This was an intense, dark novel with more threads than a medieval tapestry! There aren't too many themes it doesn't include, but it works somehow. Red-haired Ruth Collier is the local small-town preacher's daughter - but he is no ordinary preacher. He is an old-timey, fire-and-brimstone, apocalyptic prognosticator who holds the small town of Bottom Springs, Louisiana under his sway. This utter fanatic sees devils and demons everywhere, and, like so many others of his ilk, accuse everyone and everything he doesn't approve of as being the spawn of the devil, witches, devil-worshipers, and stirs up the locals to have them banished from their own community. But not everything is as it seems...
As in most small communities, there are "insiders," which include the church-going, fanatical faithful, and "outsiders," the most prominent of whom is Ruth's childhood friend Everett, who is labeled by her vicious, fundamentalist father, and, thus, by everyone else in the town as a bad seed. Admittedly, Everett does have a dark past, owing primarily to the severe abuse heaped on him by his alcoholic father, but he finds light in Ruth's kindness and willingness to look beyond the townspeople's prejudice and self-righteousness. And, unbeknownst to the parishioners, who believe that, as the preacher's daughter, Ruth is beyond reproach, it turns out that she is harboring a terrible secret of her own.
Worse: a skull is discovered in the swamp, along with a mysterious symbol carved into a tree, leading the local, clearly uneducated, ignorant masses to conclude that a shadowy, mythical swamp creature known as The Low Man is responsible. When the skull is identified as belonging to a missing local fisherman, all fingers began to be pointed straight at Everett, for no other reason than he's the go-to town scapegoat. Or is he? When a second skull is discovered in the same location, the townspeople have no doubt as to who is responsible... the Low Man, in the shape of one of their own.
With more twists and turns than a roller coaster, Winstead tells the sordid tale of small town secrets and long-hidden and carefully concealed crimes, which lead to an unthinkable conclusion, which may result in the destruction of everything Ruth holds dear, and, perhaps even her untimely demise.
This was a suspenseful, atmospheric mystery that definitely qualifies as "cross-genre," but it's not fantastical sufficient to be non-believable. Mentions of the "Twilight" series recur throughout, which some of the narrative resembles, actually... but Everett is no Edward Cullen. That doesn't stop the local townspeople from labeling him a mythological demon, however. As we all know by now, religious fanaticism whipped up by a psychotic, narcissistic and corrupt figurehead can result in unthinkable tragedy, making this a timely topic for the times in which we live.
It also speaks accurately but powerfully to the dark side of small town life, which is idyllic for some, but a nightmare for others, whose only goal is to escape to start life with a blank slate elsewhere. Definitely recommended for horror, mystery and thriller fans, but a word of warning - as the disclaimer notes, herein is just about every atrocity under the sun: sexual violence, domestic and family violence, religious and just about every other kind of abuse imaginable, which may be distressing to some, if the graphic descriptions are a reflection of someone's true life experiences.
As in most small communities, there are "insiders," which include the church-going, fanatical faithful, and "outsiders," the most prominent of whom is Ruth's childhood friend Everett, who is labeled by her vicious, fundamentalist father, and, thus, by everyone else in the town as a bad seed. Admittedly, Everett does have a dark past, owing primarily to the severe abuse heaped on him by his alcoholic father, but he finds light in Ruth's kindness and willingness to look beyond the townspeople's prejudice and self-righteousness. And, unbeknownst to the parishioners, who believe that, as the preacher's daughter, Ruth is beyond reproach, it turns out that she is harboring a terrible secret of her own.
Worse: a skull is discovered in the swamp, along with a mysterious symbol carved into a tree, leading the local, clearly uneducated, ignorant masses to conclude that a shadowy, mythical swamp creature known as The Low Man is responsible. When the skull is identified as belonging to a missing local fisherman, all fingers began to be pointed straight at Everett, for no other reason than he's the go-to town scapegoat. Or is he? When a second skull is discovered in the same location, the townspeople have no doubt as to who is responsible... the Low Man, in the shape of one of their own.
With more twists and turns than a roller coaster, Winstead tells the sordid tale of small town secrets and long-hidden and carefully concealed crimes, which lead to an unthinkable conclusion, which may result in the destruction of everything Ruth holds dear, and, perhaps even her untimely demise.
This was a suspenseful, atmospheric mystery that definitely qualifies as "cross-genre," but it's not fantastical sufficient to be non-believable. Mentions of the "Twilight" series recur throughout, which some of the narrative resembles, actually... but Everett is no Edward Cullen. That doesn't stop the local townspeople from labeling him a mythological demon, however. As we all know by now, religious fanaticism whipped up by a psychotic, narcissistic and corrupt figurehead can result in unthinkable tragedy, making this a timely topic for the times in which we live.
It also speaks accurately but powerfully to the dark side of small town life, which is idyllic for some, but a nightmare for others, whose only goal is to escape to start life with a blank slate elsewhere. Definitely recommended for horror, mystery and thriller fans, but a word of warning - as the disclaimer notes, herein is just about every atrocity under the sun: sexual violence, domestic and family violence, religious and just about every other kind of abuse imaginable, which may be distressing to some, if the graphic descriptions are a reflection of someone's true life experiences.
