The Dead Don't Dance: A Novel of Love, Loss, and Awakening

The debut novel from the New York Times bestselling author of When Crickets Cry: a bittersweet, triumphant Southern love story about one man's vigil, a town full of unforgettable characters, and the long road back to hope. Perfect for fans of Nicholas Sparks and Lisa Wingate.

In a sleepy rural town in South Carolina, Dylan and Maggie Styles are a young couple in love, preparing eagerly for the birth of their first son. But events take a tragic turn in the delivery room, and their child is delivered stillborn. When Maggie hemorrhages and slips into a coma, Dylan slips into what can only be described as a walking coma, holding vigil at his beloved wife's bedside.

Usually tough and self-reliant, an outdoorsman and a farmer, Dylan finds that everything he has known is suddenly thrown into doubt. Refusing to give up on Maggie's recovery, a devastated Dylan takes a job as an English professor in order to pay for Maggie's medical bills. Dylan connects with his students despite himself and offers hope to others amid his own disappointment and grief. As Dylan waits for some change in Maggie's condition, he reflects on his life and hers.

With the help of his best friend, Amos, a small-town deputy, an eccentric cast of neighbors, and grace-filled moments of insight, Dylan slowly begins to heal, but it will take a second tragedy--and an anxious period of wrestling with God--to truly awaken him from his stupor and open him up to a new life.

The Dead Don't Dance is the first novel in Charles Martin's Awakening series, followed by Maggie, and includes discussion questions for book clubs. It is a story of enduring love, faith tested by loss, and the grace that meets us in the waiting.

"[The Dead Don't Dance is] an absorbing read for fans of faith-based fiction . . . [with] delightfully quirky characters . . . [who] are ingeniously imaginative creations." --Publishers Weekly

"Martin's writing is strong, honest, and memorable. He's an author to discover now--and then keep your eye on." --Carol Fitzgerald, Bookreporter.com