Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters - by Emily Carpenter (Paperback)

About the Book

"Dove Jarrod was a renowned evangelist and faith healer. Only her granddaughter, Eve Candler, knows that Dove was a con artist. In the eight years since Dove's death, Eve has maintained Dove's charitable foundation--and her lies. But just as a documentary team wraps up a shoot about the miracle worker, Eve is assaulted by a vengeful stranger intent on exposing what could be Dove's darkest secret: murder. Tuscaloosa, 1934: a wily young orphan escapes the psychiatric hospital where she was born. When she joins the itinerant inspirational duo the Hawthorn Sisters, the road ahead is one of stirring new possibilities. And with an obsessive predator on her trail, one of untold dangers. For a young girl to survive, desperate choices must be made. Now, to protect her family, Eve will join forces with the investigative filmmaker and one of Dove's friends, risking everything to unravel the truth behind the accusations against her grandmother. But will the truth set her free or set her world on fire?"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

The bestselling author of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls returns to uncover a faith healer's elusive and haunted past.

Dove Jarrod was a renowned evangelist and faith healer. Only her granddaughter, Eve Candler, knows that Dove was a con artist. In the eight years since Dove's death, Eve has maintained Dove's charitable foundation--and her lies. But just as a documentary team wraps up a shoot about the miracle worker, Eve is assaulted by a vengeful stranger intent on exposing what could be Dove's darkest secret: murder...

Tuscaloosa, 1934: a wily young orphan escapes the psychiatric hospital where she was born. When she joins the itinerant inspirational duo the Hawthorn Sisters, the road ahead is one of stirring new possibilities. And with an obsessive predator on her trail, one of untold dangers. For a young girl to survive, desperate choices must be made.

Now, to protect her family, Eve will join forces with the investigative filmmaker and one of Dove's friends, risking everything to unravel the truth behind the accusations against her grandmother. But will the truth set her free or set her world on fire?

Review Quotes

"Carpenter's refreshingly modern gothic tale offers great fun." --Publishers Weekly

"An exciting, gothic-tinged quest sure to delight fans of women-driven mysteries." --Kirkus Reviews

"The bestselling author of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls returns to uncover a faith healer's elusive and haunted past. Read it in one sitting!" --Frolic

"Prepare to be up late with this one; Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters is 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

"Emily Carpenter is the reigning queen of Southern Gothic, and Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters is a triumph. Moody, suspenseful, and gorgeously written, this novel takes readers into the seedy, sometimes savage world of Depression-era religious revivals, where believers make easy prey and grifters cloak themselves in the Word. Carpenter's latest is a riveting tale of class, sex, spirituality, and the heavy burden of family history that lingers long after the final pages. I loved it." --Julia Dahl, author of Invisible City

"Stretching from the 1930s to present day, Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters is a wild romp through the deep South and the hearts of two women connected by blood, lies, and mystery. Emily Carpenter's newest novel will hold you in its chilling grip from the eerie beginning to the stop-you-in-your-tracks ending. Carpenter fans will love this one!" --Lauren K. Denton, USA Today bestselling author

"A historical murder mystery, lost memories, and priceless, hidden relics: Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters is an atmospheric, unputdownable Southern Gothic masterpiece. Carpenter's masterful narrative bounces between young Ruth in 1930s Alabama, her exciting escape from the mental institution that was her childhood home and prison, and her granddaughter searching for hidden truths after her death. This was a well-plotted mystery full of family secrets and Southern atmosphere, and I absolutely could not put it down." --Wendy Heard, author of The Kill Club

"Stories don't stop because we turn our backs on them but only an author as gifted and elegant as Emily Carpenter is able to call them back from the shadows. In the wistfully insightful Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters, Carpenter returns to her rich Southern Gothic roots to deliver a tour de force that is both a return to and a reckoning for her beloved Burying the Honeysuckle Girls. Beautiful, mesmerizing, and saturated with suspense." --Amber Cowie, author of Loss Lake

"This captivating story is a perfect blend of historical fiction and southern gothic. Carpenter deftly weaves past and present story lines, filling both with dramatic tension, atmospheric settings and characters that leap off of the page. I recommend it highly!" --Jane Healey, bestselling author of The Beantown Girls