Hellbender

Hellbender, a Southern Gothic, coming-of-age novel, follows Bobby Graywood through the summer of 1946. At first blush, Bobby is an awkward teen who loves baseball, harbors a crush on a girl, and mows lawns for his neighbors. Underneath, however, he suffers a terrible Affliction that causes him to see and experience more than any 15-year old could.

Meanwhile, there is much afoot in Jade City, where small-town politics, minor league baseball, and unexplained, horrific events bring together a unique cast of characters like misshapen pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. When Newton Hellbender, a darkly recondite preacher, takes the helm at his church, Bobby immediately senses something is severely amiss. The unlikely teen soon finds himself caught up in a tug-of-war of good versus evil, where embracing his Affliction might be the only way to save himself and those he loves from the demonic pastor and his demented sidekick, whose unhinged wife will stop at nothing to become mayor.

The horror is fantastic, with Craven skilled enough to peel away the layers with particularly well-done pacing and… a narrative laden with dark humor. An excellent new novel for lovers of horror and historical-style fiction. -Readers’ Favorite (5-star review)