Rarely do I read a book that has such a despicable main character that I feel compelled to read on to ensure he is punished appropriately. Cold Quiet County is one of those novels. The evil in this novel doesn’t reside only in the person of Sheriff Bittersmith of the town of Bittersmith, rather it worms its way out and infects the other townspeople. The man Bittersmith hunts, an orphan and farmhand named Gail G’waine, is the only truly decent person in this corrupt town, but even he realizes that decency is no weapon against evil. The pace of the novel is brisk. At times, pulled along by the writing, I fell victim to Clayton Lindemuth’s deft sleight of hand and discovered I’d misinterpreted the action. Finding out my mistakes made the story even better.

This is not a novel for people who desire calm, straight paths that lead to a neatly wrapped up ending. This is for people who love the chaotic feeling of not knowing where the story is going or who to trust. Lindemuth creates monsters a reader wants brought to justice and a hero who knows he’s going to lose, but still carries on. Expect this novel to stir strong emotions.

This book has GUTS…I was immediately sucked in within the first chapter and could not put it down. Lindemuth’s ability to weave filaments of each character’s life through the story was well done as was his ability to show Evil that truly is some human beings. It took everything in me to not read the end to see if justice was served. This story enraged me, this story lit hope in me, this story made me realize how being silent and not getting involved is the coward’s way out. Cold Quiet Country’s hero was no coward…merely a boy but with the heart of a lion.

Cold Quiet Country is a superb literary novel. I was invested in the characters, which made it impossible to set the book aside. This book reminded me why I love reading. I get to escape to a different time and place. Awesome!

A serious page turner!! I am NOT a fan of fiction, but once I started reading, I read straight through in a weekend, barely stopping to eat or sleep. The action is compelling and the characters’ different voices are totally engaging. Although the subject matter is disturbing, some of the dry humor and wit lightened the read and had me laughing. What a wild ride!!

Although fiction is not my typical preferred genre, I decided to give Cold Quiet Country a shot. I’m quite glad I did. I can envision all of these scenes quite vividly through the clever descriptiveness of the scenes that the author brought forth. However, it doesn’t come off as trying to be annoyingly intellectual thanks to its moments of humor and the peppering of vulgarity throughout. This is not just for some cheap shock value, the profanity serves the purpose of impacting the story line, to give an accurate and poignant view of the story’s antagonist.

The book has the occasional word that may make the reader run for a dictionary, but if you are a wordophile like I am, you will enjoy the added stimulation provided. The only discomfort I felt with this book was the graphic detail describing the way in which animals were being slaughtered for butchering, which is a concept I am sensitive to, so I passed up those paragraphs but it in no way hampered my comprehension of the story and actually enhanced the effect of the sometimes brutal undertones of the story.

This book was incredibly well thought out and intelligently written. I am looking forward to seeing what Clayton Lindemuth comes up with next.

Wow, really impressive debut effort from this new author! Completely honest, heartbreaking account of abuse and corruption. Extremely well written, I couldn’t put it down! Buy this book – you will not be disappointed! There’s even an element of the supernatural to make the story just a bit more extraordinary… definately worth it!

This is one of those stories that stays with you long after you’ve finished. And THAT is a wonderful thing. Lindemuth is a master with setting, character and phrasing. I sunk into this book like a fat man on a cushy couch- it was just as hard to escape. I’m not going to spoil the story, or even tell you who my favorite characters were, or the best scenes. Nope. You have to buy it, read it and tell others. I’d recommend this book to readers, writers… anyone. If this doesn’t make it to the big screen, something is wrong in the world, and if Lindemuth doesn’t write a sequel, I’ll be surprised and very, very disappointed.