Book Review: DEVIL'S CREEK by Todd Keisling

DEVIL’S CREEK by Todd Keisling (Silver Shamrock Publishing, June 2020) Trade paperback, 405 pages. ISBN # 9781951043032  

Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .

GIVE US THAT OLD-TIME RELIGION

About fifteen miles west of Stauford, Kentucky lies Devil’s Creek. According to local legend, there used to be a church out there, home to the Lord’s Church of Holy Voices—a death cult where Jacob Masters preached the gospel of a nameless god.

And like most legends, there’s truth buried among the roots and bones.

In 1983, the church burned to the ground following a mass suicide. Among the survivors were Jacob’s six children and their grandparents, who banded together to defy their former minister. Dubbed the “Stauford Six,” these children grew up amid scrutiny and ridicule, but their infamy has faded over the last thirty years.

Now their ordeal is all but forgotten, and Jacob Masters is nothing more than a scary story told around campfires. 

For Jack Tremly, one of the Six, memories of that fateful night have fueled a successful art career—and a lifetime of nightmares. When his grandmother Imogene dies, Jack returns to Stauford to settle her estate. What he finds waiting for him are secrets Imogene kept in his youth, secrets about his father and the church. Secrets that can no longer stay buried. 

The roots of Jacob’s buried god run deep, and within the heart of Devil’s Creek, something is beginning to stir…  

 

My Five-Star review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     My favorite horror novel of 2020 so far, and there have been some good ones. 

     As a matter of practice and preparation for my own writing, I always study opening lines of stories. This one has a real hook: The sun hung low along the western horizon, painting the forest with fractured orange flames, and Imogene Tremly knew in her heart the minister would be dead before it rose again.

     The short Part One: That Old-Time Religion was so powerful in its telling of the apparent end days of the sordid Lord's Church Of Holy Voices that I had to read it twice. This lays out the background perfectly in concise but cringe-inducing prose. I learned just enough about pastor Jacob Masters to despise his character. I'm ready for Part Two to learn what happened to the Stauford Six.

     Part Two: Rites Of Passage flashes forward to present day, where Jack Tremly returns to Stauford to settle his recently deceased grandmother's estate. He's the only member of the Six who left town after high school graduation. This section contains a revolving door of Stauford characters, including the other member of the Six, mixes some background details amongst the introductions, and spices things up with enough scary elements to create a real sense of dread. It's fast reading, but I slowed down and read it in small doses in order to best enjoy the creepy cocktail.

     Part Three: Seeds Of Babylon is appropriately subtitled, as what has been planted long ago, lying dormant for years, suddenly sprouts, grows and festers in awful ways. The method of converting unbelievers to the new faith is especially gruesome, and makes the skin crawl. By the end of this section, it doesn't seem like things will return to normal in this little town. I'm especially concerned with Jack's circle of friends: Chuck and Stephanie (both of whom share in their childhood trauma as members of The Six) plus young Riley.

     After finishing Part 4: Blood And Fire I needed a pause to return my breathing to normal levels -- There is plenty of blood and fire in abundance. Black blood, of course. Things really come to a head and I'm sure Part 5, the final part, will be one that I zip through. Can't wait. 

     The ending chapter in Part 4 was particularly effective. I couldn't help being reminded throughout of the original Night Of The Living Dead film, with Jack's zombie-like mom tied up in the basement, while the house is besieged by converted followers outside. Many chills!

      Part Five: Midnight Baptism did not disappoint. Not everyone in Stauford survives the final confrontation.

     I’ve been enjoying some of the creative descriptions, metaphors and analogies. This one is a favorite, as the troubles in Stauford did not originate solely with the founding of the Church of Holy Voices. It's deeper than that: 

"They might discover the very foundations of Stauford were built upon a fragile attitude of 'them' and 'other', making a mockery of the Christian ideals they claimed to uphold. They might discover cracks in the mortar, years upon years of layered sediment, scar tissue in stone, poured with each generation's refusal to confront the blemish of truth at the core of Stauford's necrosis.”

     Many novels lately leave some bits unresolved or drop hints at lingering problems, leaving things open for a possible sequel. What I especially like about Devil's Creek is its’ finality. Things seem resolved and in a satisfactory manner. Thanks for that, Todd!