The Death and Life of Red Henley

by Philip Wilding

Meet Detective Louis Green, the strangely gifted socialite Robert Walker who stalks Manhattan’s upper reaches, the Rev James Bulley sequestered away in his Soho basement calling God down to wash away the sins of the world and Red Henley, a presence rarely seen, but never out of sight.

Red’s murder sets Green on a path of self-discovery if not redemption. As 1980 unfurls, Green discovers a direct line back from modern day New York City to a religious commune in the Tennessee countryside decades earlier and the story of two boys housed there who would experience a horrific tragedy that would become the spark that sets the fire in the towers and backstreets of Manhattan some twenty years later.

As he follows the killer’s trail, Green finds a city filled with murderous deeds, the corrupting influence of absolute power and the madness that both love and faith can bring. With one question remaining: what draws Bulley, Walker and Red together?

As the clouds gather over the city, we find men strung up in trees like broken kites, one pushed from the roof of his own building, another gagged, his teeth broken by a pool ball pushed down his throat. But in this bloody landscape stands Green trying to not only to understand this ever evolving case, but the nature of evil and the intractable battle between the good and the bad within himself. How life is sometimes lived on a plane of existence outside of our own and the everyday magic that can manifest in the most unexpected places.

With the end of the year fast approaching, Green returns to the now refurbished warehouse for a bloody resolution and a reckoning that unites killer and cop in a macabre and almost intimate dance that draws them together before pulling them forever apart.

Genres: Fiction

592 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 17, 2019

Reviews

[Jypsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Death and Life of Red Henley is a unique story. It reads like a Tolstoy novel, slowly with odd wording that most people don't care to understand. It's obviously written for literature circles and critics of the like. Because of this, I skimmed through this one. It's not my type of book. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended for people who enjoy literary thrillers. This is a powerful novel about the nature of good and evil. Wilding's writing style is a mixture of the beautiful and profound interspersed with some violence (although as a reader who tends to avoid gory murder mysteries I wouldn't say that this goes too far). The story draws the reader in from the first page and the mysterious Red Henley. I did find some parts of the time skip a little confusing, but at the same time this is such a rewarding book it gripped me enough to read until the end. This is another fantastic pick from the Pigeonhole.

[Erica Hough · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. The writing was tedious, and large passages added nothing to the story. Transitioning between which character was speaking was not always clear and made reading very difficult.

[Darren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this as a e book from net galley. I enjoyed reading it. It had a good story to it. I liked the variety of characters in it. It is my first book read by this author. I hope to read more books by this author.

[Alyssa Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

This was a quick, albeit wordy, read. And to be honest, most of the time I felt like I was stumbling along, confused as to where I was going next. The writing was great, very dark and whimsical, though maybe a little too literary for my liking. I feel like this is one of those books that I am too inept to read. There is a higher level of intelligence by the author that grazes the surface of what I can grasp. That alone is my burden to bare. This is a deep thinking, dark, poetic type of book, and I feel like it will be a hit with a small group of people who will profess its greatness in a literary setting. I hope the author does well and that this book has a solid standing when it is published, because it was a really solid piece, just not for me.

[ReaderMomCarissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m, what the? Why? I just don’t know why I didn’t quit this book, other than because I’m not a quitter of books—no matter how awful. There are themes explored in the book that will allow it to hold up in a book club or classroom setting where the happenings, meanings and themes can be further expounded upon. However as a 550+ page book read on my own I was left bored and miserable by the end of all of the redundant phrasing used throughout and the clearly British, maybe Australian vocabulary and spellings for a book that is set in Manhattan and mostly in 1980. There was a steady storyline for most of the book, although extremely dry and boring, I was willing to putter along with it, but then it took a turn far off course and then tried to change over to some mystical realm within reality, but even that attempt to change direction was half-hearted and poorly executed. Again, maybe in a group setting with banter, debate and discussions on what’s beneath the surface of the stuffy words of this book, but the only thing I’m pleased by is that it was quick to get through and that it finally over! This is just a book that seems to be weird, but not in any way that can be classified to a specific genre. More than anything it just seems sloppy, poorly put together and without the grace and fine tuning of a good editor or maybe even a whole team of editors! It was bad. Really bad.

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Death & Life of Red Henley
by Philip Wilding
Unbound

Unbond

Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 17 Jan 2019

I am reviewing s copy of The Death & Life of Red Henley through Unbound and Netgalley:

In The Death and Life of Red Henley we meet detective Lou’s Green as well as strangely gifted socialite Robert Walker Who stalks Manhattan’s upper reaches, and we meet the Reverend James Butley who keeps locked up in his basement in SoHo where he calls on God to wash away the world’s sins. We meet Red Henley a presence who is never rarely seen but he’s never out of sight.

Red’s Murder sets Detective Louis Green on a path to self discovery and perhaps on a path to redemption as well.

As 1980 unfolds Green discovers a direct line back from Modern day New York to a religious commune back in the Tennessee countryside decades earlier and the story of two boys that had been housed there and
they would experience a horrible tragedy that would become the spark that sets fire and backstreets of Manhattan some twenty years later. As Green follows the killers trail Green finds a city filled murderous deeds, and corrupting influence and the twisted ideas of love and faith can bring.

One question remains though what has drawn Bulley, Red and walker together?

As the clouds gather over the city men are found in trees as if they were broken
Kites, one man was pushed from the roof of his building while another was gagged and his teeth broken by a pool ball that had been shoved down his throat. In this bloody landscape Green is not only trying to understand the battle between good and evil not only in the landscape for which he lives but the battle of good and evil within himself.

I give The Death and Life of Red Henley four out of five stars!

Happy Reading

[Marie DiCocco · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was quite surprised with this book. I read it through The Pigeonhole and before I started, all the reviews I saw were negative but decided to give it a chance.

The story was a bit confusing to begin, but very quickly got interesting. The language was exquisite and the only problem I had was reading it on my phone. A book this complex needs to be read with the book in hand and not on a phone screen.

I suppose some might say that there were too many words because the author had such an incredible way of describing things, but all those words were just so beautifully written that it would have been a shame to cut them back.

I'm glad I gave it a chance and think it would be worth a re-read with the physical book in hand.

[Loraine Philliban · Rating 3 out of 5]

Philip Wilding is a new author for me he has a way of drawing you inside and keeps you interested enough to explore the book all the way to the end.
I'm not sure how to describe this book its unlike anything else I have ever read even though it has a detective, extremely violent and gory murders, a girl, a preacher and a wealthy villain.
A bit repetitive in parts and long drawn out but worth a read.

[Gail Wylde · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn’t warm to anything in this book, didn’t like the characters at all. Although the writing was very good for me there was just too much of it. This was a book for someone who likes Literary books but that’s just not me.
I want to thank Pigeonhole and Philip Wilding for the chance to read it but it just wasn’t my kind of book.

[Philip Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this. It was a bit meandering in the early chapters but then it built up a steady sense of menace and black evil, rather like the Charlie Parker novels by John Connolly. It's more of a whydonnit rather than a whodunnit but I like that. Nor did the ornate style bother me. It's just that I felt there was some unnecessary backstory in the earlier chapters.

[Aida Alberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and all opinions are my own. Wow. Really good book. It's twists and turns will keep you glued to this book until the end so absolutely pick up this winner. Happy reading! #TheDeathLifeOfRedHenley #NetGalley

[Mrs Georgina L Goddard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book hard to follow at times. I thought the author used to much descriptive language that at times came confusing and hard to read.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book brought to me by The Pigeon Hole, I enjoyed this book, the main characters were quite believeable and I started to feel empathy for them in their struggles.

[Peter Barlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean, I get it, I do, I get what he was trying to do, but of his two books CCMS is the more engaging read.

[Vanessa Schelfhout · Rating 2 out of 5]

For me it was not a great read. Too slow, strange wording sometimes. I had expected a different kind of story and I couldn’t let go of that. In the end, the story line was good, but I haven’t enjoyed reading it.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As others have said, this was probably a little slow to get started, however well worth persevering with. Beautiful writing but also some quite gruesome scenes.

[Ravenclaw Library Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

Philip Wilding is a new author for me but he has a way of drawing you in. The characters were easy to invest in.
The writing was great, very dark and whimsical but a litle too wordy for me.

It wasn't my kind of story, but it could be yours!

Thank you to NetGalley, Philip Wilding and Unbound for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[ReaderMomCarissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m, what the? Why? I just don’t know why I didn’t quit this book, other than because I’m not a quitter of books—no matter how awful. There are themes explored in the book that will allow it to hold up in a book club or classroom setting where the happenings, meanings and themes can be further expounded upon. However as a 550+ page book read on my own I was left bored and miserable by the end of all of the redundant phrasing used throughout and the clearly British, maybe Australian vocabulary and spellings for a book that is set in Manhattan and mostly in 1980. There was a steady storyline for most of the book, although extremely dry and boring, I was willing to putter along with it, but then it took a turn far off course and then tried to change over to some mystical realm within reality, but even that attempt to change direction was half-hearted and poorly executed. Again, maybe in a group setting with banter, debate and discussions on what’s beneath the surface of the stuffy words of this book, but the only thing I’m pleased by is that it was quick to get through and that it finally over! This is just a book that seems to be weird, but not in any way that can be classified to a specific genre. More than anything it just seems sloppy, poorly put together and without the grace and fine tuning of a good editor or maybe even a whole team of editors! It was bad. Really bad.

[Lori · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried, really, I did. I just could not finish this book. I skimmed most of it, but could not connect at all. I have to say, this is one of the few books in my life that I just could not get through. I believe there is no bad book, just not everyone likes the same things. Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read it. I hope others will understand that they may love it, It wasn't my kind of story, but it could be yours!

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

...the intractable collision of two forces

The writing is no doubt beautiful, even mesmerizing at some point. My most favorite parts were those alternating scenes towards the end between the two main guys as they approached their own personal conclusions - one an end to a chapter, the other that one final stop. Those scenes played out so vividly in my head, enchanting and terrifying both in their own tragedies.

But then, this beautiful writing was also the reason why I never fully connected with the story. While it did work in some parts, it also got a little too wordy in parts where it shouldn't have been, where it got really distracting and felt like a wall that kept me from simply experiencing this book. I could see it all unfold, and it unfolded gorgeously even in its most ruthless - like a painting in some museum that I'm not allowed to touch.

I still found the story at the center of it very interesting, though. How its lost and conflicted characters all got tangled up by the influence of a girl and the obsession of a man she could never save. And how it all led up to that final showdown between good and evil, where both sides took turns blurring the lines between what they thought was righteous good and what they believed was irredeemable evil, both within themselves and in everyone else.

Thank you, The Pigeonhole and Mr. Philip Wilding for the opportunity to read this book. It may have been hard to get into for me, but the characters are not easy to forget. I wouldn't mind reading what's coming next. ^^

[Rosebelle Otieno]

This book took me forever to get through because of the many layers.
The descriptions were vivid and could draw me in, sometimes I forgot the storyline.

[Cristie Underwood]

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.