Richard Benyo

Mauch Chunk: a Novel of 1968 Richard Benyo

The once-prosperous town of Mauch Chunk, knocked out of prominence by the demise of King Coal, seemed ready to explode. Then the first corpse was discovered. From a state cop who rebuilds dead steam locomotives to a guy who lived his life out of a science-fiction novel by A. E.van Vogt, from a lawyer who wants to raise ferocious pigs in his backyard to a little girl who stalks the night, from a crusading newspaper editor to a half-dozen professional wrestlers, Mauch Chunk appears to no longer be dead--merely a haven for dead bodies. And what's up with that hit-man from Baltimore and the Mafia widow from Hazleton who owns a chain of bakeries. Mauch Chunk brings together a colorful cast of unlikely characters attempting to keep out of the way of each other and failing spectacularly.