W tytułowym barze poznajemy wiele prawdziwych postaci - większość z nich ma na swoim koncie morderstwo lub inne nie do końca jasne postępki. Co noc w barze pojawia się wielebny Hill, zabierając jednego z bywalców na drugą stronę. To on informuje o tym, kto umrze danej nocy. Tym razem jednak plany się skomplikują i nie wszystko pójdzie po myśli wielebnego
Akcja rozgrywa się w sennym, zapomnianym przez wszystkich i Boga amerykańskim miasteczku Milestone...wszechobecna szaruga, mgła i deszcz. W barze ''U Eddiego'' tylko stali bywalcy - zrezygnowany szeryf, miejscowy dziwak, femme fatale, tajemniczy starzec, narwany dzieciak, niemy wielkolud i barmanka o strzaskanych marzeniach.
Z całą pewnością książka nie wpisuję się w ogólnie przyjęte ramy powieści grozy. Czas spędzony w tym mieście można porównać do odwiedzin w umyśle szaleńca. Nic nie jest takim jakim się wydaje. Miłośnikom czarnego kryminału i horroru może przypadnie do gustu, o ile wyrozumiale podejdą do potknięć pisarza. Pozostałym raczej umiarkowanie. Jedni uznają to za coś dobrego, a inni, że nigdy nie trzymali w rękach czegoś tak okropnego. I oczywiście będą mieli rację, gdyż jest to specyficzna książka. Dla mnie owa pozycja niestety była z tych gorszych. Niczym mnie nie zaskoczyła w niektórych momentach była bez sensu. Nie moje klimaty.

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

This was okay for me. I liked some parts more than others and thought it was a decent story overall. I was really excited going into this book because I was in the mood for a little horror and I have heard great things about Kealan Patrick Burke's work. I am glad that I decided to give this book a listen.

The beginning of the story actually ended up being my favorite part of the book. The book opens with Tom going to Eddie's Tavern for his normal Saturday night. Everyone at the bar spends their Saturday nights together waiting to see if they will be picked for an unpleasant task. Nobody wants to be there but they know there is really no choice in the matter. The group of characters at the bar were great. All of them were incredibly unique and added something to the story. I couldn't wait to see what they were waiting for.

Of course, things do not go as planned on the night in question. Honestly, things go about as bad as they possibly could. There are new characters introduced and a few unexpected situations but the magic of those opening scenes in the bar just never seemed to return to the story. The story had a lot of different threads and kind of seemed to be all over the place at times. Things did come back together by the end of the story some things didn't make a whole lot of sense.

I thought that Rich Miller did a good job with the narration. I thought he had a very pleasant voice that was really easy to listen to hours at a time. My only complaint would be that it was hard to tell when there was a change in point of view of the story which was confusing at times. Overall, I think that he did a great job keeping the story moving forward. I wouldn't hesitate to listen to his work again in the future.

I do think that some readers will like this one more than I did. I did have good time with this one even though I had to go back and listen to certain parts more than once when I found myself feeling a bit confused. I do hope to read more of Kealan Patrick Burke's work in the future.

I received a copy of this audiobook from the author / narrator via Audiobook Boom.

Initial Thoughts
I am somewhere between 3 and 4 stars right now. I am going to take a little bit of time to think about this book. I liked the story but some of the twists were way out there. The narrator was very good but it was sometimes hard to tell when there was a change in POV. The characters in this one were definitely unique.

A sad deeply moving short story from one of my fav authors Kealan Patrick Burke. Stephen Brannigan and his wife Lexi are mourning the tragic loss of their daughter Robin. Unable to comprehend this life changing event both parents have resolved to live apart and deal with the grief in their own particular way. Stephen is tormented by dreams and visions and finds comfort with an old blanket that used to adorn Robins cot. Lexi living with her parents reaches out again to Stephen and the two once again find comfort in each other's arms.

An unforeseen event occurs that throws the healing process into confusion and Stephen in his utter despair seeks out the market trader who sold Lexi the baby blanket as he is convinced this is the route of all evil and the cause of his despair. But is Stephen suffering a mental breakdown? Can we believe his narrative? Stephen purports to love and worship his wife and daughter but can we trust his mental state?..."I may have lost my mind for a time, but grief makes everyone crazy. Losing someone makes you lose yourself, makes you yearn for the impossible"....

A beautiful, uneasy and difficult to read short novel by Kealan Patrick Burke. As with so much of his writing the emotion and sadness is laid bare for all to see.... " you must try to get on with things or the grief will destroy you. You must put away the reminders of loss to have any hope of surviving."......"I feared that when Robin died, Lexi buried me right alongside her."...."The seasons were changing and the house was old attuned like arthritic bones to alterations in temperature."..... The ending expertly complimented the themes of loss and heartache and it would appear that nothing could save the Brannigan family as they..."went to lay with the Goddess of Grief. Recommended.

Blanky is a grief saturated read that will ring true for anyone who has ever lost anyone prematurely.  It nails those dark, hopeless feelings that envelop you in the early stages of grief. It’s sad and it’s scary and it packs an incredible punch in so few pages. This kind of writing, the kind that is able to creep into my heart and shatter it, is what  keeps me coming back to books when there are always so many other things trying to pull me away from them.

“One rainy night I put her to bed and when I woke up, she was dead. That was the beginning of the end of my world. This is the rest of it.”

Steve is drowning in grief and he is all alone. His wife, unable to deal with their loss, has left to live with her parents for a while and Steve’s isolation and sadness is a living, breathing, soul sucking thing.

"We always said nothing would come between us, that there was nothing we couldn’t conquer. I know at the time we never imagined in a million years it would be something this fucking apocalyptic, but still...I meant it then and I mean it now. We’re stronger together than we’ll ever be alone.” “I know, but...I see her in you, Stephen. She had your eyes, and it got so that looking at you felt like looking at her, and all I could see was the accusation, the blame. I couldn’t bear it. I still can’t.”

Ouch, right? Talk about raw emotion. The writing here is so strong that it almost physically hurts to read these thoughts and experience the sadness that engulfs both of them.

One day Steve ventures into his deceased baby’s room and finds her blanky. The blanky that he could’ve sworn she was swaddled in when she was handed over to the paramedics. The blanky that should not be in her room . . .  Finding the blanky stirs a series of events that become increasingly sinister. Is Steve experiencing something supernatural or is it something far worse? I’m not a jerk and am not going to be the one to tell you!

This story gets all the stars. It is bleak and it may haunt you but I think all of you horror people should read it.

I'm going to use this for the American Horror Story square.