The Church of Dead Girls

Occasionally I have the opportunity read a novel so complex and multilayered that I want to thank the person who recommended it to me. Stephen Dobyns' The Church of Dead Girls is one of those books. I was hooked from page one, and at the thrilling conclusion, I was genuinely sorry the experience of reading it had come to an end.

First off, I strongly identified with many of the characters. I live in a town like Aurelius, and I have met all these people. On a personal note, I felt the strongest kinship to Franklin, the small town newspaper editor. By way of background, I was Editor in Chief of a small monthly newsmagazine for half a decade that covered stories much like the ones Franklin wrote and published in his newspaper. When he described the joy it brought him to showcase the extraordinary endeavors of rather ordinary people, it was spot on and so similar to my own experiences that it moved me tremendously.

It occurred to me after some reflection on this subject that I’m probably not alone in my reaction. There was something – or rather someone – in The Church of Dead Girls for everyone. No profession seemed to be unrepresented.

The narration in TCODG was masterfully done, and Dobyns’ choice to use the closeted high school biology teacher as the point of view character was a good one. He was just close enough to the action to react to it without being so close that he intruded on the story he was telling.

This wasn’t a terrifying tale, though any book that begins with the discovery of three dead teenage girls in an attic deserves the label “chilling.” I felt the murders were secondary to what I considered the real plot of how hysteria invades and pervades small town life, and how in desperate situations everyone is suspect and civil liberties go out the window. The mob mentality Dobyns describes in this novel – particularly the controversy that surrounds the Inquiries Into The Right discussion group – very much reminded me of one of my champion causes, the West Memphis Three, a real life situation that seems to parallel in many ways the situation in TCODG. Here’s a link if anybody wants more info: www.wm3.org

The prose itself was tight and well crafted. Dobyns did a fantastic job of marrying all of the different side stories and back stories in the novel and of bringing them all to one rich conclusion.

As far as the reveal of “whodunit” when we learn who the killer is, I have to say by the end of the novel, I was so wrapped up in the various subplots and so invested in many of the characters that I didn’t really care. In many cases, that would have been detrimental to my enjoyment of a work, but not in this one. Once we learned who the killer was and he described his motivations, however, I have to admit a chill ran down my spine.

I will read this book again. I will recommend it to my friends. I will go so far as to say that of all the readings I’ve been assigned for the horror genre readings course, this was and is my favorite.