The Devil Walks in Mattingly by Billy Coffey

Giveaway winner is named at the end of this review.

I became a fan of Billy Coffey's writing years ago, devouring his regular blog posts before he published his first book.

Then came Snow Day, Paper Angels and When Mockingbirds Sing.  I have savoured each novel, always looking forward to the next.

The Devil Walks in Mattingly is a deeper, darker tale, previewed on the back cover with the following words:

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.

As I writer, I read not only for content, but for the taste and feel of the words themselves. I was not disappointed, like his other works, from beginning to end, Billy's prose remains stunningly lyrical.

I come to this place of darkness because it is where the light of heaven once touched. I come here for the ones who were saved on a night long ago and for the ones lost.  

I come because heaven is not without the past.

These are characters that dug their way into my heart, both heroes and antiheroes.  My concern for each kept me turning page after page, hungry to discover what would happen next.  I was moved in the darkness to each shining patch of light.

My only complaint is that this novel deprived me of sleep and distracted me from my own work.  Yes, it IS that good.

You owe it to yourself to read The Devil Walks in Mattingly as well as Billy's older books, and make sure to catch up with him on his blog What I Learned Today where he shares day to day truths with home town warmth and skill.

Thomas Nelson Publishers has graciously provided a copy of The Devil Walks in Mattingly for me to give away to one lucky reader.  Selected by random draw is Pastor Joel!  I do believe, however, that anyone who takes the time to read Billy's work will find themselves a winner.

I was blessed to receive a copy of this novel to review.  The opinions I have shared, as always, are my own.