4.7 Stars Out Of 5
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  1. T Cramer
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Amazing story. Wonderfully told.
    August 20, 2015
    T Cramer
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This review was written for The Devil Walks in Mattingly.
    I loved this book set in the small town of Mattingly. Bill Coffey's writing style is very unique and the development of his characters is simply astounding. Proof of this is the compassion I begin to feel for Taylor Hathcock, a crazy man living in the mountains for the past 20 years. However, it is easy to love the members of the Barnett family - Jake, Kate, and little Zach.

    This is a great story that delves into people struggling with forgiveness. Not necessarily struggling to forgive, but struggling to accept God's forgiveness for their sins. Guilt over the last 20 years consumes Jake and Kate and they cannot forgive themselves or believe in the forgiveness offered by God. The story is really quite moving and many will be able to relate with some of their own past regrets.

    This story easily earns 5 stars and I'm ready to devour In the heart of the Dark Wood. I highly recommend this book and author.
  2. The Happy Reader
    Columbia, TN
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Sin Over Faith
    April 2, 2014
    The Happy Reader
    Columbia, TN
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This review was written for The Devil Walks in Mattingly.
    I very much enjoyed this book. I can't explain why some books grab my attention better than others. Maybe it's the way the author writes. Maybe it's the story line or the content. Maybe it's a throw-away phrase on the backmatter that beckoned me. Or maybe it's all the above tightly woven into a complex novel that registers on a deeply emotional level.

    This isn't a book that should be read as quickly as possible. This is a deep, rich novel filled with nuggets of wisdom and truth that must be chewed on and thought about. Applied to our own lives. There is so much, so many lessons in this story, it's hard for me to put it all into one single review. This is a read-again, think-again type of novel. One that helps put the past into perspective and allows ourselves to reach out to God and ask for the forgiveness He so willingly offers. Especially when it's so difficult for us to forgive ourselves for our own heinous past.

    Have you ever heard someone say, "If I'd do anything in my life over, it'd be..." and out pours some past regrets of something they did or didn't do? Now, what if you had pulled a senseless prank on someone and had to live with the awful consequences for the rest of your life? Would you allow your regrets to consume you and change your future? Or would you know that choice rather than fate governs our lives and those actions are the ones that will define us for what we would become?

    Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone stumbles and falls. Bad things happen to good people. We all must live with the consequences of our actions; whether good or bad. Such is the case with Jake and Kate Barnett and Taylor Hathcock.

    I've read my fair share of scary books, but I am convinced the scariest antagonist of a novel is one who is more than insane (if that's possible) and believes all the evil acts he/she does is God's will and is the right thing. The ones who look like us but who have been pushed or bullied so much and treated so badly that they break into a million scattered, hurting pieces that can only hurt in retaliation. The pitiful ones. The saddest ones who make each of us stop and remember all the terrible things we said or did as kids to others who were a little different.

    "Am I good?"

    "There is none good. There is only grace. Mercy and forgiveness." <~ No truer words were ever spoken.

    Highly recommend.

    *My thanks to the publisher who provided me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. These thoughts are my own and I was not required they be positive.*
  3. VicsMediaRoom
    Irvine, CA
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: male
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    A Twenty Year Old Secret, Redemption & Forgiveness
    April 8, 2014
    VicsMediaRoom
    Irvine, CA
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: male
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This review was written for The Devil Walks in Mattingly.
    Billy Coffey in his new book "The Devil Walks In Mattingly" Book Two in the Mattingly series published by Thomas Nelson takes us back to the town of 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.

    Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group. 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."
  4. bookwomanjoan
    Oak Harbor, WA
    Age: Over 65
    Gender: Female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    The past invades the present
    March 20, 2014
    bookwomanjoan
    Oak Harbor, WA
    Age: Over 65
    Gender: Female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This review was written for The Devil Walks in Mattingly.
    This is a haunting book. Coffey has the uncanny ability of bringing the spiritual to bear on the physical lives of the characters he creates.

    I first became aware of "thin places" reading about the Irish. Such places are those where the curtain between the spiritual and the physical is thin.

    In one sense this entire book is a thin place. The curtain is thin as Coffey has woven a story showing how the personal deeds done in the past impact lives in the present. Yet there is also an actual thin place in Happy Hollow, where Taylor lives. Taylor who feels called to bring people "Awake." A deadly calling.

    Jake is the sheriff of Mattingly. It is his job to solve the murder at the BP. But he himself is plagued by dreams of a youthful experience and a young man's death. And his wife Kate - she "helps" people, giving toys, clothes, or groceries. Her burden, she calls it. She writes down their names in a note book. Hundreds of pages of names. Perhaps all those names will one day outweigh the name of that one boy she killed all those years ago.

    A major theme through this novel is how we deal with a painful event of the past. Do we suppress it? Do we try to atone for it? Do we create a twisted rationalization of it?

    Taylor chose rationalization and becomes twisted by his own version of reality. Jake tries to bury it but is tormented by the horrible dreams, reliving that day.

    Kate chose penance. Can we ever do enough good to pay for what we've done in the past? Even though Jake and Kate attend church regularly, they both feel they have to somehow pay for their sins. But you can't undo what's been done. Even though Kate at one point says she begged for and received God's forgiveness, she did not feel the scales were even. Some ghosts never seem to go away.

    As an aside to the actual story, I liked the interplay of dreaming and being awake. The hermit Taylor is convinced others in the world are living in a dream. Only he is awake and is called to awaken others. Sheriff Jake lives in the present world in which he has hidden his past but through his dreams relives that past. Kate wonders if anyone can talk themselves out of a dream (if so, she believed Jake would have done it years ago). Who is living in reality and who is living the dream?

    Not only is this a captivating novel but it also gives the reader much to think about. I know this is a novel I'll be thinking about for some time. There is a discussion guide included that has some penetrating questions. This book would be an excellent choice for a reading group.

    I received a complimentary egalley of this book through the Litfuse Publicity Group for the purpose of this independent and honest review.
  5. Jill Jones
    Opelika, AL
    Age: 45-54
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Great book--worth all the lost sleep
    March 19, 2014
    Jill Jones
    Opelika, AL
    Age: 45-54
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This review was written for The Devil Walks in Mattingly.
    For the past 20 years, this past wrong has tortured those complicit in a young man's death. A prank gone horribly wrong causes Kate to spend her life trying to atone for it by helping the less fortunate. She keeps a book of her good deeds hoping one day she will make up for her transgressions.

    Jake is haunted by nightmares that keep him awake at night leaving him exhausted and weak. As the town sheriff, his past and his behavior make the town think he is a coward. Taylor convinces himself that everyone is living in a dream world and lives in seclusion and fear. When Taylor finds mysterious footprints leading from Happy Hollow, he believes redemption is at hand.

    This is a story of redemption and forgiveness that will keep you wondering. At times, the story makes little sense--is it a dream? Is it real? Do we convince ourselves our lives are a dream so our sins cannot be held against us?

    In "the devil walks in Mattingly", Billy Coffey's story of shame and fear teaches several lessons. Our actions have consequences--sometimes eternal consequences. Our actions affect not only ourselves but those around us and sometimes follow the next generation. We have no control over how others will react to our actions. No amount of good work will compensate for the bad deeds we have committed. Not until we meet our shame and face our fear with the act of repentance will we receive forgiveness and find redemption.

    Coffey's books are going to be at the top of my reading list from now on. This is a great story filled with valuable lessons, suspense and redemptive grace.

    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."
Displaying items 1-5 of 10
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