Hell In Heaven

The Dead Man #3

by Lee Goldberg, William Rabkin

Third book in the series about Matt Cahill, a man who'd died, but didn't, now wandering the country looking for answers. He sees the evil in people that others don't, possibly infected by Mr. Dark, the entity that he alone sees, that takes great delight in taunting him.

Genres: Horror, Fiction

ebook

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Lee Goldberg is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over forty novels, including Malibu Burning, Calico, Lost Hills (the first novel in his acclaimed "Eve Ronin" series), 15 "Monk" mysteries, five "Fox & O'Hare" adventures (co-written with Janet Evanovich), and the new thriller Ashes Never Lie, the second in his "Sharpe & Walker" series.. He's written and/or produced many TV shows, including Diagnosis Murder, SeaQuest, and Monk and he co-created the Hallmark movie series Mystery 101.

Reviews

[Edwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Dead Man: Hell in Heaven finds Matt Cahill on the road where he finds himself trapped in a mysterious village where he is hailed as a hero, a role that Matt is unwilling to accept - he only wants to get the hell out of there. A linear, albeit wacky plot keeps the book moving at a nice pace. It bothered me that Matt was oblivious to the strategy of playing along with the hero role until he found a means of escaping, but that would have trashed the plot which already has its share of holes. These books have faults, however they have all been quick and entertaining reads. I’ll continue to read them when I’m in the mood for bite-sized horror novellas.

[Giovanni Gelati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey, welcome to Thursday; we are one day removed from TGIF, can’t wait, seriously. I am looking forward to this weekend because I have another new release this week, G.S.I. Gelati’s Scoop Investigations, Psychotic Detectives, another in The Author’s Lab/Collaboration Series with Thomas White, author of Justice Rules. Really fun stuff, his style is just brilliant, but ‘nuff said on that, I will pop in a post on Monday morning for it. Today I am dropping in two posts, the first on this enjoyable series, The Dead Man, and then a little later on Cody Toye’s new digital short story series: Intangible. I tried to grab as much info as I could on The Dead Man series for you, here you go:
“BOOK #3 in THE DEAD MAN saga, the action/horror series that readers and book critics alike are hailing as "an epic tale" that compares to the best of Stephen King and Dean Koontz...
Matthew Cahill was an ordinary man leading a simple life until a shocking accident changed everything. Now he can see a nightmarish netherworld that nobody else does. Now for him each day is a journey into a dark world he knows nothing about, a quest for the answers to who he is and what he has become...and a fight to save us, and his soul, from the clutches of pure evil.
HELL IN HEAVEN
The sign on the exit reads “Heaven.” What better place could there be for a dead man to visit? But when Matt takes the ramp, he finds a banner welcoming him by name to a tiny town seemingly left behind by the 21st century… and waiting for him to rescue it. But when he agrees to save Heaven’s citizens from a coming terror, he discovers that evil has more faces than he could ever imagine – and good is far more complicated than he ever dreamed.
BONUS MATERIAL
* the first two chapters of THE DEAD MAN #4: THE DEAD WOMAN by David McAfee
* The first chapter of JUDGMENT, the first book in the JURY SERIES, by Lee Goldberg.
Just in case you have heard nothing about the authors, here you go:
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Lee Goldberg is the bestselling author of the thriller THE WALK and the MONK series of novels. William Rabkin writes the wildly successful PSYCH books and is the author of "Writing the Pilot." And together, they are the authors of DEAD MAN #1: FACE OF EVIL and have written and/or produced such hit TV series as "Diagnosis Murder," "SeaQuest," "Nero Wolfe," "Martial Law,' "Monk" and "The Glades."
Alright let’s get down to business here about this third installment that has really grown on me. I am a sucker for a good sense of humor and sense of irony. This story has it pouring out of its skin like an Italian guy that has had way too much garlic in his last meal. Do I know much about that, the garlic stuff maybe, being able to write like these legends, no. You have read my posts so you know the score on that. The characters and the universe they have created here is nothing short of original, fun, scary, and totally laughable. The combination makes for a read that is quick, insightful, engaging and thumb numbing. I read this on my Kindle and my thumb was having difficulty keeping up with my eyes, the virtual pages were flying. You know I am a freak for character driven fiction; this is right in my wheelhouse. Besides that it is just quality stuff, plain and simple. Any reader, of any genre should be up for that, whether it is in your wheelhouse or not. For The G-man this read was pure heaven, there was nothing hellish about it.
Things have changed around here. I am now the published author of “Down Low- Dead” with Vincent Zandri, “The Jersey Shore Has Eyes” with Big Daddy Abel”and the soon to be released “Who Whacked the Blogger” with Benjamin Sobieck, “G.S.I Gelati’s Scoop Investigations Psychotic Detectives” with Thomas White, “Thad and The G-Man’s Most Awesome Adventure” with Thad Brown and “Hotel Beamont” with B.R. Stateham. All the stories are available @ Amazon, Barnes & Nobles and Smashwords. I am also the host of the wildly popular The G-ZONE blogtalk radio show. Thanks for stopping by today; We will see you tomorrow. Have a great day. http://www.gelatisscoop.blogspot.com

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heaven, Washington was not what Matt Cahill had expected when he'd turned his motorbike at the sign on the main highway, the perverse humor of a dead man going to Heaven striking him. It seemed out of time, a small town with a general store, a diner, and wood houses, the men all dressed in jeans, flannel shirts, and boots, some of the women as well, others in old style dresses. No tee shirts or athletic shoes.

The really odd thing was the banner strung across the street that read WELCOME HOME MATT.

He sensed that something wasn't right in this little town and he wasn't going to be able to leave until he sorted things out. How he knew that he didn't know. When he'd tried to leave, one woman, Joan Delaney had whispered, "Help me!"

I'm enjoying this series, offered first as e-books, then as paperbacks shortly after. Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin have combined men's adventure novels with a touch of horror and come up with something thoroughly entertaining. Other writers are participating as well.

Looking forward to more.

[Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main protagonist is on the road again and this time enters a town called Heaven where the residents are strange in a cult sort of way.. This is another step in his journey of realisation of his situation in search of Mr Dark. Was entertaining reading nothing highly new, plot thin at times.

[Nancy Silk · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Continuing The Trek To The Netherworld"

Here in the third book of the series, Matt Cahill, reincarnated takes an exit road marked "Heaven." It's a tiny town in the north west gripped in horror. Matt is the savior, coming to their rescue, but he finds evil can warp into different forms. He learns not all that is evil can be destroyed with merely an ax. This is an other short supernatural story to sweep you into the terror. A fast read to entertain.

[Karen]

I have now read the 3 books I own in this series. Thankfully they were novella length because of the brutal nature of the stories.

I didn't want to give a star rating due to the fact that I am not really a horror fan. Although, I would say this is horror and urban fantasy, and I believe that there are people that would love this series.

[Gef · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter over at The Man Eating Bookworm had a pretty good line to describe the third installment in The Dead Man series, and the wondering by readers of the second book as to where Matt Cahill's precious ax was: The ax is back!

If you haven't read the first two books in this series, you won't be totally lost reading Hell in Heaven, but there are aspects of the novella that can only be appreciated in you've been reading the series from the start. One such aspect is the lead character, Matt Cahill's affinity towards his late father's ax. It's his touchstone, you might say. And is indeed back and being put to use in brutal fashion throughout this book.

Matt is on the road again, a vagabond on a mission to learn what he can about his supernatural nemesis, Mr. Dark. He winds his way upon his motorbike into the mountains of Washington state and discovers an out of the way town called Heaven--and they've been expecting him. Well, someone in that town has been expecting him. And when his welcome wagon gives him the creeps, he winds up in the company of a horrendous monster that has been terrorizing the town for years. When he dispatches the monster, things get even stranger as the town suddenly sees him as their new "lawgiver."

The rhythm of this series is really becoming clear with its episodic nature, kind of like The Incredible Hulk--the TV series, not the movies--with David "Dont' Call Me Bruce" Banner roving the countryside, or Quantum Leap ... without the time travel. The setting this time around might even be even more visited upon in horror than the mental hospital from the second book: a secluded small town with mysteriously behind-the-times townsfolk and its dirty little secret.

The action delivered, which is where this series seems to thrive, but there were a couple of scenes this time around where the interaction between Matt Cahill and his antagonists felt stilted. One scene in particular toward the end came off to me a bit too formal. Maybe it was just the feeling I got that Cahill's attempts at being the voice of reason seemed plain odd, along with his wonderment at the batshit insane stuff that happens to him, given what he's been through in the series so far. While I might describe this as the weakest episode of the series, but I still liked Hell In Heaven, and am still a fan of this series.

David McAfee takes the reins in the fourth installment of The Dead Man series, with a novella entitled The Dead Woman. And I believe James Reasoner is on deck after that for the fifth installment. It ought to be interesting to see how these different voices bring their own approaches to the Matt Cahill character.

[Tyson Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://thetysonadams.blogspot.com/201...

I'm not a fan of gambling. I once watched a friend of mine place $1000 worth of $1 bets on roulette in the space of half-an-hour before heading to the ATM to get more money to throw away. I'm pretty sure I could have found more fun things to do with that grand, and not all of them would have been immoral. Since I'm not a fan of gambling I'm not a fan of horse racing, a sport that exists merely in order to gamble. In spite of that, I feel the need to use horse-racing vernacular.

Since I have begun receiving each Deadman novella prior to release, I feel like I've had the inside running on the Darby winner. Hell in Heaven is the third in the series and once again it is a winner! It will be on sale from tomorrow (4th May) so grab it. If you like a well written, pacy, horror thriller, this book, and series, is for you.

A quick recap is in order, but I'll try not to add any spoilers, the last time I did friends disowned me, even though I was saving them from The Crying Game. The hero of this series is Matt Cahill and his trusty axe. In the first book, Matt recovered from a mild case of death to discover that he could now see the evil eating away at people's souls. This lead him to discover he had picked up a nemesis he dubbed 'Mr Dark'. In the second book Matt has set out to track down Mr Dark and introduce him to his axe. To find answers he stops off at a mental hospital. Nothing bad ever happens in a mental hospital. Now in the third installment Matt has stumbled into Heaven, population 136, actually 137: they were expecting him. Matt may be able to see evil, but does it have to be evil that makes bad things happen?

This series has kept me rapt from the first page, quite an accomplishment considering that the authors have been running a baton relay of writing. Fortunately these authors are the Jamaican sprint team doing the 4x100m relay, each stage just gets better and better. A few thrills, a bit of mystery, a strong overarching storyline, a cool lead character and a few horrifying bad guys, should keep people glued to their e-reader (unless you prefer to read dead trees, in which case glued to the page). Also I should note the bonus chapters for the next installment of the Deadman series, The Dead Woman, will be by David McAfee and appear to promise the series will keep going strong.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book #3 in the series and I loved it just as much as the first two. The main character, Matt Cahill, is finally fully realizing that he is dead and he's taking on the role of saving the world quite well. In fact, he glories in the power a little bit in this installment and the result of that is endearing and funny. I love this character because he never seems to realize quite how good he is, and watching him struggle in an effort to do the right thing makes for great entertainment. How these authors created such a likable, out to save the world, good-natured character who also happens to be going down on women, whether in remembrances of things past, or in the present, in almost every book I'll never know. It does make it interesting and I'll admit it's done well. It's smoothly weaved in without mushy or overly sexual scenes. What can I say, these boys know how to write!

So Matt finds himself in a town called Heaven in this installment. It's exactly what it sounds like as it's the last stop for many. Matt is stuck in the middle of a feud that he must fix before he can continue on his mission of scouring the country to find the people who can shed light on who he is and his greater purpose. Once again, between a cyst filled evil, intestine leaking woman, and men fighting with animistic-type power, there are more than a few bodies left in Matt's wake, which after all, is why we're reading this to begin with. It's graphic in a good way and has just enough adult humor to make it a perfect mix and a perfect supernatural thriller in this reader's opinion.

[Nathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I won't dwell on this so just a couple of notes.

It seems to me that this may have been a couple of short story ideas thrown together in the most slapdash manner possible. It wavers between an "fish out of water" western and an ill conceived homage to Robert Howard's Conan stories.

Here we see Matt Cahill riding into town on a steel horse which he has presumably recently bought from Jon Bon Jovi. He's no gunslinger though, no, he's an axe wielding warrior instead bringing his own form of reluctant justice. The authors go to great pains to make sure that you are aware of Howard's source material - they repeatedly mentions that Matt feels like King Conan - but somehow miss the Dead Man source. It's clear, again because of constant references to the denouement, that there will be a great deal of bloodshed and yet no-one carries the tumors and decay that sign post the arrival of the evil characters. There is very little mention of his past life and almost no mention of his dead wife (something of a driving force in the previous novels) at all.

The style here is also a little out of whack. It seems that, even though the previous books have lacked subtlety (which in the case of this series is a good thing), this installment is written purely to shock and repulse - especially during the all to early twist. This serves only to detract from and not enhance the drama.

Read it if you're a completest but this chapter in the series has very little to bring to the "Cahill mythos" table - do yourself a favour and skip to part 4 - The Dead Woman.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

With this third installment, series creators Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin continue Matt Cahill's journey in search of the mysterious Mr Dark. Here, he finds himself in a small town that seems to be isolated from the rest of the world, under the malevolent influence of some oppressive force. Matt eliminates the source of the town's problems, but only unleashes more in the process. Can Cahill bring a violent, unending feud to an end before the whole town wipes itself out?

What I'm loving about the Dead Man series is that while they are intended to be an updating of the men's adventure series concept, they also wholeheartedly embrace the bloody, visceral, violent horror genre. So far, the two regular series installments I've read (after the opening origin story) are very visual, cinematic stories that look, in my mind, like the gritty low-budget horror films of the 70s and 80s. They aren't coy about the horror elements or the violence, and those elements are never gratuitous or forced.

Because the Dead Man books are relatively short, they can afford to be as dark and violent and over the top as they are, because they don't overstay their welcome. Matt shows up, he encounters whatever the problem this month is, and he deals with it, with fast-paced action and suspense, but without unnecessary complications. It's like a great supernatural TV series, and I look forward to reading the next story (and the next, and the next...).

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Matt Cahill is a dead man. Literally. Months ago, he was killed in an avalanche while skiing with his girlfriend. Then, suddenly, while in the morgue having his autopsy done, he was mysteriously resurrected and now finds himself with the ability to see evil in people, in the form of rotting flesh, tumors, etc. Now, haunted and manipulated by the sinister and enigmatic being known only as Mr. Dark, who may or may not be responsible for his current condition, Matt travels the country searching for clues as to why he was brought back from the dead, what his ability means, and to learn the identity of Mr. Dark.

This was my least favorite of the series so far. Matt finds himself in the middle of a who-knows-how-long-it's-been-going-on family feud in the otherworldly town of Heaven, Washington. After Matt kills the demon woman who was the "lawgiver" of Heaven, the townsfolk turn to Matt to take her place. But Matt refuses, eager to get back on the road and find the answers he's been searching for. But the lawgiver was the only one who kept the feuding families in check so now, with no one to stop them, blood flies in the streets and Matt has to figure out a way to stop the madness before they kill him too.

Again, I love this series so far but this installment was my least favorite. Every series has that "meh" book. This one was it.

[Nathan Shumate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Matt the once-dead man stumbles into a little timelost town where a demon lords over two warring clans -- and by solving one problem, he manages to cause an even greater one.

To my mind, this is the least impressive of the first five installments. The plot twist halfway through makes absolutely no sense to anyone giving it even ten seconds of thought, and the portrayal of the warring clans as cliched yokels is almost inappropriately comical.

This installment also introduces a persistent problem with Matt's mysterious ability to sense the evil in others (by seeing them as rotting). As established in the first book, Matt can see the "soul rot" even when those people aren't actively doing anything evil. Here, we get the first instance of the "Matt only sees the evil when it's convenient for the plot" flaw that will recur in the series.

Disclaimer: Because of the unelected dweebs at the FTC who wouldn’t know the First Amendment if it wore a thong and gave them a lap dance, I must hereby announce that the media reviewed herein was received gratis from the distributor of said media with the understanding that I would comment on said media in this blog.

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

The transient nature of Matt Cahill’s place setting is an emerging theme instilling an episodic-like feel to the Dead Man series. The third instalment lands Matt in a down devoid of modern community and ruled by the paranormal. Deviating from the initial two novellas, ‘Hell in Heaven’ is laden with uncharacteristic actions of the protagonist and misguided continuity plot threads – most notably Matt’s ability to see evil in the form of a persons rotting soul. While the mysterious Mr. Dark was alluded to, I got the sense he was never the intended antagonist, rather, the paranormal being which held the closed town in the palm of her/its hand. The throw-back to an earlier time where waring families gathered arms to ‘own’ a town didn’t fit with the series theme and failed to describe reason for Matt’s involvement. The warring was gruesome and out of place – if written elsewhere it would’ve been good but did nothing to enhance the series. Still, taken as a stand-alone it was ok, and for that I give it a pass grade – 2.5 stars.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Traveling across northern Washington state on a motorcycle, Matt decides to stop off for a bit in a small town called Heaven, where the people live simple lives with simple pleasures – there is no TV, to internet, no franchises or big-box stores, and the people wear simple, sturdy clothing that is built to last and easy to work in. He is befriended by a woman whose son is due to come home from the war, only she is worried – something about her son has seemed off in his letters home, and she asks Matt so stay and meet her son, also named Matt – well, what else can he do? What is the mystery of this town that time forgot?

In this book, Matt continues to seek the meaning behind his resurrection, and wonders if maybe Heaven and its problems was the purpose. While he tries to figure out what is going on here, he is also working to understand what his purpose should be. An interesting episode in the life of The Dead Man – recommended for fans of dark suspense/thrillers and horror.

[Ryne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing the Dead Man Series, this is the goriest and initially, most traumatizingly horrific story so far for me. In fact I'd dare say it's may favorite of the first three stories. Of course, that's a limited pool but it's true. Since these have a more episodic, self contained narrative the overall mythology isn't touched upon and I'm fine with that. I enjoy the Matt Cahill adventures and his discovery of the hidden darkness/supernatural existence that lurks just off the road. The blending of supernatural and realistic is one of the strengths of the series and this novel inparticular. Dark forces might bring trouble but it seems humanity is fully capable of creating their own darkness.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the 3rd book in this series, while I still like the main character of Matt Cahill, and his sparring with Mr. Dark, I still don't feel like I'm uncovering much new in this book. Also, I was a bit turned off by how dark, no pun intended, and graphic some areas of this book were. This was more than what you'd see on a showtime, well in most cases. I think Spartacus was a bit graphic in the way this 3rd book was at times. It all came down to a spin on the Hatfields and the McCoys, and I'll leave it at that. Read it to find out more.

[Pearce · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an improvement over the first book in The Dead Man series, by the same writers, but a bit of a drop from the second, by James Daniels. The writers' background in television is really starting to show here, as this instalment is very much like an extremely gruesome supernatural episode of something like The Fugitive. This time Matt wanders into a small town called Heaven, which (predictably) does not live up to its name in any way. It's a bit silly and over-moralistic. Reckon I'll take a break from the series before reading volume 4.

[Jayme · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is really disappointing. I really like the series and the premise but this book, I'm not a fan of. The main thing that I didn't like about the book is the feuding families part. Just seemed very stale. Next, the town they lived in, was it there or not? Finally, now he can only see the evil in people when they are being evil, not when they are not actively being evil? This book just didn't have the same feel as the first two and I am hoping the fourth is better.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't sure how this book was staying with the theme of the series. Maybe I missed something, but there was no decaying bodies for Matt to see. The evil was not apparent to Matt. I'm not sure how Mr Dark fit into this book, either. The end left many unanswered questions, including Matt's role in the plot. What did Matt accomplish in Heaven? Why was he drawn to Heaven? How did this book fit into the series???

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Suspenseful in that I kept waiting for something to happen...and then the book was done. It was creepy but not nearly as good as the first two in the series. I'm looking forward to #4 and hoping it will be back on track.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dead Man series is something of a guilty pleasure for me. It's not trashy in a sexual way, but there is plenty of trash talk and gratuitous gore. It's mystery, suspense, horror, and comedy in a stupid, mindless, page turning pulp fiction. Fun.

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly did not like this one as well as the previous two in the series; however, I am still very much willing to follow Matt into whatever adventures Mr. Dark leads him next time. Hoping the next book brings more of what the first two brought, including more of Mr. Dark!

[Debra]

Book 3 in Dead Man series.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

A throwback to the 1970s, and not necessarily in a good way. I want to like this series much more than I actually do.

[Lisa Barry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Same review as Book 1... complete with creepy, evil, "lonely" (if you know what I mean) monster woman. Female? Not sure what she was to tell the truth.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great series .. Not for the squeamish.

[Rod DeBord · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the concept.....Cahill is a very interesting character...but this story was just too strange.

[Ming · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't really work for me. Some logic issues, and the moralizing (weird, for a horror/gore book) was rather on-the-nose. Hope the next one returns to form.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book #3 was not was I expected. Crazy little story.