In Going Postal, Corky Giles crafts a quiet yet increasingly unsettling descent into the psyche of Fred Hart—a beloved small-town mailman whose patience, kindness, and dignity are slowly eroded by years of unspoken trauma and everyday indignities. Set in the idyllic but claustrophobic town of Cedar Creek, the story begins with Fred as a model citizen: generous, thoughtful, and tirelessly dependable. But as the narrative unfolds, and as one insult after another chips away at him, we watch Fred transform from a gentle soul into someone capable of violence and ultimately murder. The shift is slow, chilling, and heartbreakingly believable.

Reading this book made me uncomfortable, and that’s precisely what makes it so compelling. Giles’s writing has a quiet power, building tension with scenes that seem simple on the surface but simmer with suppressed emotion. The prose is honest and unflashy, letting the story’s emotional weight carry the reader. I felt an uneasy empathy for Fred, which left me questioning where the line between victim and villain really lies. The character work is so rich that when Fred finally snaps, it doesn’t feel sudden. It feels inevitable. That inevitability is what haunted me most.

Some chapters could have benefited from tightening, and occasionally, the dialogue meandered. But even when it wandered, it felt real. I also found myself frustrated, not with the book, but with the people in it—how they treated Fred, how they dismissed his quiet suffering. That frustration morphed into sadness, then dread. Giles doesn’t glorify Fred’s choices. He doesn’t excuse them. Instead, he shows us the raw, lonely road that led there. It’s not a whodunit or a thriller in the traditional sense. It’s more of a psychological slow burn, with a main character who gets under your skin and stays there.

Going Postal is a powerful, emotionally complex novel for readers who like character-driven stories with dark edges. It’s for those who wonder what happens when good people get pushed too far. If you’ve ever felt invisible, used up, or dismissed, this book might shake something loose in you.

Pages: 100 | ASIN : B0F3V4T8PG