“Who put Ellen in the blackgum tree?”
Originally spotted by trespassing children decades ago, no one knows who put Ellen’s corpse in the treetop to this day.
Hoping this was their Ellen, Kate Thrush and her former college professor Dr. Judith Kane head over to Cinderwich, Tennessee. Both are looking for some sense of closure—Ellen was Kate’s lost aunt, and Judith’s long-gone lover.
But the folks in Cinderwich are resistant to Kate and Judith’s questions about Ellen and her killer. As the women dig deeper into this skeleton of a town, the more rot they unearth. There’s an evil lying in wait at the roots of Cinderwich, hungering.
Why we’re excited about this book:
Cherie Priest is one of the exhilarating voices in speculative fiction working today, and more recently, hit the ground running with books that fall directly into the realm of horror. The author of Boneshaker, Maplecroft, Chapelwood, Holy Terror, The Family Plot, The Toll, and The Drowning House among others, Priest’s short fiction has appeared in such publications as Subterranean Magazine, Apex Magazine, Dark Cities, Scary Out There, and Creatures: Thirty Years of Monsters. With her latest, Priest presents readers with a small-town mystery wrapped in a road-trip to a city shrouded in a horrifying past. Sadie Hartmann (101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered) says: “How about a road trip to a creepy, old town full of secrets with your two best friends to solve a murder-mystery. Earl grey tea, ghosts, and secrets—a perfect cozy horror/mystery to read during Halloween. No bookmark required.”, and Maurice Broaddus (Sweep of Stars, Buffalo Soldier) says: “A maestro of the uncanny, with Cinderwich Cherie Priest weaves a masterful tapestry of the extraordinary and the everyday, flipping the small-town mystery on its head. The book reads like a cozy, the way you’d feel wearing your favorite sweater. Her storytelling prowess draws readers into its intricately crafted world. With each page turned, Priest proves herself a visionary wordsmith. A wild, entertaining ride, Cinderwich resonates long after the last page is turned.”
Releasing from Apex Book Company 14 May 2024 Cinderwich by Cherie Priest (with amazing cover-art by Daniele Serra) is available for pre-order now.
BOB PASTORELLA