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Speaks the Nightbird 

Speaks the Nightbird (2002)
(The first book in the Matthew Corbett series)
A novel by Robert R McCammon

 

"...an excellent story, full of tension and suspense..."
Stephen King


A trial for witchcraft proves the tip of an iceberg of intrigues in this absorbing historical mystery, the first newly published novel in 10 years from McCammon (the book was written in the mid-'90s), a bestseller in the 1980s with such supernatural novels in the Stephen King tradition as Usher's Passing and Baal. Set in 1699 in Fount Royal, a coastal settlement in the colonial Carolinas, this latest unfolds the adventures of magistrate Isaac Woodward and his assistant, Matthew Corbett, who have been summoned to the struggling town to adjudicate in the trial of Rachel Howarth, a young widow accused of deviltry that is blamed for murders, wretched weather and other calamities driving settlers away. Though town leaders press for swift execution, Matthew is persuaded by Rachel's dignity and fortitude that she's innocent. Using skills honed living by his wits as an orphaned child, he pursues inconsistencies in testimony and throwaway clues and uncovers an elaborate plot involving pirate booty, animal magnetism and deadly deceit at the highest levels of town organization. This robust tale is as historically detailed as it is long, and its recreation of an era where superstition held its own with enlightenment is among its strongest achievements. Anachronisms, improbably fortuitous coincidences and private dramas that make Fount Royal seem a pre-Revolutionary Peyton Place lard the plot, but Matthew's race against time to save Rachel with the rudimentary tools to hand makes a compulsively readable yarn. McCammon's loyal fans will find his resurfacing reason to rejoice. (Sept.) Forecast: Those who enjoyed the author's last three novels (Mine; Boy's Life; Gone South), studies of the human condition that transcended genre labeling, will snap this one up, too. But McCammon also lost readers with these novels because in them he turned away from the horror themes that made his reputation. This latest could well gain him new fans, but it won't win back any horror readers.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Genre: Historical Mystery
 
Used availability for Robert R McCammon's Speaks the Nightbird


See all available used copies of this book at: Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
 

 

Hardback Editions

September 2002 : Hardback
Title: Speaks the Nightbird
Author(s):: Robert R. McCammon
ISBN: 1880216639 / 9781880216637 (USA edition)
Publisher: River City Pub.
Availability: Amazon CA   Amazon UK   Amazon   

September 2002 : Hardback
Title: Speaks the Nightbird
Author(s):: Robert McCammon
ISBN: 1880216620 / 9781880216620 (USA edition)
Publisher: River City Publishing
Availability: Amazon   Amazon CA   Amazon UK   

December 1999 : Hardback
Title: Speaks the Nightbird
Author(s):: Robert R. McCammon
ISBN: 0670872032 / 9780670872039 (USA, AU, or UK edition)
Publisher: Allen Lane
Availability: Amazon UK   Amazon CA   Amazon   

Paperback Editions

July 2007 : Paperback
Title: Speaks the Nightbird
Author(s):: Robert McCammon
ISBN: 1416552502 / 9781416552505 (USA edition)
Publisher: Gallery Books
Availability: Amazon   Amazon CA   Amazon UK   

9999 : Paperback
Title: Speaks the Nightbird
Author(s):: Robert R. McCammon
ISBN: 0451189523 / 9780451189523 (USA edition)
Publisher: Dutton / Signet
Availability: Amazon   Amazon CA   Amazon UK   

Audio Editions

December 1999 : Audio Cassette
Title: Speaks the Nightbird
Author(s):: Robert R. McCammon
ISBN: 0140864660 / 9780140864663 (UK edition)
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
Availability: Amazon CA   Amazon UK   

 


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