Gothictown by Emily Carpenter
In an immersive Southern Gothic with echoes of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery and Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, 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. It seems like a dream come true...or a devil's bargain.
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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 any troubling signs...
But 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 "Gentle 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.
For readers of Stacy Willingham, Sarah Langan, Ashley Winstead, and Jess Lourey, a bewitchingly foreboding story about sacrifice, privilege, family, guilt, and the vengeful ghosts of a haunted past - from the bestselling author of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls.
Emily Carpenter was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and graduated from Auburn University with a degree in speech communication. She has worked as an actor, producer, playwright, and behind-the-scenes soap opera assistant. She relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, with her family after a time in New York City. Burying the Honeysuckle Girls and The Weight of Lies are two of her best-selling novels. Emily can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as at www.emilycarpenterauthor.com.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781496750549 |
| ISBN 10 | 1496750543 |
| Title | Gothictown |
| Author | Emily Carpenter |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Kensington Publishing |
| Year published | 2025-03-25 |
| Number of pages | 368 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |