Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Nov 2017
336 pages
Genre: Mysteries
Publication Information
Eerie, intense, and masterfully-crafted, Hank Early's gripping series debut Heaven's Crooked Finger transports readers to a secretive community in the Georgia mountains.
Earl Marcus thought he had left the mountains of Georgia behind forever, and with them, the painful memories of a childhood spent under the fundamentalist rule of his father RJ's church - a church built on fear, penance, and the twisting, writhing mass of snakes. But then an ominous photo of RJ is delivered to Earl's home. The photograph is dated long after his father's burial, and there's no doubt that the man in the picture is very much alive.
As Earl returns to Church of the Holy Flame searching for the truth, faithful followers insist that his father has risen to a holy place high in the mountains. Nobody will talk about the teenage girls who go missing, only to return with strange tattoo-like marks on their skin. Rumors swirl about an old well that sits atop one of the mountains, a place of unimaginable power and secrets. Earl doesn't know what to believe, but he has long been haunted by his father, forever lurking in the shadows of his life. Desperate to leave his sinful Holy Flame childhood in the past, Earl digs up deeply buried secrets to discover the truth before time runs out and he's the one put underground in Heaven's Crooked Finger, Hank Early's thrilling series debut.
"Starred Review. You won't put down this powerful and painful tale, the first in a planned series, until you've seen its unlikely hero explore all the avenues of love, hate, deception, and faith and unravel a gripping mystery." - Kirkus
"Readers with a taste for raw, intense mysteries will be rewarded." - Publishers Weekly
"This gritty and riveting debut combines elements of a classic Southern gothic tale, enhanced by distinct pacing, a redolent sense of place, and striking characters. The mystery is suspenseful and action packed. Fans of James Lee Burke and John Hart will want to take note." - Library Journal
"Early's debut is a skillfully crafted southern gothic page-turner." - Booklist
"Can the dead come back to life?...Heaven's Crooked Finger has action, suspense and a cracking good mystery." - Phillip Margolin, New York Times bestselling author of Violent Crimes and The Third Victim
"A twisty, page-turning, modern southern Gothic that packs an emotional wallop...The real deal." - Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and Disappearance at Devil's Rock
"A first-class mystery - gripping, atmospheric, and tense from beginning to end. Hank Early's storytelling is truly outstanding." - Andrew Grant, author of False Friend
"Hank Early's Heaven's Crooked Finger grabs you from the first page and doesn't let go. Evocative place writing, memorable-as-hell characters, sentences that hum, great pacing, and a strutting brutality. Early's a writer of great power." - William Boyle, author of Gravesend
"A Southern Gothic detective story that will long leave readers catching their breath...The reader should run, lest they soon find themselves entangled, unable to wrest themselves free." - Eryk Pruitt, author of Dirtbags, Hashtag, and What We Reckon
This information about Heaven's Crooked Finger was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Hank Early is a middle school teacher and writer located in Central Alabama. He enjoys good beer, strong coffee, and wild storms. He's married and has two kids who are constantly giving him ideas for his next novel. This is his first Earl Marcus mystery.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
