I only know this because I have discovered the wonder of “google alerts.” It’s a good way to see if anyone is talking about you on the net without having to endure the private humiliation of pathetically googling yourself all the time.
Anyway, hot off the presses, here’s the first newspaper review for my novel The Sound of Building Coffins, as published in the Anniston Star:
A book like The Sound of Building Coffins couldn't have been set anywhere else than in New Orleans. This is a good thing — even people who haven't had the experience of living there can get a feeling for the place, thanks to the wonderful writing of Louis Maistros. But for anyone who has lived there, this book sings out in true jazz fashion — wildly inventive, oddly formed yet perfectly made, and never a sour note.
Perhaps because of the saturation of New Orleans, the fantastic and otherworldy things that happen seem neither otherwordly nor fantastic, but like something you always knew happened but hadn't actually seen. You believe in voodoo curses and possessed babies, ghosts coming back to assist the living and a literal river of the dead. All of this in the hands of a lesser writer and a more usual city would be enough to confuse or anger, but here it just makes sense. Maistros even finds time to throw in some interesting theological questions, both overtly and symbolically, in such a way that the usual offense that may come doesn't.
Of course, all of the environment and good writing won't make up for a bad story. Thankfully, in this case, it adds to the greatness.
It starts in 1891 with a voodoo curse being fought against, only partially successfully. The fight changes the families and people involved, and those changes echo throughout the years until a final confrontation. Secrets are revealed, surprises unveiled, and paths that may seem dark make a brutal kind of sense. You won't see where the book is going, but when you're done you will see it couldn't have ended any other way.
If you're in the mood for a slightly different kind of ghost story, you'll like this book. If you've ever been to New Orleans, you'll love this book.
Needless to say, I was floored upon reading this. My next order of business was trying to figure out just where in hell Anniston is. I quickly learned that it is in Alabama.
The author of this review has earned a dream date with David Cassidy. In lieu of that, I will gladly buy him a cup of coffee if he’s ever down around this way.
In other news, the official book launch will be hosted at Octavia Books on March 5. Mark your calendars!
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The Sound of Building Coffinsis now available for online purchase, y’all. Coming soon to your favorite local bookstore – let them know you’re looking for it or pre-order it there!