Set in 1954, this is the story of a man and his family and how sometimes the past really should remain buried. Atticus's father had always been proud of his family's history so the fact that his wife knew very little about her's had always bothered him so after her death, he started poking around only to find out that her great-grandmother had been a servant in the home of a wealthy and eccentric white man who was also a cult leader and had run away before the house had burned down. Now Atticus is the only direct line heir of that madman and the current members of the cult would love to have him in their clutches for a ritual that does not bear contemplation. Atticus escapes but Caleb, the last remaining member is playing a long game and it will involve many members of Atticus's family before it's over.
So this is supposed to be more like a series of short stories that also tell a full story. One by one, we get stories of how the other family members are dragged into the nightmare. All have some sort of supernatural element although not all are for horrific effect. Honestly, the Lovecraftian influences in the book were the least scary things about it. I found the cult members and what they could do scarier but by far the scariest things were watching how the white people were treating the main characters who were black. The things they had to deal with and endure was heartbreaking and I frequently found myself hoping that the noise in the wood or whatever supernatural thing was going on would hurry up and eat those a$$hats. Elder gods seem more merciful compared to the sheriff and other people. An excellent book and highly recommended.
Page count: 432p/18,780p ytd/267,930p lifetime
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