Coffin Blues

Priest & Lamarr #2

by Tom Piccirilli

The Bram Stoker Award-winning horror novelist turns his talent to a sweeping saga of the Old West in this novel about a man who leaves behind his quiet life as a coffin-builder to save his former lover's new husband who is being held hostage in Mexico.

Priest McClaren wants to put his past behind him. It's a past filled with loss, murder . . . and revenge. Now all Priest wants is to own a carpentry shop and earn a quiet living building coffins. But it looks like peace and quiet just aren't in Priest's future. His ex-lover has pleaded with him to carry ransom money into hostile territory in Mexico, to rescue her new husband. It's a mission he can't refuse, but it could also easily get him killed. Especially when he runs afoul of Don Braulio, a bandit with a great fondness for knives. . .

Genres: Horror, Westerns

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

About the author

Thomas Piccirilli (May 27, 1965 – July 11, 2015) was an American novelist and short story writer.

Piccirilli sold over 150 stories in the mystery, thriller, horror, erotica, and science fiction fields. He was a two-time winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for "Best Paperback Original" (2008, 2010). He was a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award. He was also a finalist for the 2009 Edgar Allan Poe Award given by the Mystery Writers of America, a final nominee for the Fantasy Award, and the winner of the first Bram Stoker Award given in the category of "Best Poetry Collection".

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Part 2 of Piccirilli's revisionist, hipper-than-thou Western dualogy, COFFIN BLUES ups the ante in terms of action and excitement, but still maintains an undercurrent of cartoonishness that prevents it from soaring. Despite cover art reminiscent of writers like Max Brand and Zane Grey, as well as the words "historical fiction" embossed on the spine, this book features very little in the way of realism or historical accuracy, instead reading like a cross between a Spaghetti Western and a fever dream. Which would be great if things didn't get quite so silly, and if the author eased back a little on impressing readers with his clever prose, which can be show-offy to the point of distraction. Plot-wise, COFFIN BLUES is standard Western fare; but Piccirilli obviously wishes to avoid being thought of as a pulp writer, and so he includes offbeat elements that give it a more literary vibe. Problem is, the offbeat stuff often falls a bit flat, and a more traditional approach would've been preferable. As a result, COFFIN BLUES is an excellent Western that suffers from creative overreach.

[Ellen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

A woman turns to an old love to help rescue her new love in Mexico. With a satchel full of money he is the prey for every bandit. A priest who wants a quiet life to build coffin. Interesting western, and audio was good. Given audio for my voluntary review

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read Piccirilli's short stories before and always liked them. This is the first of his novels I've tried. There were some very good things about it and some things I didn't like as much. The first part of the book was, I believe, actually from a short story I read somewhere, since it seemed very, very familiar to me.

Some of the things I liked were the characters and the emotional power of the writing. The main characters, Priest and Lamarr, were very well drawn and had great dialouge and chemistry between them, although they reminded me very strongly of Joe Lansdale's "Hap and Leonard" characters. Another pair of characters they called to mind were the two main characters from the book "All God's Chillun Got Guns."

The first part of the book seemed to meander a lot before the main line of the plot took off. It read a bit too much like vignettes rather than a unified novel. I'm afraid my interest meandered a bit here as well. Once the main plot started to unfold, however, the book moved lightning fast and held my interest well. There were excellent twists and surprises and the ending was very powerful on an emotional level.

[Kerry Clair · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. Some parts were confusing. The words and terms used weren't familiar. Story was well done. Writing professional. I liked the book. Wasn't in love with it.