The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Gothic

Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca

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Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca
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Eric Larocca’s newest novel Everything the Darkness Eats weaves cosmic horror with small town prejudice into a tale of creeping dread. Larocca never shies away from the gruesome or the traumatic and weaves these darkest parts alongside love. This Connecticut town is neither cozy nor warm, and is instead full of mysterious and bizarre disappearances, unrestrained bigotry and the dark effects of its most powerful resident Mr. Crowley. Interweaving two resident’s attempts to uncover and stop the horror, Larocca forces his characters to reckon with what means the most to them and to what lengths they’ll go for closure, revenge, and love. Perfect for fans of Clive Barker and other cosmic horror.

Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca, (List Price: 16.95, CLASH Books, 9781955904278, June 2023)

Reviewed by Mikey LaFave, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

At the Edge of the Woods by Kathryn Bromwich

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At the Edge of the Woods by Kathryn Bromwich
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Out of necessity, Laura has chosen to live a simpler, yet, courageous life in a secluded, rustic cabin in the woods on the outskirts of an Italian village. Necessity turns into a reorganization of priorities, which I wholly admire, as Laura shares her thoughts with the reader on living with nature, interacting with others, and what it means to survive. Beautiful.

At the Edge of the Woods by Kathryn Bromwich, (List Price: 26, Two Dollar Radio, 9781953387318, June 2023)

Reviewed by Jill Naylor, Novel. in Memphis, Tennessee

The Spite House by Johnny Compton

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The Spite House by Johnny Compton
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Thank you to Johnny Compton for writing such an excellent novel that highlighted an African-American family, but also for explaining what a spite house is. This is an amazing Gothic horror where we have a haunted house situation, the past always seems to catch up to us in the end, and you can feel the spooky ambiance the entire time you are reading! Eric Ross and his two daughters are currently avoiding their past lives and are living out of motel rooms when Eric reads a job listing to stay at a spite house in Texas to try to capture any evidence of supernatural activity. You get MULTIPLE point of views, but it keeps the story moving very well and it is almost seamless. For example, one moment you are reading the POV of the homeowner who is trying to employ Eric and she is finishing up a meeting with a group of ghost hunters and the next chapter is Eric’s POV and it mentions he walks into a meeting room as a group of men are walking out, so it literally picks up where another leaves off. However, there were a few POVs from side characters that I could have done completely without. It was nice to read about the previous tenants of the spite house who had taken the job right before Eric, though. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the twist about why the family is on the run is epic! One negative I would say is that the ending felt a little rushed and it did not hold up as well compared to the rest of the book in my opinion. However, that did not take anything away from how much I enjoyed the novel overall. Eric is a bad dude for staying in that creepy house by himself to try to make a better life for himself and his girls!

The Spite House by Johnny Compton, (List Price: 17.99, Tor Nightfire, 9781250891952, February 2023)

Reviewed by Kait Layton, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama

Leech by Hiron Ennes

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Leech by Hiron Ennes
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The narrator of this scalpel-sharp and intoxicatingly gross debut is a parasite who is about to meet its match in the battle for control over the human heart, mind, and body. Fans of gothic lit, haunted mansions in ill repair, and biological or medical horror, eat your optic nerve—I mean, your heart—out! I generally don’t consider myself a fan of the above actually, but the incredibly unique narrator, the excellent and atmospheric world-building, and the both chillingly creepy and chillingly cold setting really hooked me. Highly recommended for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic and T. Kingfisher’s What Moves the Dead!

Leech by Hiron Ennes, (List Price: $27.99, Tordotcom, 9781250811189, September 2022)

Reviewed by Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth

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Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth
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Someone once told me that laughter is the human response to what makes them uncomfortable. This story is like Shirley Jackson and Christopher Moore had a book baby and Motherthing was the result. Ralph and Abby Lamb move in with his mentally ill mother as caretakers. Abby thinks this is her chance to win over her mother in law. She’s wrong. Dead wrong. The story telling in this book is brilliantly funny at times and deeply disturbing at others. Mark Abrams cover art drew me in but Ainslie Hogarth’s ability to make me cringe and laugh at the same time kept me reading.

Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth, (List Price: $17, Vintage, 9780593467022, September 2022)

Reviewed by Suzanne Carnes, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

The Hollow Kind by Andy Davidson

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The Hollow Kind by Andy Davidson
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You want to read this one. Scary, creepy, a page-turner. Very well written. A family curse. Something in the woods. And something in the house. Read it for Halloween. Read it at the beach. Read this anytime, it is so good. And keep the lights on. Two thumbs up.

The Hollow Kind by Andy Davidson, (List Price: $28, MCD, 9780374538569, October 2022)

Reviewed by Mary Patterson, The Little Bookshop in Midlothian, Virginia

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

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The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
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Ah southern gothic, my dearest friend, you’ve done it again. Isabel Cañas has joined hands with the spookiest of ghosts and written a tale of romance, mystery, and horror that would have even the stoutest individual shaking in their boots, wondering who would survive, if any at all. I loved every single second of The Hacienda, and am remiss that it ever ended, considering how desperately the author makes you crave more. This book is absolutely perfect for fans of Crimson Peak and Mexican Gothic, but most importantly, it’s perfect for the adults who were once teens in love with the supernatural romances of the ’00s and early ’10s.

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas, (List Price: $27, Berkley, 9780593436691,  May 2022)

Reviewed by Caitlyn Vanorder, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The Ravenous Dead by Darcy Coates

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The Ravenous Dead by Darcy Coates
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This next instalment of the Gravekeeper Series hasn’t even come out yet, and yet I’m already itching to read the next part of Kiera’s story. This series is the most unexpectedly delightful combination of spooky, action packed, and heartwarming slice of life all wrapped up in a mystery. I find myself falling in love with all of the characters, from the kindly pastor Adage, to the cheery “not a doctor” Mason. However I adore most of all our main character and amnesia ridden ghost whisperer Kiera. I adore this series and cannot wait for the next one!

The Ravenous Dead by Darcy Coates, (List Price: $14.99, Poisoned Pen Press, 9781728239224,  March 2022)

Reviewed by Ana Staff, Foggy Pine Books in Boone, North Carolina

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth, Sara Lautman (Illus.)

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plain bad heroines
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A fun, spooky gothic horror that spans years and so, so many lesbians. You’ll always flinch at yellow jackets after this read.

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth, Sara Lautman (Illus.) (List Price: $27.99, William Morrow, 9780062942852, 10/20/2020)

Reviewed by Jenny Luper, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, NC

The Woman in the Mirror by Rebecca James

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The Woman in the Mirror
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A haunted manor, star crossed lovers, a good guy to save the day – what more could you ask for in a wonderfully creepy gothic thriller set in the 1940s and in modern day? How about a really great surprise ending?

The Woman in the Mirror by Rebecca James (List price: $26.99, Minotaur Books), recommended by Fiction Addiction, Greenville, SC.

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