Gothictown

De: Emily Carpenter

Narrado por: Cassandra Campbell

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.

*A Publishers Marketplace BUZZ BOOKS Selection*

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 listeners 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.

©2025 Emily Carpenter (P)2025 Recorded Books

Basic

The writing was cringe at times, very “millennial”, predictable and surface level. And I wish it would’ve leaned into the supernatural aspect more concretely. Too basic to be called “gothic” in my opinion. I did feel connected to some of the characters a little bit. It did get tense at certain points and I really liked the dream MC had in the last bit.

Held my attention

I will not ruin the ending, but I kinda wish it would have ended differently...it was an okay book. I do not regret listening. I also think the author could have added much to the story line by being more descriptive about the environment...the house, the town. It was still good.

when I said I'd read anything E.C. wrote...

I didn't mean this! E.C. is an auto buy for me, so I went in blind. I don't like "ghost" stories and normally stick to (normal?) thrillers. But I love the way she does Southern Noir, so I'll do "paranormal" with E.C.

You figure out this one was going to be heavy on the paranormal pretty quick. But even if that's your jam, the whole idea of this was just DUMB. I kept going back to make sure this was the same Emily Carpenter who wrote Every Single Secret. And sadly, it is.

The characters are beyond unlikeable, the plot is just too unbelievable, and none of the dialog/back and forth between everyone flows. It's just all so... silly ha. Disappointing is a much better way to put it. Rushed, disappointing, and way too long. Hopefully the next one will be back to her normal 5 star. 2 stars bc I love the author too much to just totally crap on her.