CANDLELIT CHRONICLES: HISTORIC HAUNTS

A Short Review of Gary A. Braunbeck's COFFIN COUNTY

Just completed the first novel I had read by horror author Gary A. Braunbeck-Coffin County. I'm now perusing the first of the two Bonus short stories included in the paperback edition. Mostly my brain is still stunned, coming to terms with the incredibly interwoven mythology and religious history (rewritten) of this novel. The story of several notable citizens of small town Cedar Hill, Ohio-the surface viewpoint-Coffin County  unfolds like the manifold variations of a Nautilus shell. Gory? Yes. Perversely homicidal? Yes. Historically founded? Yes. But Author Braunbeck never once drops the plot threads, which are as intricately interwoven as a ball of yarn tapped out by a kitten. His conclusion is astonishing, gratifying, horrifying, and amazing, all at once. Would I could ever write a page as well as he writes an entire novel! I'm anticipating reading his several other novels, and hoping his writing career lasts a lifetime.