“One Eastern student took several events from the darker side of Charleston’s history and creatively blended them into a fictional story in his book entitled, ‘Tales of Coles County, Illinois’... The concept of the book is a great one. It makes the history of Coles County a more interesting read, and tricks people into reading history without feeling like they’re going through a history book.”
- Daily Eastern News, October 28, 2005
"I grew up in Coles County. This is a cool little gathering of local legends, presented in a fictional format. Interesting for anyone who is familiar with the area."
- David, Amazon.com review, November 8, 2014
“Long before TV stations like SyFy and the Travel Channel took an interest in the area, Michael Kleen was researching and writing about remarkable episodes from the county’s past. With a blend of fact and fiction, Tales of Coles County is a unique look at the history and places that make Coles County such an interesting place to visit.”
- JG-TC, August 12, 2013
“The legend of the ghost of Pemberton Hall is the most well known in the area, but Michael Kleen, author of ‘The Tales of Coles County,’ has many more to share.”
- Daily Eastern News, October 25, 2013
"This book was really good! I'm not from Coles County, nor did I know anything about the area before reading this book. It really gives a great description of the history, and not only is it an entertaining book, but you learn something too! The author really did a nice job of detailing things in each story."
- McPickle, Amazon.com review, November 10, 2013
“The wonder of things we do not understand, the things that none of our senses can comprehend or decode: all of this is connected to the idea of what could be; the things we do not know, but that we still believe to be possible. All this and more is what Michael Kleen dedicates his life work to.”
- Lake Land College Navigator News, Vol. 13 Issue 5 – February 2014
“Thankfully roughly eight or so years ago I stumbled across this amazing set of stories and articles related to our own history here in Coles County. The author amazed me something fierce, his stories were very well written and kept my interest even after many years of shoving my face into numerous books.”
- Katherine McGee-Overstreet, JG-TC, July 7, 2013