Bless your heart

Review by Booklist Review

The dead are rising again, and it is up to the Evans women to put things right in Ryan's horror-mystery series starter. It's 1999, and in their small southeast Texas town, where everybody knows everybody, the ravening ghouls have plenty of connections to prey on. The Evans ladies know all too well, having run the town's only funeral business for generations, that the monsters will only grow stronger with every soul taken. Complicating matters even more is the involvement of the local authorities: the sheriff has a long-simmering grudge against the Evans, and the deputy in charge of the investigation (into an increasing number of mutilated bodies) is smitten with the mother of the youngest member of the Evans household. Fifteen-year-old Luna was a baby the last time matters got seriously out of hand, and it is time for her to be introduced to the family's real business. But the Evans clan's history is full of secrets, especially when it comes to blood, and Luna is about to learn that her background is indeed very special. Incorporating just the right amount of Southern sass, this gruesomely descriptive yet heartrendingly poignant tale will leave horror fans hungry for the next installment.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Rue Morgue contributor Ryan melds mystery, horror, and family drama in her sharp solo debut about the descent of ancient ghouls on a small Texas town. In the summer of 1999, the women of the Evans family--matriarch Ducey; her daughter, Lenore; her granddaughter, Grace; and her great-granddaughter, Luna--witness recently deceased busybody Mina Jean Murphy rise from the dead, setting off alarm bells in Ducey and Lenore's heads: for the first time in 15 years, the bloodthirsty, undead strigoi ("sort of like zombies and vampires combined") have returned to Southeast Texas. But why? As the number of strigoi multiplies and the sheriff starts asking questions, the elder Evans women reveal bits and pieces of family history to the younger ones. Before long, it becomes clear that they may be the only family in the region who are equipped to stop their new, blood-starved neighbors from sucking the state dry. Ryan lays the mythology on thick, relishing details big and small about both the strigoi and the Evans family, sometimes at the expense of brisk pacing. Still, it's a pleasure to spend time in her carefully rendered world, and she packs plenty of bloodshed among the copious exposition. This has bite. (Apr.)Correction: An earlier version of this review misstated the author's role at Rue Morgue and was missing part of a character's name.

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Review by Library Journal Review

It's 1999 in a small southeast Texas town where everyone knows each other's business and the Evans women run the only funeral parlor. When the presumed-dead town gossip rises from her casket, the Evans women do what they have for generations, protect the town from the powerful ancient Strigoi by staking her through the heart. This is merely the start of a violent string of bolder and bolder attacks. As the bodies pile up, it is getting harder for them to deny that this onslaught may be tied to Luna, the youngest of the Evans women, and the horrors that befell their family 15 years ago, soon after Luna's birth. Told via multiple points of view, a well-developed and utterly unforgettable cast of characters, and an engaging narration that draws readers in immediately, this novel will make readers root for the Evans women to beat back both the ghouls and the family secrets that haunt them. VERDICT Ryan's (Throw Me to the Wolves) compelling horror/mystery hybrid is bursting with serious scares, humor, and Southern charm. Fans of Grady Hendrix and Rachel Harrison will appreciate.

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