Review – The Devil Walks in Mattingly

From the back cover:   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.

Twenty years ago Philip McBride committed suicide.  However that is not true he was actually murdered and three individuals have kept that a secret.  The problem is there is a certain weight that go with the carrying of this kind of secret and, after twenty years, it is beginning to crush them.  All three of them are trying to repent of their sin by their works and that is never going to accomplish anything.  The only one who can forgive sin is God and it is going to take their repentance and His forgiveness to restore these three persons back to health.  That is if they survive that long.  Mr. Coffey does a superb job of making each character come alive so that we feel what they feel. This is a gripping story that will keep you flipping pages late into the night until you finish it.  I recommend this book highly and look forward to a return to Mattingly.