Kate and Taylor who are stuck feeling justified in keeping those feelings locked inside, and thus become more trapped and tormented than anyone should ever have to. By the time, you get to the end of this one, you will understand what grace truly is and how much freedom there is in forgiveness before you can ever move forward. In my opinion, by far, Billy's finest novel to date. There is such maturity in his writing this novel that is unparallelled in anything I have read and thus the reason for my 5 out of 5 stars. Looking forward to going even deeper Billy!

For more information about The Devil Walks in Mattingly, Billy Coffey or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Devil Walks in Mattingly by Billy Coffey

You can find Billy Coffey on Facebook to stay up to date will all his latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Devil Walks in Mattingly, please visit Thomas Nelson Publisher's website. 

To read more reviews on The Devil Walks in Mattingly, please visit Litfuse Publicity Book Tour Page. 

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.

The Devil Walks in Mattingly

As I finished the latest novel from Billy Coffey, The Devil Walks in Mattingly, I remember what he told me when I interviewed him on what the reader would find in this one. He told me it will be much darker. And it is. Much darker!

To those of you that are looking for a happy story of some facet of Billy's walk in life, this is NOT that novel. Ir reminds me in fact of the opening line that Jude Law narrates for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, "Dear reader, there are people in the world who know no misery and woe. And they take comfort in cheerful films about twittering birds and giggling elves. There are people who know that there's always a mystery to be solved. And they take comfort in researching and writing down any important evidence. But this story is not about such people.The movie you are about to see is extremely unpleasant. If you wish to see a film about a happy little elf, I'm sure there is still plenty of seating in theatre number two."

This novel is actually the prequel to Billy's third novel, When Mockingbird Sings. I've been a huge fan of Billy's since the days I first came across his stories on his Blog, "What I Learned Today", and fell in love with his uncanny abililty to do more than just tell a great story. He makes it come alive and makes you part of the action. I wanted to run ahead and read The Devil Walks in Mattingly as fast as possible, because you will always come away changed after reading ANY of his books. This one was NO different, however much like a race horse yearning to run ahead at the start of the gun, this one held me back restrained. No matter how much I wanted to run ahead, this one made me go slow. To say this novel is deep and dark, is an understatement. I believe it's Billy's finest examples of just how versatile of a writer he truly is.

I liken this novel to something a bit of a blend between Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe and M. Night Shyalmalan's Sixth Sense. This is about what we all face when dealing with the guilt of sin in our lives. Especially in this case where the murder of a young boy, Phillip McBride that happened twenty years ago, is now being felt in the town of Mattingly, Virginia by those with guilty consciences, the local sheriff, Jake Barnett, his wife, Kate, and the recluse that lives in Happy Hollow, Taylor Hathcock. Each of them believes that they have had a hand in the murder of Phillip and each have found a coping method that is slowly unraveling at the seams.

For Jake, he is trying to avoid confrontation at all costs in his job as Mattingly's sheriff, including the apprehension of his own father, Justus wanted for the murder of three men. Jake is haunted by nightmares of that fateful day by Phillip to deprives him not only of sleep but in moving forward in his life. Phillip is the spectre with a warning that he is coming back for him and Kate, and no one will escape. But is it really happening or it just the over active imagination of a guilty conscience?

Kate is stuck making amends for her guilt, one I related to the most. She keeps a notebook of all the young people she has helped to atone for her sin. She is hoping one day, she will achieved enough good deeds to make up for the one she can't apologize for and for the innocent loss of life she claimed that day when her prank took an unexpected turn on the last day of high school.

For Taylor, he spends his days waiting for just the right moment to "wake" them all up. He suffers from a mental snap and believes that the life his is living is merely a dream and that he is the only one who can help them all. He cautiously spies upon the sleepy residents of Mattingly knowing that the day is close at hand. The one event that brings things to life is the day footprints appear in the Hollow from a protective grove that Taylor is the keeper of, that lead back to Mattingly and back to her. Now he just needs to find the clues to piece it all together, but this will also bring to the town of Mattingly, an evil they have never experienced before and one that will forever change the town.

I received The Devil Walks in Mattingly by Billy Coffey, compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own, unless otherwise noted. This is a novel that showcases much more than a well written story. It shows how far guilt can carry us if we allow it to fester unresolved. It also teaches us the power of forgiveness. People often say that forgiveness is for others, but I beg to differ, it is for us that have been wronged instead. There is freedom in being able to forgive those who have wronged us, no matter what has happened. Those who can't are likely Jake, Kate and Taylor who are stuck feeling justified in keeping those feelings locked inside, and thus become more trapped and tormented than anyone should ever have to. By the time, you get to the end of this one, you will understand what grace truly is and how much freedom there is in forgiveness before you can ever move forward. In my opinion, by far, Billy's finest novel to date. There is such maturity in his writing this novel that is unparallelled in anything I have read and thus the reason for my 5 out of 5 stars. Looking forward to going even deeper Billy!

For more information about The Devil Walks in Mattingly, Billy Coffey or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Devil Walks in Mattingly by Billy Coffey

You can find Billy Coffey on Facebook to stay up to date will all his latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Devil Walks in Mattingly, please visit Thomas Nelson Publisher's website.

Sittin on the Porch Talking with Billy Coffey!

Picture us just sitting on the front porch sipping some sweet tea as twilight settles over the town of Mattingly, Virginia the backdrop for his latest book When The Devil Walks in Mattingly. I am here tonight with Mr. Billy Coffey (sounds like the drink only spelled differently, a reference to The Green Mile) whom I’ve had the pleasure of knowing through the blogging world just before any of his books were published, and I am so thrilled to watch the progress of where he is headed one book at a time.

In our last interview just after When Mockingbirds Sing, you had stated that The Devil Walks in Mattingly would be a much different, deeper and darker book. After reading it, I would have to agree with you. What would you say to people who have read your books like Snow Day and Paper Angels that wonder why your books have taken on a much darker and violent tone? 

There’s no doubt that my last two novels are much different in tone and scope than my first two. I’d say Snow Day and Paper Angels were the best books I could write at the time. I’m proud of them, I think they’re good novels, but I was just starting out with fiction and kind of feeling my way. One of the many benefits of having Thomas Nelson as my publisher is that they’ve really let me be free to write the kinds of stories I want, and I’ve always been drawn to those deeper and darker books. Maybe it’s a Southern thing. I’m a product of my environment. I grew up on old mountain stories of the supernatural and tales of moonshine wars. As strange as it may sound, there’s something very honest about those old tales. They speak a great deal to the grace and violence that lies in the human heart.

In such great novels that are studied in school, there is always an underlying theme. What is the theme in The Devil Walks in Mattingly?

There’s an undercurrent of remorse and regret throughout the book, not just from Jake, Kate, and Taylor, but from nearly all of the characters. They all carry a burden, and that burden has grown so heavy over the years that they can barely continue on. I don’t set out to write about a theme, it usually just pops up on its own while I’m doing the writing. What popped up this time was that notion that we’re all carrying a burden, and it’s only grace that allows us the freedom to lay that burden down.

I found it unusual that you used two distinct symbols pertaining to animals, why the use of the mockingbird in When Mockingbird Sings and just what do the butterflies symbolize in When The Devil Walks in Mattingly? Will there be something in your next novel as well, if so what might that be?

The mockingbird from When Mockingbirds Sing was a memory. When I was growing up, a mockingbird would sing every night during the summer from the maple tree in my backyard. I couldn’t go to sleep until I heard it. It was my mom who told me that bird was singing for a mate—for a love it wanted but didn’t have. That just stuck with me.
   
The butterflies in Devil sort of came out of nowhere. I was stuck writing Jake’s first dream, and that image just popped in my head. Butterflies seem so angelic in a way, so innocent. They made a good image for something that bridged heaven and earth.

At the beginning of When the Devil Walks in Mattingly, the publisher posted a note that these novels can be read in any order, but doesn’t The Devil Walks in Mattingly come first? What can you tell us about the random order of the novels, meaning why can the reader choose to read them in any order? 

All of my novels can be read alone in the sense that the stories are self-contained. For this book, though, I thought it helpful to note that the events happened four years before When Mockingbirds Sing took place. The Devil Walks in Mattingly actually runs parallel to my second novel, Paper Angels. It tells the second half of that story. The book after Devil will pick up where Mockingbirds left off.

What is the idea behind the setting of Happy Hollow? When I read it, it reminded me about the ancient circle in Stephen King’s novel Pet Semetary. It definitely sounds like a place where boys would receive a dare to trespass in an effort to show what they are made of?

There are 30,000 acres of wilderness outside my front door known to everyone around here as The Coal Road. It’s a beautiful place, pristine and largely untouched, but it will seriously creep you out if you get stuck in there at night. All sorts of stories are associated with that wood, everything from ghosts to witches to monsters. Mattingly is written as though it’s this small town sitting on a thin spot between worlds. I wanted one place where that spot is thinnest. Happy Hollow felt like the perfect place, and The Coal Road offered me the perfect description of it. 

Can you give us a sneak peek into what lies ahead in the next novel for the town of Mattingly? I know you stated that it revolves around Jake the Sheriff as well as Allie and Zach in Heart of the Dark Wood.

In the Heart of the Dark Wood picks up about a year and a half after most of Mattingly was destroyed by the tornado. The town is trying to heal, as are the people. It’s a bad time for everyone, Allie especially. She’s still clinging to the hope that her mother is alive, and that hope takes her on the journey of her life. 

Thanks again Billy for taking the time out of your busy day to once again enlighten us into the writer’s heart of yours! I wish you much success and God’s blessing as this book finds its way into the hands of readers everywhere. 

The Devil Walks in Mattingly by Billy Coffey is available everywhere beginning tomorrow, but trust me, don't wait. Visit his website and order When Mockingbirds Sing and When The Devil Walks in Mattingly. Check back in tomorrow to get my thoughts on The Devil Walks in Mattingly!