Tommy Cooper’s life is hellish…that is, until it gets worse. A series of devastating losses later and Tommy’s in the wrong place at the wrong time. Again. When he and his friend, Nicky, desecrate a tomb in an all but forgotten part of the cemetery, they unleash a power they don’t have the ability to reckon with. Hell was just the easy part—the part before Jesse Eades came back!
Tommy Cooper’s life is hellish…that is, until it gets worse. A series of devastating losses later and Tommy’s in the wrong place at the wrong time. Again. When he and his friend, Nicky, desecrate a tomb in an all but forgotten part of the cemetery, they unleash a power they don’t have the ability to reckon with. Hell was just the easy part—the part before Jesse Eades came back!
Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE: 1977
Tommy Cooper had been in love with Beth Riley for as long as he could remember—at least since Beth’s seventh birthday party when he’d accidentally hit her in the face with a snowball, knocking one of her molars out and making her cry. He owned those tears and he’d made a promise to himself right then and there that he was never, ever going to make her cry again.
And later, after he’d apologized for the millionth time, she’d forgiven him and presented him with the tooth, figuring he could use the tooth fairy money way more than she could. Besides, she added, the tooth had been loose anyways.
His pride was hurt a little bit; it was no secret that Mr. Riley was doing much better financially than Mr. Cooper who had problems keeping a job. The dining room table in the Riley house held a mountain of brightly-wrapped birthday gifts to prove it. The realization that Beth was aware of this disparity made him feel small.
But the tooth was a part of her and she’d given it to him. He’d taken it home later that day and wrapped it in a hanky, stowing it in his top dresser drawer. He carefully weighed the option of placing it under his pillow that evening and finding a dime underneath in the morning. There were lots of things he’d like to have and that dime would buy one of them. Ten pieces of penny candy--Mr. Adams, who owned the little market on the corner downtown, never charged tax when selling to children (as he said, ‘The goddamned Great State of New York will get their hands on ‘em soon enough…’).
Or maybe some bubblegum with a baseball card inside. Baseball was okay, he guessed, and he could sure use a few more cards to put in his bicycle spokes. His best friend Nicky Freeman had lots of them and they made the coolest sound when he rode by. But Beth had a way of making him laugh no matter how badly he felt sometimes.
In the end, he’d kept the tooth. And in the ten years that had passed since then, he hadn’t regretted that decision even for a moment.
Professional Reviews
Fantastic!!!!
I couldn't wait to read another book by this wonderful author after reading "meany". She didn't let me down. I want more, Peazy! Please-ee!!!!
Wow
I have found a new author! I'm going to go get all the books they have put out. I have not enjoyed a book this much in a long long time. I read the whole thing without putting it down.
Great Classical Horror
This novella is a masterfully-crafted story about things that go bump in the night and a past that won't allow itself to be forgotten. It's fast-paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat like any Stephen King or classic horror novel. Definitely, definitely worth more than one read, too. Loved it, absolutely loved it.
