Ken M. reviewed on 10/5/2014 + 35 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

Speaks the Nightbird is McCammon's first book after a ten-year layoff from writing. He was fed up with the publishing industry and how they handled his previous two novels, Boy's Life and Gone South. McCammon was a horror writer. He helped found the organization, Horror Writers of America, and his publisher didn't want him straying from the genre. It made them money and so they resisted when Bob wanted to write about something else. Anyone that has had the pleasure of hearing McCammon speak quickly realizes that he is not only an interesting individual, but he prides himself as a writer that is constantly growing. He doesn't want to rehash the same old tired story and, unfortunately, his publisher didn't support his desire to pursue writing about anything but horror. Instead of fighting what appeared to be a losing battle, McCammon chose to leave writing behind and spend time with his family. While I applaud his integrity to do what was right and to focus his attention toward his family, the fan in me missed his prose for a decade. If you've followed any of my reviews, you know that I crow to anyone that will listen (and to many that don't want to) about the talent that is Robert McCammon. His writing speaks to me like no other. His characters and dialogue are so realistic and vibrant that it feels like you've known them for much longer than it took to read his stories. Speaks the Nightbird is a perfect example.

Speaks the Nightbird is the first in a series of colonial America novels that feature his character Matthew Corbett. Matthew is the 20-year-old clerk for Magistrate Woodward who is summoned to Fount Royal, a start-up city on the swampy Carolina coast, to try the case of Rachel Howarth, a woman accused of killing the town minister and her husband while also being a witch. Corbett has been under the magistrate's tutelage ever since he rescued him from an orphanage five years prior and they have developed a father/son type of relationship. The young clerk is extremely inquisitive and has a penchant for solving puzzles.

After running afoul of trouble on the road to Fount Royal, they arrive with only the clothes on their backs to the town. They are welcomed inside the city gates and into the mansion of the the town's founder, Robert Bidwell. What they find in Fount Royal is a town gripped in panic and chaos. It seems that there have been two grisly murders, homes burned, crops dying, and the suspected witch causing all of the evil doings locked up. With three eyewitnesses with wildly fantastic stories and the town's population beginning to move away in fear, the remaining citizens are convinced of the witch's guilt and want her quickly condemned to death so that their lives may return to normalcy.

Ah, but things are not as they appear and here McCammon unfurls a wonderful tale of mystery in front of us all. Matthew Corbett is like a colonial Sherlock Holmes in a town that doesn't want to be swayed that the witch might possibly be innocent. McCammon writes with such rich detail of the period and the character development is amazing. Corbett is a character that you'll quickly identify with, as well as all of the towns people, and they immediately feel like people you already know. If you're a McCammon fan, Speaks the Nightbird is an absolute must. If you haven't experienced his writing yet, pick up a copy of this immediately. I can't stress enough how good this story is and how it'll be hard to put down.

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