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Gothictown
In an immersive Southern Gothic with echoes of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery, 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.
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 niggling concerns.
Yet those misgivings grow. 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 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.
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.
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 niggling concerns.
Yet those misgivings grow. 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 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.
About the author
Emily Carpenter
14 books989 followersEMILY CARPENTER BIO:
Emily Carpenter is the critically acclaimed, Amazon bestselling author of suspense novels, Burying the Honeysuckle Girls, The Weight of Lies (which received starred reviews by both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly), Every Single Secret, Until the Day I Die, all released by Lake Union. Her most recent release is REVIVING THE HAWTHORN SISTERS, which Publishers Weekly called a “refreshingly modern gothic tale” and Kirkus called “an exciting, gothic-tinged quest.” After graduating from Auburn with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication, she moved to New York City. She’s worked as an actor, producer, screenwriter, and behind-the-scenes soap opera assistant for the CBS shows, As the World Turns and Guiding Light. She’s a member of Tall Poppy Writers, International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, she now lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her family. You can visit Emily at emilycarpenterauthor.com and on Facebook and Twitter (@EmilyDCarpenter) and Instagram (@emily.d.c).
Emily Carpenter is the critically acclaimed, Amazon bestselling author of suspense novels, Burying the Honeysuckle Girls, The Weight of Lies (which received starred reviews by both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly), Every Single Secret, Until the Day I Die, all released by Lake Union. Her most recent release is REVIVING THE HAWTHORN SISTERS, which Publishers Weekly called a “refreshingly modern gothic tale” and Kirkus called “an exciting, gothic-tinged quest.” After graduating from Auburn with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication, she moved to New York City. She’s worked as an actor, producer, screenwriter, and behind-the-scenes soap opera assistant for the CBS shows, As the World Turns and Guiding Light. She’s a member of Tall Poppy Writers, International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, she now lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her family. You can visit Emily at emilycarpenterauthor.com and on Facebook and Twitter (@EmilyDCarpenter) and Instagram (@emily.d.c).
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Shelved as 'wishlist'
November 30, 2023IS EMILY CARPENTER WRITING A NEW BOOK?!?!?!!?
June 9, 2024
Well, I mean, I wrote it....
July 11, 2024
Emily Carpenter is back, y’all, and with a gothic banger of a story. Welcome to Juliana, Georgia, a charming and idyllic small town filled with spacious, Victorian homes the town offers up for a steal and a host of seriously questionable characters. 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. Gothictown is an absolute knockout.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews