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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
In A Conversation with a Deadman by John M Langley, Lee Butler enters a bar where a stranger speaks of a Texas town erased from maps, yet is still standing. The account leads Lee west toward Coleman. Empty streets point him toward people caught in repeating roles tied to an old execution: a former mayor bears guilt, a shopkeeper guards memories, and a young widow ages through the day. Each of these and other encounters moves Lee closer to a buried trial involving John Pearl, a hired hand condemned for murder. Lee’s presence becomes part of the town’s suspended present as the past insists on being heard. The story follows his movement through Coleman as he listens and watches its inhabitants, all of whom await a light. Unfortunately, this cannot happen until the holder of the curse understands the very thing that has never been spoken aloud.
A Conversation with a Deadman by John M Langley is an excellent neo-Western with a historical fiction nod, which takes shape through a supernatural consequence anchored to the past. We see period details in a sharing of lived memory, with courtroom procedure language, and the texture of rural commerce. Lee Butler is incredible as a flawed and slightly too curious lead. I would not have gone down that ladder to see where the thumping was coming from, but I'm glad he did! Jasmine is an interesting and fully realized counterforce, with candle shop wisdom and some secrets of her own. The settings are cinematic, rendered in a perpetually dark town square and a decaying courthouse interior where time repeats, all showing daily life under a curse. Overall, this is a great read for lovers of history and supernatural Americana, and I relished every single page. Very highly recommended.
