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The Digger's Rest
Following his successful best-seller “Inside a Haunted Mind,” K. Patrick Malone delivers a new spine-chilling exploration into the macabre. A worthy successor to King, James, Jackson and Lee, Malone is comfortably situated at the pinnacle of his profession. From the pen of horror’s best-selling author, K. Patrick Malone, comes another blood-curdling excursion into the eerie world of the unknown. King Auther was just a fairy tale king. Or was he? Demons and evil spirits are just fables to scare children. Are are they. Do you dare find out? Southwest England is the setting as Malone sends his motley team of art archaeologists to explore a long-concealed medieval castle ruins in search of the legendary King Arthur. What they uncover, however, is a legend much older, much more mind-rending and soul-shredding than anything anyone could have conceived. As with all of Malone’s works, this latest will mesmerize readers and keep them on the very edge of their seats until the last haunting word in an ending that defies belief.
328 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2009
366 people want to read
About the author
K. Patrick Malone
11 books11 followersK. Patrick Malone is the author of four multi-award winning small press horror novels; supernatural tales with a distinctive male perspective voice driven by finely detailed characters that tug at your heart or grab you by the throat. Critics describe his work as, "Riveting." Foreword Magazine said Inside A Haunted Mind was, " Riveting from the start. . . Malone's powerful descriptions keep the reader thoroughly engaged." Midwest Reviews said, "An Unfinished House. . . is a riveting read that will prove difficult to put down." and that The House at Miller's Court is, ". . .an excellent addition for fans of Malone's work." And independent publishing awards committees overwhelmingly agree-The House at Miller's Court, (Gold Medal--National Indie Excellence Book Awards 2011, Silver Medal-Arizona Author's Association Awards 2011, Bronze Medal-Foreword Magazine's Book of the Year Awards [Horror] 2010); An Unfinished House (Gold Medal-National Indie Excellence Book Awards 2010 [Horror], Silver Medal-Arizona Author's Association Awards 2010, Bronze Medal-Foreword Magazine's Book of the Year Awards [Horror] 2009); The Digger's Rest ( Honorable Mention-New York Book Festival 2008, Gold Medal-Halloween Book Festival [Unconventional Romance} 2011 ) and Inside A Haunted Mind (Gold Medal-USA Book News Best Books Awards [Horror} 2008, Gold Medal-New England Book Festival 2008 ).
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 15, 2013
I got this book as a First Reads book and was looking forward to it. I wasn't sure what to think of this book after I finished it, and I'm still not sure. Like in his "An Unfinished House", Malone uses a large portion of the book to build characters before getting to the supernatural component of the story. I like this style, and the characters in Digger's Rest, while at first unbelievable, become believable and likeable. However, the WHY behind the supernatural component of this story, coming so late in the story, seemed rushed and could have been much more enjoyable and 'believable' to me. This is not a ghost story, so more detailed, and clearly written, background would have greatly enriched the novel. Having said that, the ending was fairly satisfactory and a bit unexpected, but it could have been expanded to match the character development that made me empathize with the characters.
June 16, 2021
Ruins have been found close to Exeter, England and Dr. Mitchell Bramson of the Metropolitan Museum has been sent to determine if the ruins could be those of King Arthur. Dr. Jack Edgeworth, Director of Antiquities for the Museum, is unable to go and sends Mitch in his stead. He is not only Mitch’s mentor but a surrogate father. The old castle was burned to destroy a demon who had killed many of the Revelstone family and their servants. In digging up some of the old stones, the demon was unleashed.
Very confusing. So the old man who teaches Simon was a Druid. When the ruins were being dug, it woke up the evilness. The villager who dug up the wolf skeleton turned into a wolf himself when he tore a man to pieces and then came at his brother. Stones came down on Mitch but Simon and the old man got him to the hotel. Jack was there. Did Simon's blood help Jack? Did Jack help Mitch? When Mitch's biological father comes to the door and Simon places his hand over the man's heart, did this take his heart from him and give it to Jack? Mitch appeared to have been killed and was buried yet he is alive in his apartment and Simon is using his new powers to cure him. How will he be brought back into society when he has been buried? Too confusing for me!
Very confusing. So the old man who teaches Simon was a Druid. When the ruins were being dug, it woke up the evilness. The villager who dug up the wolf skeleton turned into a wolf himself when he tore a man to pieces and then came at his brother. Stones came down on Mitch but Simon and the old man got him to the hotel. Jack was there. Did Simon's blood help Jack? Did Jack help Mitch? When Mitch's biological father comes to the door and Simon places his hand over the man's heart, did this take his heart from him and give it to Jack? Mitch appeared to have been killed and was buried yet he is alive in his apartment and Simon is using his new powers to cure him. How will he be brought back into society when he has been buried? Too confusing for me!
November 20, 2014
I was pleased to receive this through Goodreads First Reads (although I was a little bummed that I wasn't able to win it in time to read it before Halloween, as it had promised to be creepy).
Creepy, it most certainly was. Unfortunately, I can't say much without ruining the whole story... so I won't. I will say this though. It took a turn I wasn't expecting. When the back of the book and the description on here said something about eerie, haunting legends and such older than King Arthur, I figured Malone was resurrecting some sort of Druid legend, or a story about a Banshee haunting some old castle ruin. This was not the case though. It's creepy, without a doubt and the ending is set as a lovely tribute.
I'll be honest, having not read this author before, I wasn't sure what was going on with the song lyrics popping up each section and chapter. The author's note at the end DID clarify that, however, and I may go back and read it again as he suggests, with this music playing in the background. That's not how I really like to read, but I can go with the flow, should the opportunity arise. Maybe then I'll "feel" the story more, for lack of a better term, since I didn't have any sort of emotional attachment to it, surprisingly.
Jack was the character I connected with the most. He reminded me a lot of myself, which was a little weird. Our stations in life are, obviously, quite different, but he takes on this parental/ protective sort of feel, as does Mitch, that I often find myself taking on with teammates and other such people who I'm close to.
Overall, the book didn't WOW me, but I did enjoy it. Parts of the ending, I feel could have been left out to make the story more complete. Yes, you read that right. In this case, less is more. That's not to say that the ending was bad, it just felt like it left you asking more questions than was necessary.
Creepy, it most certainly was. Unfortunately, I can't say much without ruining the whole story... so I won't. I will say this though. It took a turn I wasn't expecting. When the back of the book and the description on here said something about eerie, haunting legends and such older than King Arthur, I figured Malone was resurrecting some sort of Druid legend, or a story about a Banshee haunting some old castle ruin. This was not the case though. It's creepy, without a doubt and the ending is set as a lovely tribute.
I'll be honest, having not read this author before, I wasn't sure what was going on with the song lyrics popping up each section and chapter. The author's note at the end DID clarify that, however, and I may go back and read it again as he suggests, with this music playing in the background. That's not how I really like to read, but I can go with the flow, should the opportunity arise. Maybe then I'll "feel" the story more, for lack of a better term, since I didn't have any sort of emotional attachment to it, surprisingly.
Jack was the character I connected with the most. He reminded me a lot of myself, which was a little weird. Our stations in life are, obviously, quite different, but he takes on this parental/ protective sort of feel, as does Mitch, that I often find myself taking on with teammates and other such people who I'm close to.
Overall, the book didn't WOW me, but I did enjoy it. Parts of the ending, I feel could have been left out to make the story more complete. Yes, you read that right. In this case, less is more. That's not to say that the ending was bad, it just felt like it left you asking more questions than was necessary.
October 16, 2015
I don't normally recommend doing this, but this is the one case I think you should: go to the end of the novel and read the author's note first. I picked this novel up months ago to read, right after finishing a great read by K. Patrick Malone, The house at Miller's Court. For some unexplicable reason, I read the author's note first. In doing so, I decided to take the suggestion of reading this novel with the music that appears in front of each chapter. I have never done this, and it took some time to gather the music, but it was so well worth it. The music changes this from being a good read to a great experience. Not only do you get the story, you get the music which adds a dimension to the story, and gives you a glimpse into the writing of this novel and how the author tackled the telling of this story. Plus the music is wonderful and you get a great collection of songs. I could go into the details of the story, but to be honest, I hesitate, because I knew nothing of the story going in, and the experience of this novel was so great doing it this way. Trust me the story is great. Lots of character build up and a supernatural story to go with it. And what I think is K. Patick Malone's true trademark, is the emotion impact that he has in every story.
This as well as all his novels, I cannot recommend highly enough.
Pick up a novel of his now!
This as well as all his novels, I cannot recommend highly enough.
Pick up a novel of his now!
November 18, 2014
I received this book via the First Reads program with Goodreads.com for an impartial and honest review.
The beauty I found in this book is the testament to fostering/mentoring young adults. So much focus is put on adopting/fostering children that it's good to be reminded that older kids need guidance, and love. I enjoyed the character development leading up the mystery/fantasy aspect. Mr. Malone had me caring about his characters, so much that at certain periods in my reading I almost threw the book against the wall, took a deep breath and read on. The latter part of the book, when we get to the intrigue, felt rushed to me but fit in a believable timeline. After the richness of the first 2/3's I would have appreciated a slow build of discovery at the ruins. The ending is different and not what I was expecting.
The ARC I received did not have the cover shown here, or the title style or the author photo. All are vast improvements over the ARC. The saying may be "don't judge a book by it's cover" but in the age of (sigh) millenials, you need all the help you can get.
The beauty I found in this book is the testament to fostering/mentoring young adults. So much focus is put on adopting/fostering children that it's good to be reminded that older kids need guidance, and love. I enjoyed the character development leading up the mystery/fantasy aspect. Mr. Malone had me caring about his characters, so much that at certain periods in my reading I almost threw the book against the wall, took a deep breath and read on. The latter part of the book, when we get to the intrigue, felt rushed to me but fit in a believable timeline. After the richness of the first 2/3's I would have appreciated a slow build of discovery at the ruins. The ending is different and not what I was expecting.
The ARC I received did not have the cover shown here, or the title style or the author photo. All are vast improvements over the ARC. The saying may be "don't judge a book by it's cover" but in the age of (sigh) millenials, you need all the help you can get.
December 1, 2014
I was grateful to receive The Digger's Rest by K. Patrick Malone, as a Goodreads First Read.
This novel is a great suspense/historical novel that combines modern educational detectives a la Dan Brown or Noah Wyle's The Librarian that uncover long buried historical secrets. The best part of this novel, in my humble opinion, was Malone's attention to class system satire. He paints his characters in stereotype, but it allows them to reach deeper meaning. This was one of the best pieces of satiric characterization that I have read since J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy! While many of the details and descriptions in the novel were over flourished rather telling, than showing, I found The Digger's Rest to be quite enjoyable! If you're looking for a fun holiday read, this is it!
This novel is a great suspense/historical novel that combines modern educational detectives a la Dan Brown or Noah Wyle's The Librarian that uncover long buried historical secrets. The best part of this novel, in my humble opinion, was Malone's attention to class system satire. He paints his characters in stereotype, but it allows them to reach deeper meaning. This was one of the best pieces of satiric characterization that I have read since J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy! While many of the details and descriptions in the novel were over flourished rather telling, than showing, I found The Digger's Rest to be quite enjoyable! If you're looking for a fun holiday read, this is it!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews