Coffin County

Cedar Hill #4

by Gary A. Braunbeck

Coffin Country

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Supernatural, Short Stories

334 pages, Paperback

First published May 27, 2008

About the author

Gary A. Braunbeck is a prolific author who writes mysteries, thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, horror, and mainstream literature. He is the author of 19 books; his fiction has been translated into Japanese, French, Italian, Russian and German. Nearly 200 of his short stories have appeared in various publications.

His fiction has received several awards, including the Bram Stoker Award in 2003 for "Duty" and in 2005 for "We Now Pause for Station Identification"; his book Destinations Unknown won a Stoker in 2006. His novella "Kiss of the Mudman" received the International Horror Guild Award in 2005."

Reviews

[Dirk Grobbelaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll come right out and say that this was, frankly, one of the most bizarre Horror novels I've read. I have since learned that Coffin County is, in fact, part of the bigger Cedar Hill mythos, which explains a lot of things. While, by all indications, this book can be read as a stand-alone, it is probably advisable to read it as part of the bigger whole.

They did something so dreadful, so atrocious, something so horrible that even the Devil was sickened.

If there is such a genre as Apocalyptic Horror then this book will fit the bill. Think in cosmic terms. Think Lovecraft. Think Oh.hell.no.this.can't.be.what.I.think.it.is... can it?

Have not we heard the baying of the wolves at night?

Make no mistake. This book has some hardcore scenes of gore and horror. The faint-hearted need not apply. However, it is rewarding in its own way and may just change the way you look at horror fiction.

Something crawled along the branch from which his body hung.

I would have loved to simplify it for you by stating that this book is about an appalling spree of violence, murder and mayhem being unleashed on the city of Cedar Hill. I would have loved to, but I can't. Despite the fact that this book is about an appalling spree of violence, murder and mayhem being unleashed on the city of Cedar Hill.

It was horrible, sickening, pathetic and tragic and sad - a sadness so vast, deep, and merciless it seemed... infinite.

Coffin County requires concentration, so don't read while sleepy. It is rather unique and will not be to everybody's taste. It borders on surrealistic. It offends and disturbs. It can't decide when it's taking place... It is filled with powerful religious imagery and you're never quite sure what you're reading: is this metaphor or story? Is this a metaphor for the struggle between good and evil or is this the struggle between good and evil? The lines are blurred... between physical and meta-physical, between natural and supernatural. This author not only plays by his own rules... he is inventing a whole lot of new ones.

"How in God's name is this possible?"

File under: I-have-never-read-anything-quite-like-this. It's like staring for much too long at a H.R. Giger painting.

The characters in this book aren't participants. They are merely spectators to a macabre cosmic picture roadshow.

I have made so much more notes, but I have no idea what to say, so I'll stop right here. Right now.

[Kasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This being my second time reading Braunbeck I would have expected to be used to his lyrical and poetic style of writing but it still shakes me. His writing is different, more philosophical than your average horror stories; his thinking dissects ideas to the core and reaches deeper levels of emotion while still giving the reader a fantasy like story where the reality blurs with magic.

Cedar Hill, Ohio is the fictional place all his books take place in. A place that has murders, terror and non stop violence mixed in with a heavy duty dose of the supernatural, now call me crazy but I don't know how this place still has any residents. They are sitting ducks waiting to be taken out by their own family members and neighbors in this novel, a new twists that the author ads for a new measure of terror. In Coffin Country mass murders take stage and the killer seems nonchalant about it, informing the police about his actions, playing with their minds and planting a seed of destruction in randomly - or so it seems - people to do his bidding. When a police officer who lost his family to a random act of violence feels the murders are starting to get personal his life reaches levels of hell no one could have imagined possible. The hunt is on to find the killer who finger prints defy logic and sanity. I won't say anymore because the real beauty of any book is finding the juicy bits on your own. But be prepared to be mad and outraged at the ease with which gruesome acts happen, as if it really was another layer of life and part of our existence which we can't escape and are destined to experience.

The only thing that bothered me about the book was the drawn out police procedures, at one point, Stanley - the finger print guru - gets to involved in explaining how tracking of criminals is done that it was throwing my concentration off and forcing my brain to adapt to new terms that were lightly explained yet they spanned some good amount of pages. There was too much technical info on the procedures of different sorts and it slowed me down to the point where it took me longer than usual to get through the book. And the book is short, 270 pages yet it felt extra long.

The best part was the ending, totally crazy and shocking, it made me say "No way!" when I got to it, I can see how it made some readers mad, it was pretty arrogant and selfish of a certain character, almost unbelievable in why he would act in that way with his background but it ended the book with a bang and earned it's 4th star in my review. If you want a creepy story that touches on human madness and it's repercussions of trying to save man kind in the wrong way then this is it, a heavy book with a bite.

[J.M. Cornwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The end of time postponed in Cedar Hill, Ohio.

Charlie Smeds, night watchman at the Franklin Beaumont Casket Company, makes his evening rounds and come dinnertime takes his meal outside on the bench across from Talley’s Hideaway. Eugene Talley, the current owner, joins Charlie, two old friends enjoying each other’s company and good food. Out of the darkness, comes a procession of mourners following wagons piled high with the dead. A little girl holding her doll walks behind. She stops and asks Charlie to pick her up and take her to where they will bury her parents. She is so cold and tired. Charlie obliges. The moment he touches her Charlie sets in motion a chain of events that ends in an explosion of death that night in 1969. Death will follow again and again because balance must be maintained.

Using physics and fractals as a basis for his story, Gary Braunbeck continues his Cedar Hill cycle of stories in Coffin County with a tale that turns reality, time and the perception of good and evil on its head with thought provoking results. Braunbeck uses science as a seed out of which sprouts horror with religious and historical implications. The exhaustive research shows and unfortunately at times overwhelms with information dumps guaranteed to glaze the eyes of all but the most dedicated science and crime buffs, but Braunbeck bears watching and reading.

The best horror writers are those able to take an idea and twist it out of focus just enough to fill the shadows with malignant beings ready to pull the unwary out of the light and into the terror-filled darkness and Braunbeck delivers and excels. It isn’t enough to populate a small Midwest town with serial killers and malign influences. All previous ideas of right and wrong, good and evil, reality and fantasy are twisted until everything is inside out and upside down and everyone is faced with embracing the horror within. Coffin County not only chills the blood but also sends the mind reeling with a trip along Braunbeck’s Möbius strip of reality.

[Ben Loory · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is remarkable: one of the bloodiest and most violent books I've ever read; while at same time maybe the gentlest? It's horror born of sorrow and compassion and understanding; it never even occurred to me that was possible.

[Renae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Coffin County! I think out of the four most recent books that I've read, this is by far my most favorite. That is not to discredit the others as I enjoyed every single one that I've read. Those being: In Silent Graves, Keepers, Mr. Hands, and of course Coffin County. I once asked Gary if there was a reason to read them in order, and he said it wasn't necessary but it was up to me. I chose to read them in order and was very happy that I did. I think Coffin County brings the other three books into perspective. Gary is a very talented writer and I look forward to reading the next book in the "Braunbeck Library" we have at home: Far Dark Fields. Keep up the awesome work Gary and I look forward to reading even more of your work. Most people I've talked to say that In Silent Graves is the best of the "series" , with a few shout outs to Mr Hands and Keepers. Although all of those are awesome reads, Coffin County, seemed to keep me on edge the most, wondering what was going to happen next. I wanted to know more about the Hangman's Tavern and it's owner, I wanted to know more about why there was a Mr Hands to begin with, I wanted to know more about Chronos and Rael, and so many other things and I think without Coffin County, I would still be looking for that knowledge. I'm not good at reviews but I try to convey my excitement about what I've read without revealing too much.

[Jack Haringa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I liked well enough the original novella, "Haceldama", on which this book is based, Braunbeck here confirms that he's a much better writer of short stories and novellas than he is of full-length novels. Had this been most other writers, I wouldn't have made it to where the plot starts--around page 75--which is also where a lasting and empathetic character first appears. This is a bigger problem here even than it was in KEEPERS, which had a lovely--and completely non-supernatural--novella at its core.

The ending, or at least the final "twist" hinted at for an identity to one of the two immortal characters, doesn't make sense within the logic of the novel, if I'm reading it correctly. If he's supposed to be Jesus (and someone took His place for the crucifixion), then certainly God would have known this and wouldn't have made the "rock so heavy even He couldn't lift it" plot device fueling most of the action. These points are contradictory.

I think I'll continue to stick to Braunbeck's collections, which are always more rewarding than his novels (at least since his exceptional first novel, THE INDIFFERENCE OF HEAVEN (aka In Silent Graves). Since then, the novels have been disappointing.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

This latest in the Cedar Hill cycle showcases Braunbeck's skills admirably. As do most of his other novels, it starts in a somewhat scattered fashion (perhaps because his style seems more at home in shorter lengths), but all ties together satisfyingly in the wrap-up. The series is becoming a mosaic greater than the sum of its parts, with familiar characters, themes, and settings lending an air of documentary authenticity to his narratives. I wouldn't suggest this one as a good starting point for the series, but it will be well-loved by those familiar with his work. Also included in this volume are two shorter works, one of which, "I'll Play the Blues for You," is one of my particular favorites.

[William M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 AND 1/2 STARS

Whenever the horror genre begins to wane, I dive into a book by Braunbeck and that sinking feeling always goes away. Coffin County, set in the familiar world of Braunbeck's fictional town of Cedar Hill, delves deeper into the mythology he has created, giving us a look at the past, the present, and the future. And all three are pretty damn terrifying, I'll tell you.

While I wasn't as emotionally affected by this book like I was with Braunbeck's MR. HANDS, I was still mesmerized with the story, characters, and the facinating way he pulled what appeared at first to be a rather scattered tale tightly together. There's nothing worse than reading a book and feeling nothing, and with Braubeck, you're guaranteed to have a reaction -- repulsed, meaningful, drained, reflective, powerful, haunted, saddened, disgusted, or angered, you're bound to feel something and get more than your money's worth. Highly recommended.

[Rusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Braunbeck is very good at quickly endearing the reader to the characters. He’s also good at bouncing back and forth through time. So just when you’ve begun to empathize with a character or characters, he has jumped to another time period. I’ve seen other authors employ this device, and it often engenders a sense of disconnect and annoyance. But Braunbeck manages to pull it off, causing the reader to invest more and more in the central story. This book is essentially a haunted house story….except it’s a town instead of a house. And it’s a possession(?) instead of a haunting. Good story and a strong ending.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I've read by Gary Braunbeck, and like Mr. Hands, it is very confusing and scattered to start but if you stick with it you'll find yourself liking it. He's a good writer, no doubt about that, maybe a little too informal with the antagonists, making them a little funny and less threatening but it dosn't overshadow the dark complexity of the plot. There are two short stories at the end. I'll Play The Blues For You was interesting and pretty good. Union Dues was weird and vauge. Overall, Coffin County is a strange and confusing book but manages to redeem itself.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a strange book... an interestingly convoluted plot, with clear, character-driven narration that was quite well-written. But it was one of the gorier and graphic books I have ever read - truly horrific in a violent and awful way. The premise was original and though overall, it was quite disturbing, I did enjoy reading it. But it certainly isn't for the faint of heart! The "bonus" short stories at the end were an unexpected surprise, too.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read every Braunbeck novel/short story that I can in hopes of finding the perfection that was "In Silent Graves" but it hasn't happened yet. ("Keepers" came close.)

"Coffin County" is incredibly original. I have never read anything like it and at times it literally took my breath away. But there is something about the police procedural aspect that takes away some of the magic.

[A.R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the BEST BOOK I'VE EVER READ. Never before have I read an author so beyond horrifying, yet with heartfelt sentiment. Gary, you are the HORROR GOD!

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detective Ben Littlejohn is waking from a nightmare on the third anniversary of the death of his wife and unborn son when he gets a call directing him to a Cedar Hill diner where there’s been a massacre. The caller claims to be the one responsible for the deaths. He goes by the name of Hoopsticks, although that’s not his real name, but instead the name of a local Cedar Hill legend.

When he arrives at the scene, Ben and his colleagues find a scene that makes not one bit of sense. All the bodies have been clearly identified; the killer put their ID on the chest of each corpse. There are clearly-defined fingerprints on the gun and on the diner’s glass door. The eyes of every victim are missing replaced with silver coins. And the video surveillance feed shows a man bathed in light whose voice cannot be picked up by any audio equipment.

96 hours, Ben’s boss tells him. That’s how long the city council has given them to solve this. But be prepared to do it in 48.

Ben and his team go to work, but are met with a roadblock almost immediately when the prints come back. The prints are clear and usable and in the database. The problem is the prints as a whole, the hands from which they come, are not. Each individual finger, each mount of the palm, all come from a different serial killer in history. John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Charles Starkweather, etc. And one print comes from Ben’s dead wife Cheryl.

Then the pauper’s grave in town suddenly has 15 new headstones that weren’t there before.

It’s a crazy day for Ben Littlejohn, and all the events and deaths come to a head when a videotape is sent to the local homeless shelter and viewed by the Reverend who runs the place. The videotape shows Ben’s wife Cheryl, alive and well and feeding their unborn son, now two years old, as she addresses her husband. She gives Ben clues to the killer’s identity and tells him he can see her and Ian, their son, again, but he has to choose to.

Everything comes to a head in the pauper’s graveyard as Ben confronts the killer and learns he has the ability to take away the events of the entire day. But to do so, Ben will have to abandon the world he knows and become a killer himself, all in the name of saving the world.

Gary Braunbeck’s COFFIN COUNTY is another in his series of stories set in the fictional Cedar Hill, Ohio where strange things like this are almost a daily occurrence. It’s a very short novel, 270 pages, and considering a few subplots floated by with absolutely no resolution, I have a feeling it should have been even shorter, but was padded in order to reach novel length. Our hero Ben doesn’t even appear until chapter 18 (page 82).

I only finished this novel last night and I am still undecided as to whether I liked it or not. I loved Braunbeck’s writing, as I expected I would. And I loved the backstory and the explanation included, the killer’s history and motivation. Braunbeck’s imagination and the way he ties events together was brilliant as always. What it must be like to live in his head for a day, I can’t even imagine. But the DETAILS of this story leave me torn.

For starters, there’s no climax. Ben goes to meet the killer and they have a conversation and the killer explains his reasons and then, not long after, the book is over. But there’s absolutely no sense of rising action, nor climax, nor decline and resolution.

And the subplots. I lost count of how many subplots Braunbeck developed in order to flesh out his story that then just fell off the radar. Whether on purpose or because he just forgot about them, I don’t know, but they were very noticeable as was their lack of follow-up.

COFFIN COUNTY was a good book, taken as a whole. The STORY was good, both the one it told and the one it implied. I just think the execution of this story as a novel was a little shaky. COFFIN COUNTY is a novella at most, not a novel. Those subplots and the extended prologue didn’t need to be quite so detailed, for sure. The story could have gotten underway with Ben Littlejohn a LOT sooner and the book not suffered at all.

Two back-up stories were included after the novel, more Cedar Hill stories starring a few recurring characters. One was Grant McCullers, owner of The Hangman’s Tavern in a story called “I’ll Play the Blues for You” in which and angel and a devil have a guitar battle for the rights of humans to possess music, as it was never originally meant for mankind. As one who has had a long love of the guitar, this was a great story with a ton of detail that added so much more enjoyment for me. Braunbeck’s own love of music comes through loud and clear in this story, every word written from the heart.

The last story, “Union Dues”, features Sheriff Ted Jackson and was, for me, even better than “Blues”. This story takes us to a place in Cedar Hill we haven’t often visited, at least not in the novels I’ve read, to the blue collar factory workers and the struggle they undergo simply to survive week to week. As much as I love my guitars and the previous story touched me, this story went so much deeper. I work in a factory and the emotion and details he put into this story really got to me. I recognized these characters as the guys I work with every day. I recognized their feelings of hopelessness. When the character Will says, “When was I supposed to look for another job?” . . . man, I’ve been there. I know all too well that feeling of hating the job you’re in but never having time to find something else. Coming home exhausted at the end of your shift, too tired to do anything at all, least of all put in the effort to look for jobs. And the feeling of camaraderie among workers, when you’re all in this seemingly impossible situation and the only person who could possibly understand what it is you go through every single day is the guy next to you going through the same thing. “Union Dues” is such a powerful story, I think, one that really cuts to the heart of what it’s like to work in this particular environment.

Overall, COFFIN COUNTY is a really good story, albeit a bit bloated. And the back-up stores definitely add to the enjoyment of the book as a whole. I can recommend this book based on the strength of Braunbeck’s writing alone, but if you’re going for sheer awesome story, check out his earlier works, IN SILENT GRAVES and MR. HANDS. This one’s good, but those were great.

[John Bruni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book operates with clockwork precision. Even something you might think is inconsequential turns out to be a part of the story. Foreshadowing is spot-on and yet misleading. And when the villain reveals himself . . . wow! I love the explanation, too. It's such a gray area, and it has given me a lot to think about, even now, a day after I finished reading it. It's also great to see the Reverend again and to know a bit more about him. The bonus stories are also great. It's good to see the barman at the Hangman's and the sheriff again. "I'll Play You the Blues" features Ankou, a death-figure that is underutilized in the horror field. "Union Dues" is a grim tale, and though I'm not a laborer, I identify with the feeling of being trapped in my job and wanting to do anything BUT work in an office. I teared up a little at one moment. This book is full of surprises, and I highly recommend it.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gruesome and gory, but Coffin County is still an enjoyable read with a few very interesting twists.

[Bandit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Cedar Hill tale.

[RUSA CODES · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a Reading List Short List honor title in the Horror category for 2009. For the complete list, go to http://ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/aw...

[Frankie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a strange book. I found myself slogging my way through it. Parts of the story were riveting and other parts were just dreary and dragged.

[alexggrandma · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Wonderful, creepy, smart, and fun. Great characterization. Braunbeck really has fun writing this stuff and you can tell. You have fun with him. Like the coolest guy telling you a story in the parlor.

“—sent me to the store on my birthday because you knew how much I liked to roast marshmallows in the fireplace, so I went because I knew you were planning something special, and I got the marshmallows but you surprised me by meeting me when I was halfway home, and we walked together, and you had your arm around me, so proud of your boy, and I knew there was going to be a big, roaring fire waiting for us when we came through the door, but when we got home there was nothing left of your fire but smoldering ashes and you looked so ashamed because you'd tried to do something special and tailed again and you looked at me and said I wish

-I wish

-and Arliss sent him that wish, sent it right to his face, all over his face, through his face, and then there was smoke and the heat from the guns and soon nothing but peace and silence and Arliss knew he'd been forgiven because even in the bitter smoke of failure there is still beautiful, fulfilling, triumphant love.”

[Oppossum24 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember when my library back home first got this book, I was in late middle school. I read half of it from the library and liked it so much I bought a copy. I really enjoyed it and it was my first “big” novel I read on my free will. 13 years later I still own it.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coffin County 2010
This book is filled with gruesome images that will haunt my mind for quite some time... blood galore. However, while I did get the jist of the story --maintaining the balance = preventing the end of the world-- I'm still unclear on some points. Kudos to Gary A. Braunbeck for writing an original horror novel, even though I felt unsatisfied when I finished reading it, like I missed something. The story did jump around a bit --the butterfly effect taken to a hideous extreme-- so perhaps I did. This was my first visit to Cedar Hill, my first Braunbeck. If I had read his previous Cedar Hill stories I may have better understood what was going on in this one.
_____________________________

I'll Play the Blues for You 2013
I liked this short story. This quote says it all: "There are certain things that Man was never meant to know, understand. Poetry, Art, Sciences and such... and Music. That was maybe the worst of them all, Music, because it was supposed to belong only to the angels; doesn't matter which Master they served, Music was supposed to be theirs and theirs alone. But the Fallen Angels, they didn't have a place in either Heaven or Hell on account of what they done, especially after stealing the book and getting their celestial rocks off and all. So Music was the first thing they gave to mankind, and damned if mankind didn't quite know what to do with it."

Union Dues 2013
This short story reminded me of Mangler by Stephen King, similar premise, man becoming a slave to the machine, same creepy feeling.

[Ravenskya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first Braunbeck novel, I was surprised to find that it has not only the main novel, but a few short stories in it as well. I always think that's a nice touch. My review will be of the main story, Coffin County.

Coffin County has a LOT of promise. The opening is good, the gore is there, the characters are interesting, and there is violence a-plenty. We have an unnamed narrator guiding us along in the tale as we follow Ben Littlejohn (a local police officer on the homicide unit) trying to track down a madman who shot up a local diner. As the story progresses it gets stranger and stranger, the body count goes through the roof, and we all figure out that there is nothing natural about this.

This book was good enough to have gotten five stars from me, except for the ending, which I found to be so ridiculously unbelievable that I almost threw the book into the pool. I didn't have a problem with who it was... my issue what that their WHY didn't work... it didn't work at all, in fact it was almost insulting.

The ending would have landed 2 stars in my book, but up until then this book had been really entertaining, and then they gave me those bonus short stories so then ended up back at a 4.

[Richard Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that almost needs two reviews, one for frequent visitor's to the author's infamous Cedar Hill township, and those who have never been before. A great deal of Braunbeck's fiction is set in Cedar Hill, a small American town where 'weird shit happens'. This novel begins to pick away at the reasons why. For the long term reader, there's plenty to make your jaw drop, revelations about several recurring characters, and some of the events that have defined the place over the years. For the Cedar Hill virgin, taking the story in isolation, it doesn't work as well, simply because it plays to the grand myth at the expense of this specific story. Braunbeck's unflinching gaze takes you through some disturbing and heartbreaking vistas. If you're new, the book is less than the sum of its parts. If you've been following along for a while, it's a crucial keystone in the Cedar Hill mythos.

[Gef · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small town mayhem achieved by a very skillful writer. Despite the existence of preceding novels that tie in to this one, I didn't feel the least bit lost in the narrative and almost all of the characters were fleshed out nicely. The very few that felt like they had an unspoken past were incidental and didn't affect the main plot. I certainly enjoyed this book enough to want to go back and read those preceding novels.

[Maicie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 3 and 1/2 star book.

The answer to why do bad things happen to good people is chillingly answered in this book.

I felt like I missed a lot in this book. Not sure if it was because of me or the author. But I like Braunbeck and will assume it was me. I will definetely read more of his stuff. And I'll need to reread this book more carefully at a later date.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cedar Hill is one messed up place!
Braunbeck is an excellent writer with an interesting style. Coffin County was the fourth Braunbeck novel I read and easily my favorite. He went for the throat and never let go. I highly recommend.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast reading. Lots of action.I thought the plot twist was pretty cool.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me right to near the end to figure out what was going on. Because of this, it really kept up my interest. Can't say much more without giving away the plot, but it was very original.

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmmm....disappointing. Could be more scary, more thrilling and less bloody.