EARLY REVIEWS OF THE GUILT WE CARRY
“[With] a Cormac McCarthyan pair of bad guys...Fans of country noir will be right at home as Gailey (Deep Winter, 2014) builds the grit-soaked suspense.”
“[A] gripping tale of redemption...Gailey does a superior job of making his flawed lead [character] sympathetic.”
“...A roller coaster ride...the ‘Breaking Bad’ of the book world...”
“An extraordinary thriller...subtly complicated...a tense, scintillating read that is also human and ultimately satisfying as the book hurtles toward its unexpected but well-earned conclusion.
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“...Gailey has delivered one of my favorite characters in recent memory...tragic, flawed, beaten down, but tough enough and resilient enough to survive. A non-stop burner of a novel.”
“THE GUILT WE CARRY is heartbreaking, hopeful and touching...Gailey lyrically weaves a story of loss and guilt into one of redemption. Never has misery been so elegantly written. ”
Reviews OF DEEP WINTER
“Samuel W. Gailey’s “Deep Winter” is a beautiful and brutal debut. Put Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men in a blender with Scott Smith’s classic crime novel A Simple Plan, then watch as Gailey hits the switch and everything in this world spins dangerously out of hand. A wonderful fast-paced read.”
“Enthralling and suspenseful, like a Michael Connelly or Lee Child crime novel, but more elegantly written. ”
““Deep Winter” is a fast paced thriller tense enough to give you paper cuts from turning the pages so quickly. ”
“The woods may be lovely, as Robert Frost would have it, but they’re also dreadfully dark in DEEP WINTER...the beautifully written but disturbing first novel [by] Samuel W. Gailey...”
“…so brilliantly done, so artfully underwritten with not a word wasted…”
“The portrait of a distinctive character (think Lennie in “Of Mice and Men”) and of a town hiding nasty secrets. ”
“A moving picture of a man…who becomes a moral compass. ”
“Set deep in the heart of rural Pennsylvania, “Deep Winter” hits you with the toxic blast of Frank Bill, combined with the raw emotional intensity of Daniel Woodrell. ”
“Gailey writes visually, rendering the characters and action both vivid and alive. ”
“A quietly told, emotionally wrenching tale of the wickedness a single man can perpetrate with his unchecked actions, and the pain that follows when others set out to put things right. Set in the backwoods community of Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, in 1984, and told from the shifting perspectives of its inhabitants, this story will engross you, pulling you deeper into its tiny, raw world, filling your heart with alternating pangs of fear and hope.”
““DEEP WINTER” by Samuel W. Gailey is a dark, gripping debut novel of literary suspense that The New York Times and other major critics describe as a “beautifully written, suspenseful, page turner.” The book was a debut author pick by Penguin and Good Reads.”
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“A clever and compelling character driven novel about the events leading up to and the aftermath of a brutal murder. Told from several points of view over a short period of time, this was a fascinating old school type read with a wonderful noir feel to it.”
““Deep Winter” is an exciting, fast paced novel with plenty to offer in the way of suspense. Highly recommended for crime novel fans and those who like a darker, real world story. ”
“Gailey’s writing is both atmospheric and bone chilling as he tosses the readers knee-deep into the macabre world of Wyalusing and the lies that are entrenched in the town…Gailey’s debut novel is the perfect mix of rich, lyrical prose and suspense. ”