A graveyard feast beneath the summer moon…
The rural town of Old Hickory. Tennessee was a quiet, picturesque community… until the O’Sheas came to town.
Becoming the new proprietors of the town’s only funeral parlor, with the help of their charming patriarch, Square McManus, the Irish family was wholeheartedly accepted by the local townfolk. The thing began to happen. Strange things… horrible, … things… horrible, unspeakable things… in the dead of night.
The sighting of wolfish beasts congregating around an open grave in the town cemetery. Frightening changes in several of Old Hickory’s less desirable residents. And the brutal murder and devourment of a varsity football player in the wooded wilderness outside of town. Soon, what was once concealed in shadow and secrecy was now starkly revealed, in all its ravenous fury, by the silvery light of the full moon.
As the residents of Old Hickory, as well as the local police, begin to fall victim to an unknown evil, four individuals — the town nerd, a high school jock, a widowed gunsith, and a mysterious transient from a distant shore — find themselves facing what could possibly be a hellish lycanthrope from ancient Ireland… the legendary Arget Bethir… the Silver Beast.
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If you’ve read/followed along with my reviews, you’ll undoubtedly have discovered that I love reading Lycanthrope horror. Werewolf, werewolves, all things sharp fangs, long claws, silver bullets and full moons. Inevitably though, I’ll dive into four or five in a row and I’ll need a break.
Last year, I read ‘Fear’ by Ronald Kelly, which is not only one of the best books you’ll ever read, but a book that showcases why ‘the old guard’ often times does things better than the new kids. ‘Fear’ is a prime example of that. I’ll explain in a minute.
Knowing that not only was I ready to dive into another wolf story, but also that I had this one from Kelly sitting on my Kindle, I dove in, excited to see what he’d created here.
What I liked: Kelly, even by his own admission, has had a resurgence and has stormed the dark fiction writing world once again. It has been fantastic to see. He had a writing career in the 70’s and 80’s during the horror boom then. When it went belly up, he took time off, returning full force once again roughly a decade ago. This is why I mention Kelly is from ‘the old guard.’ And what I mean by that is evident on every single page of ‘Undertaker’s Moon.’
You do not leap into the action of this story. Much like ‘Fear,’ Kelly takes his time setting things up. We get the family from Ireland who moves into the small town, they are now the new owner’s of the funeral home. We get the suddenly widowed gun shop owner, we get the horror nerd, the jock who has it all, only to lose it all, and on every single page, we smell what the streets and shops smell like, hear the tinkle of bells as doors open and close, see the friendly baker come out to sweep off the front step. Over and over, Kelly demonstrates why he’s a master storyteller and as the book progresses, this all works to the advantage of the reader.
When characters begin to be plucked off, you are devastated. When something chases someone, you can see where they are running, know why it’s a bad idea, know that it’s going to be ending in viscera and ripping and shredding.
The werewolf action within is top notch. With each incident that arrives, the pace is fantastic and the descriptions are second to none.
I really loved how Kelly laid this one out, the story crackles with small town energy and the reality that this group of unlikely survivors need to do whatever it takes to survive.
What I didn’t like: Completely minor, and I think it comes with the time period this was originally written in, but I’ve never been a huge fan of the random hobo/hitch-hiker passing through a random town who just happens to have a connection/knowledge about the beasts/events happening. In this case, it was used well, but it’s still something I’m just not a big fan of.
Why you should buy this: Kelly is a phenomenal writer and ‘Undertaker’s Moon’ has to be acknowledged as one of the best pieces of Lycanthrope fiction out there. Brimming with emotion, depth and flawed but likeable characters, this has every thing that fans of dark fiction would want and more.
Outstanding.
This was a very cool werewolf story!
A small backstory without giving away spoilers:
Old Hickory, Tennessee becomes the backdrop for this story as it is an old mill town. Things seem peaceful until the O’Shea family move into town along with Squire McManus and they take over the funeral home.
As they become involved in the town deaths start happening to the point of bodies being ripped apart. No one wants to believe one of the local boys that saw his friend being attacked by some type of beast.
No one seems to think anything about the mystery of how the beast seemed to appear after the family arrived. Soon though it becomes apparent that they are somehow involved and when the family feel threatened they will not go down without a fight as when their secret is revealed is when the crap hits the fan!
Thoughts:
Southern gothic horror along with a touch of the Irish is what author, Ronald Kelly stirs up in this book and the atmosphere of the story just grabs a hold of you from the first page taking you on a “snarling” ride all the way to the end of the book! Giving this one five “ripping” stars!
Highly Recommend!