When Mockingbirds Sing

Book excerpt: Nine-year-old Leah's invisible friend seems harmless enough. . .until she begins to paint the future. Suddenly, the townspeople are divided between those who see her as a prophet and those who fear the danger she represents. Caught in the middle is Leah's agnostic father, who clashes with a powerful town pastor over Leah's prophecies and what to do about them. Leah is a child from Away, isolated from her peers because of her stutter. After her family moves to Mattingly, she begins painting scenes that are epic in scope, brilliant in detail, and suffused with rich, prophetic imagery. When the event foreshadowed in the first painting dramatically comes true, the town takes notice. Leah attributes her ability to foretell the future to an invisible friend she calls the Rainbow Man. Some of the townsfolk are enchanted with her. Others fear her. But there is one thing they all agree on—there is no such thing as the Rainbow Man. The town minister is unraveled by the notion that a mere child with no formal training may be hearing from God more clearly than he does. While the town bickers over what to do with this strange child, the content of Leah’s paintings grows darker. Still, Leah insists that the Rainbow Man’s heart is pure. Then a dramatic and tragic turn of events leaves the town reeling and places everyone’s lives in danger. The people of Mattingly face a single choice: will they cling to what they know . . . or embrace the things Leah believes in that cannot be seen? Supernatural standalone novel Includes discussion questions for book clubs Other books by Billy Coffey: Snow Day, Paper Angels, The Devil Walks in Mattingly, and In the Heart of the Dark Wood