Review by Booklist Review
With his third novel, Davidson plants his roots in horror's soil as one its most talented voices. Summer, 1989. Nellie leaves her abusive husband, 11-year-old son Max in tow, and heads to Empire, Georgia, to claim an inheritance from the grandfather she barely knew. Redfern Hill is 1,333 acres with an abandoned turpentine mill. With only a few belongings, Nellie and Max move into the property's long-neglected but stately home. It quickly becomes clear that they are not alone. Told mostly through two perfectly balanced time lines--Nellie and Max over ten days in 1989 and August Redfern from 1917 to 1932--this is a character-driven story of the evil that has always lived in a place and its ever-tightening grip on one family. The steadily increasing dread bursts open at the one-third mark as terror takes over, past and present merge, and the Redfern family comes together across generations in an epic battle. With similarities to Chuck Wendig's The Book of Accidents (2021), shades of T. Kingfisher, and a dash of The Ruins, by Scott Smith (2006), this is a Southern gothic epic that masterfully weaves elements of body, folk, and cosmic horror into something wholly new, terrifying, and utterly breathtaking.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Davidson (The Boatman's Daughter) delves once again into the underbelly of the American South in this haunting, atmospheric tale. In 1989, Nellie Gardner inherits the Georgia turpentine farm Redfern Hill from her estranged grandfather, August Redfern, and sees it as the perfect opportunity to escape her abusive marriage and make a new start with her 11-year-old son, Max. Upon arriving, however, Nellie and Max discover that Redfern Hill consists of acres of desolate pine forest and a crumbling farmhouse. Max is the first to notice something isn't quite right with the property: the apparition of a young girl, odd scratching noises behind the walls, and things moving by themselves are just some of the supernatural incidents that occur around the house and cause the Gardners increasing concern. This timeline alternates with flashbacks to August's own odd experiences with the farm, beginning in 1917 and slowly revealing the hidden history of Redfern Hill--and the ancient, restless evil that has lived in its grounds for decades. It's up to Nellie to put an end to the property's legacy of destruction. Davidson impresses with his chilling and immersive worldbuilding, effortlessly blending generational trauma with supernatural danger. The result is a harrowing novel that's sure to please fans of gothic horror. Agent: Elizabeth Copps, Copps Literary. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Trying to escape an abusive husband, Nellie moves into the house she's inherited from her grandfather. What awaits Nellie and her son on the homestead, though, may be worse than the abuse they faced. A bear in the driveway and scratching in the walls are just the beginning of the sinister happenings, which lead to the revealing of her family's cursed past--and something lurking in the woods. Told across multiple timelines and perspectives, readers experience an immersive and comprehensive family story told through poetic prose. The detail, however, is excruciating at times, and much of it is stream-of-consciousness thoughts from the characters as the author paints a picture of an ominous yet beautiful wooded landscape filled with tortured, imperfect characters. The horror builds gradually, drawing readers into a state of unease rather than outright fear. Readers of Paul Tremblay and other literary horror novels will want to dive into this story. VERDICT Davidson (The Boatman's Daughter) crafts an intricate supernatural story about a family's history that will leave readers shaken. However, they will have to wade through the novel's extreme level of detail to reach the conclusion.--Natalie Browning
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A woman fleeing an abusive relationship carries her 11-year-old son to an even more dangerous place: home. Greed, trespass, revenge, and obsession provide the emotional palette for this breathless, wide-eyed horror fable that chronicles the unforgivable trespasses that cost multiple generations their souls. The prime narrative finds Nellie Gardner in 1989 nursing wounds both fresh and long calloused as she shepherds her son, Max, to Georgia, well away from her abusive husband, Wade Gardner, an academic with an ill temper. In the same place circa 1917, Nellie's grandfather August Redfern and his wife, Euphemia, launch a turpentine enterprise in the southern wilds and soon bear twins Charlie and Hank--Hank is Nellie's father. But Redfern soon learns that the land he's defiling in the name of profits demands more sacrifice than mere greed can satisfy. Settling into her grandfather's creepy Gothic mansion, Nellie is soon confronted by local snake oil salesman Lonnie Baxter, who considers her property his birthright. But while a reunion with a newly sober Hank leads to an uneasy détente between father and daughter, Nellie and Max are also menaced by unpredictable phantoms, including the specter of a young girl, a dead bear who won't seem to stay put, and the resurrected Dr. Gardner. Let's face it, if you hang out in dusty old estates populated by long-kept secrets, guilt, remorse, and madness, something "squelching wetly," as Stranger Things would put it, is bound to come slithering out of a hole. This version of the hot, wet South isn't a far stretch from Daniel Woodrell's twig-snap rustic dread but is a closer cousin to the wetwork terror of John Hornor Jacobs or Joe Hill. The way Davidson deftly pirouettes his way between bated-breath anticipation and a denouement that owes as much to John Carpenter as H.P. Lovecraft is impressive, especially given a staccato storytelling style that, much like a good horror movie, conceals as much as it reveals. A folksy novel about bad country people, tentacles and all. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
