All Things Bright and Strange

Screenwriter Markert (The Angel’s Share) conjures an apocalyptic page-turner that blends Frank Peretti-style supernatural elements with the fine detail of historical novels. In the small town of Bellhaven, S.C., injured World War I vet Ellsworth Newberry reckons he has nothing left to live for. His wife is dead, and his war injury has snuffed out a potential future as a professional baseball player. But strange goings-on connected to a chapel in the woods outside Bellhaven slowly draw him out of his suicidal funk. When the newly discovered, mysterious chapel is discovered (seemingly out of nowhere), word spreads that a magical healing takes places there. Yet even as the chapel mysteriously cures the locals’ individual woes, they begin to turn on one another, and Ellsworth soon must lead a battle against an unknown evil the chapel has unleashed. Markert’s characters are colorful, with one or two underdeveloped exceptions in a large cast, and his dialogue calls out for adaptation to the screen. Faith elements are strong but not overt in this complex novel, as readers wait for the climax surrounding the real nature of the chapel to truly unfurl. However, the complexity of the revealed information distracts Markert from tying up many loose ends during the resolution. Agent: Dan Lazar, Writers House. (Jan.)