Oh this was good. I loved how the author has introduced us to a lovely little town full of quirky but believable characters who are really quite likeable.

Here we have Jesse. His father used to be the maker of coffins in the town but he disappeared all of a sudden and Jesse carried on the job, making the final resting place for the townspeople to be truly beautiful and one of a kind.
Jesse keeps himself to himself. He tends to work during the hours of darkness which is just how he likes it - until one evening when Death himself knocks on the door of Jesse's workshop, wanting to order 8 coffins for un-named people of the town.
Jesse isn't happy with the thought that there are 8 people walking about in his town who will soon be dead and he takes it upon himself to put a stop to this.

I look forward to reading more in the series.

The Coffin Maker is a story about Jesse, a coffin maker in the quirky town of Gregor's Hollow. One night, Jesse is visited by Death--the actual Death--who orders 8 coffins for people whom he will be collecting in 2 weeks time. Not wanting to see any of the townspeople who have become friends meet their demise, Jesse sets out to see if he can stop this from happening.
I really enjoyed this book. It had a tongue in cheek, and at times self-deprecating humor that I really like. I'm not quite sure what genre it should be classified as. It had some elements of a cozy mystery, some paranormal, and a tiny bit of a romance. All in all, it was a very entertaining story and I hope there are more to come in the series.

Welcome to Gregor's Hollow, listed the third-most-famous Halloween tourist town in America. Reading this I couldn't help but think of my favorite cartoon. Remember - Crystal Cove, the most haunted town in America, made famous by that lovable Great Dane, Scooby-Doo.

That's where the similarities end. The Coffin Maker is a wonderful introduction to a new series written by Breann Allison. If you love Halloween you will love the Coffin Maker. The town itself plays a big role throughout the novel. It comes to life as Halloween approaches with every kind of creepy, spooky, eerie element you can think of. The town's people go all out and then some to deliver the ultimate Halloween experience.There's even some Edgar Allen Poe!

We meet a host of characters, most of whom are interesting, well thought out, and down right fun. Jessee Burn's is the star of this first book.Nine years ago Jessee's father simply disappeared. Jessee continued his father's legacy of building custom coffins. Intricately detailed, beautifully designed - these coffins are true works of art. Haunted by unanswered questions, Jessee is basically a recluse. That is until Death places a rush order!

Yep, you read that right. . .Death. Sharply dressed, with a wicked smile Death demands Jessee build eight coffins. Jessee strikes a deal with Death -he will build the coffins and in return, Death will answer his questions. But Jessee has more than those answers on his mind. He intends to outsmart death, head-off this horrible tragedy, and save the lives of the eight people for which he agreed to build the coffins.

The tension builds when Jessee meets Robin and she agrees to help him. But what is really going on? Can Death be outsmarted? Tricked? Or Fooled? Allison built a setting that is as perfect for this book as Rembrant is on a museum wall. She then populated the small town of Gregor's Hollow with an array of characters that will have you laughing out loud. This is a fast read that you can devour in a few hours. I enjoyed The Coffin Maker and anxiously await the next installment.

Happy Reading,

RJ

**Note: If you don't like reading about the death of animals and it really nags at you - you should skip this one. It's not graphic and gory, but it's there. I love animals. I have four cats and a dog myself. The deaths bothered me, but not the kind-of-bother that sticks in your mind and nags at your heart. Definitely not bad enough to stop reading. However, to share my honest experience with this book I have to mention this.

I was hesitant when I started to read this book. The description sounded interesting so I did have some high hopes. Unfortunately the story fell flat as well as the characters . I voluntarily read an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley

The title itself caught my interest first. Then the story of a young man living in a small town that thrives on the holiday Halloween, builds coffins like his father who disappeared 5 years ago with two coffins he had just constructed and was never seen again, and right before Halloween, Death drops by and asks him to make 8 coffins and he will tell him what really happened to his Dad.....well I just couldn't resist.

I loved this book and I certainly hope the #1 means there will be more in this series. The characters are lovable, the setting is perfect for a semi-paranormal story line and the action is unstoppable, plus the tongue-in-cheek comedy will have you laughing out loud.

Definitely put this one on your to-read list!

Really was hoping I liked this story. Interesting plot idea and town description. Characters were just boring as was the flow of the happenings. "A copy of this book was provided by Curiosity Quills Press via Netgalley with no requirements for a review. Comments here are my honest opinion." Reading this early the Cover is still coming. I am Curious to see it.

I started the book with a different expectations but ended up quite surprised. The build up , the setting , the characters all are perfectly described and it all adds up to the various twists and false ends we see in the book. The small town with its obsession with horror sound quite fun and it never falters in the narration. The deal with death to make 8 coffins in two weeks in exchange of knowing what happened to your long lost father is neither fair nor easy to keep. And though I was a little bored of the end dragged .. I enjoyed this one.

This book came out of nowhere and managed to secure a place at the top of my favorite book lists and I have never been so happy!

“The Coffin Maker” begins with Jesse, a young man who has locked himself away in his workshop making beautiful custom caskets for anyone looking for something extra special for their final resting place when Death himself shows up to place an order for not one but eight caskets for victims of a tragedy that has yet to take place. With the deadline fast approaching, Jesse begins an investigation to uncover the motives behind something so sinister and does his best to stop the murders before they happen with the help of a strange newcomer named Robin, but are they any match for Death?

This book has everything I never knew I wanted, it’a got a town that comes alive for Halloween, horror movie reenactments at carnivals, the flawless intertwining of the tales of Poe with nursery rhymes whose bright lyrics shadow their dark origins and the personification of Death as the puppet master behind it all. All of these elements work together perfectly to build up the tension in this small town as we along with Jesse and Robin try to uncover what the tragedy will be and who is at risk of becoming a victim before time runs out.

The setting is beautiful the entire idea of a town coming to life for the Halloween tourist season is something I could see myself living in and the lengths this place goes to to sell that experience just adds to the mystery aspect because how does one go about an investigation looking for something or someone suspicious when everyone is playing their part to make the town creepy?

There’s also a lot of characters in this book which could be hard to manage if it’s not done well but thankfully this was written in a way where you really connect with them rather quickly so you can have your suspicions and try to figure it out but when the bodies start dropping you feel the same emotions as the lead characters and the desire to find the solution and stop the killer is at an all time high and they way they went about doing it was something I never could have guessed and it was both amazing and dark and I loved every second of it.

There’s a bit of a cliffhanger at the end and I hope that means we’re getting more books because I will follow these characters wherever they go, I really don’t have anything negative to say about this book and I will definitely be doing a reread around Halloween because I can’t think of a better book to get me in the mood for the season!

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**