Gothictown - by Emily Carpenter (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In an immersive Southern Gothic with echoes of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery and Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, a restauranteur lured by pandemic-era incentives moves her family to a seemingly idyllic small town in Georgia, only to discover a darkness lurking beneath the Southern hospitality and sun-dappled streets...

Welcome to gentle Juliana, where you can have it all...if you pay the price.

The email that lands in Billie Hope's inbox seems like a gift from the universe. For $100, she can purchase a spacious Victorian home in Juliana, Georgia, a small town eager to boost its economy in the wake of the pandemic. She can leave behind her cramped New York City rental and the painful memories of shuttering her once thriving restaurant and start over with her husband and her daughter. Plus, she'll get a business grant to open a new restaurant in a charming riverside community laden with opportunity. It seems like a dream come true...or a devil's bargain.

A few phone calls and one hurried visit later, and Billie, Peter, and six-year-old Meredith are officially part of the Juliana Initiative. The town is everything promised--two hours northwest of Atlanta but a world away from city living, a "gentle jewel" with weather as warm as its people. Between settling into their lavish home and starting her new restaurant, Billie is busy enough to dismiss any troubling signs...

But Billie's sleep is marred by haunting dreams, and her marriage with Peter is growing increasingly strained. Meanwhile the town elders, all descended from Juliana's founding families, exert a level of influence that feels less benevolent and more stifling day by day.

There's something about "Gentle Juliana"--something off-kilter and menacing beneath that famous Southern hospitality. And no matter how much Billie longed for her family to come here, she's starting to wonder how, and if, they'll ever leave.

For readers of Stacy Willingham, Sarah Langan, Ashley Winstead, and Jess Lourey, a bewitchingly foreboding story about sacrifice, privilege, family, guilt, and the vengeful ghosts of a haunted past - from the bestselling author of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls.

Review Quotes

Praise for Emily Carpenter

"A high-energy read that effortlessly reinvents the modern Gothic while delivering all the elements that make the genre so captivating: a haunting atmosphere, a dark legacy, a determined heroine and a whisper of horror. I love the Gothic and I love Gothictown." --Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author

"Carpenter's brisk southern gothic skillfully deploys the genre's familiar tropes to explore the disturbing ramifications of abuses of power and societal complicity. Horror fans will find it hard to put down." --Booklist STARRED REVIEW on Gothictown

"Just the right amount of creepiness to add a scary but not terrifying element to the promised gothic tale, and the post-pandemic what-do-I-do-now feeling is spot on." --firstCLUE on Gothictown

"The story masterfully intermingles mystery and psychological tension, making Gothictown a very engaging read. While Billie wrestles with her new reality, so does the reader, in this thrilling adventure into the depths one will go to for family and the haunting shadows which can lurk beneath the surface of a picturesque facade." --John Raab, Suspense magazine on Gothictown

"Carpenter has a spectacular voice, and I was drawn into this story immediately. With all the gothic spookiness layered into a suspenseful family drama, this pulse-racing story of a New York family relocating to an idyllic southern town with a dark secret is timely, intense, and terrifyingly good." --J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of A Very Bad Thing on Gothictown

"Influenced by Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," Carpenter creates a Southern gothic tale for horror-curious readers... Those who prefer a slow-burn story with an increasing sense of unease will enjoy this book, and fans of suspense novels with a small-town setting could find this a perfect way to try some gothic horror. Read-alikes include The Invited by Jennifer McMahon and The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons." --Library Journal on Gothictown

"Emily Carpenter packs a multitude of twists and turns into Gothictown, delivering a gothic mystery with a high entertainment value. But peering past the murder, romance and supernatural intrigue, this story is ultimately an exploration of privilege and the lengths people will go to maintain the upper hand." --Atlanta Journal Constitution

"This Southern Gothic suspense builds to a heart stopping climax." --The Montecito Journal on Gothictown

"Dreams, as they often do in the offerings from Carpenter -- a Birmingham, Alabama, native now living in Georgia -- descend from opportunities to devilish bargains, and Gothictown is part and parcel of the oeuvre. More than genteel charms lurks beneath the facade of Southern hospitality in this town." --Athens News Courier

"Perfect for fans of slow burn, Southern Gothic, small rural town drama, and couples who try to escape their big city problems by moving to an idyllic community in the country. A cautionary tale for the old adage, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." A fast-paced, popcorn thriller with just a touch of horror." --MotherHorror on Gothictown

"Troubled waters rise slow, and dark, and sneaky in Gothictown... Prepare to breaststroke your way through Carpenter's latest feat to where the floodwaters recede, revealing an utterly satisfying conclusion." --Robert Gwaltney, award-winning author of The Cicada Tree on Gothictown

"Inviting and atmospheric, this engrossing tale of a charming town hiding a chilling past is southern gothic at its best. Carpenter expertly turns up the heat as a seductive offer turns out too good to be true and dark secrets come to light, raising the temperature until the plot boils over. I was hooked from the very beginning!" --Katherine Wood, author of Ladykiller on Gothictown

"A gothic banger of a story. Carpenter's talents really shine here: quirky characters that come alive on the page through her voicey Southern prose, and a sneaky, steady building of tension to claustrophobic proportions. Creepy in the best possible way, Gothictown is an absolute knockout." --Kimberly Belle, internationally bestselling author of The Paris Widow

"The Queen of Southern Gothic dominates in this unputdownable feast in which deeply-drawn characters who inhabit a tantalizingly secretive southern town play a role in deadly secrets that link back to the past. Haunting, atmospheric, sexy, wildly vivid, original, and entrancing, Gothictown proves Carpenter is the master of balancing all the ingredients for a reader's sleepless night of turning the pages." --Shannon Kirk, international bestselling author of Method 15/33 and Gretchen

"An early entry in the beach-thriller sweepstakes, Carpenter's story is much more layered and nuanced than most." --Vulture on The Weight of Lies

"Simply riveting. This is the kind of book where the past has a pulse--and teeth. It's a page-turner for sure, with well-drawn, complicated characters whose choices linger long after the last page is turned." --Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Never Have I Ever on Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters

"In this chilling psychological thriller...Carpenter keeps the suspense high all the way to the shocking conclusion." --Publishers Weekly on Until the Day I Die

"Fast-paced and teeming with long-held secrets, Emily Carpenter's Until the Day I Die will have you rooting for the whip-smart, resilient mother-daughter team of Erin and Shorie Gaines as they race against time and unknown evil to salvage the life they have so carefully crafted. The twisty, jaw-dropping conclusion of this electrifying thriller will leave you guessing and gasping for breath right up to the final page. A must-read!" --Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and Not a Sound on Until the Day I Die

"Seductively sinister, with a fierce, feisty mother-daughter duo you'll be cheering for. A fast, frightening read." --Jessica Strawser, author of Not That I Could Tell on Until the Day I Die

"This shocking cat-and-mouse thriller will shatter your expectations--and Carpenter's skill for brilliant and twisty storytelling will have you gasping in surprise. Buckle up for a terrific ride--this is timely, unpredictable, and irresistible!" --Hank Phillippi Ryan, nationally bestselling author of Trust Me on Until the Day I Die

"In Until the Day I Die, Emily Carpenter proves once again she's a thriller powerhouse. Packed with heroines you'll cheer for, villains you'll love to hate, and plot twists galore, this story will have you on the edge of your seat until you breathlessly turn the last page. What a ride!" --Hannah Mary McKinnon, author of The Neighbors on Until the Day I Die

"Emily Carpenter has written a hell of a thriller with language as lush as its Southern setting." --Benjamin Percy, author of The Dead Lands, Red Moon, The Wilding, and Refresh, Refresh on Burying the Honeysuckle Girls

"Southern Gothic in all its creepy inbred finery. I found myself rooting for recovering addict Althea as she teeters on the brink of relapse while uncovering the horrific secret behind her family's inherited madness and premature death." --Amy Plum, international bestselling author on Burying the Honeysuckle Girls

About the Author

Emily Carpenter is a bestselling author of suspense novels including Burying the Honeysuckle Girls, The Weight of Lies and Gothictown. Born and raised in Brimingham, Alabama, she graduated from Auburn University and worked in New York City as an actor, producer, screenwriter, and behind-the-scenes soap opera assistant for the CBS shows As the World Turns and Guiding Light. She now lives with her family outside Atlanta, Georgia, and can be found online at EmilyCarpenterAuthor.com.