Description: A haunting tale of love, loss, and dark secrets in a small Appalachian town.
Marlin Stains, a lonely man haunted by the death of his brother and the slow demise of his mother, finds his quiet life upended when Lisa, a woman he's always loved, seeks his help to escape her abusive husband. As Marlin grapples with his feelings for Lisa and the dark secrets that bind their small town, he's drawn into a web of violence and despair that threatens to consume them all.
Will Marlin find redemption, or will the snarl of his past trap him forever? A gritty and atmospheric exploration of family, guilt, and the lengths we go to for love, set against the backdrop of rural West Virginia.
Review Quotes: "Snarl by novella author John Boden is one of those unique, quick and riveting reads that will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after the book has been finished " -- Midwest Book Review
"The characters in John Boden's Snarl speak with a dark poetry which comes naturally to rural people accustomed to chronic ailments, gossip, and disaster. It manages that trick of being both moving and beautifully horrific." -- Steve Rasnic Tem, author of The Night Doctor And Other Tales, Deadfall Hotel and Thana Trauma
"A study in grief and need, in desire and inertia, in the power and prison of love, Snarl is a symphony of melancholia. Try to get through this one with your heart intact, I dare you." -- Alan Baxter, author of Devouring Dark, Sallow End and The Gulp
"John Boden's Snarl is a combination of knockout-punch prose, touching storytelling and a strong dose of what-the-hell. It's the author at his best." -- Sam W. Anderson, author of The Sentimental Assassin, The Nines and Slightly Off Center
"John Boden writes a world full of colorful and vibrant characters. His voice is special, unique and marvelous. Snarl is a story full of emotions--sadness and longing, fear and love, converging into a powerful conclusion. Every page of this story had me eager to read the next." -- Mark Matthews, author of The Hobgoblin of Little Minds, Body Of Christ and Milk-Blood
"Fantastic rural noir with a dash of dark fantasy and a tear-inducing end only Boden could create." -- Chad Lutzke, author of Cannibal Creator, The Neon Owl and Of Foster Homes & Flies
"Snarl broke me into tiny pieces. Boden's voice is strong, sincere and utterly unique. This is a love letter to all the great country songs of your life, lyrical and heartaching. I was literally speechless when I finished." -- Robert Ford, author of Burner, Inner Demons and Blood Rose
There's a level of wordsmithing happening with John that is unparalleled. Images that are shocking and beautiful, and you see the way he has arranged his words and they are these intricate configurations that are just....wow." -- Kristi DeMeester, author of Beneath and Such A Pretty Smile
"The story is inventive, sad, profound, and meaningful." -- The Nerd Cantina