From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble Review
Haunting. Mesmerizing. Unforgettable. Adjectives cannot adequately describe the singular narrative brilliance of Cherie Priest's debut novel.
Four and Twenty Blackbirds -- a contemporary ghost story with elements of southern gothic, supernatural mystery, and dark fantasy -- follows an orphaned girl's harrowing journey into adulthood and her desperate quest to find out who she really is. Growing up with her aunt and uncle in the mountains of Tennessee, Eden Moore is never truly alone. The “mixed race” girl is infrequently visited by a trio of ghosts, three long-dead sisters who counsel and protect her. But no one can guard Eden from a lunatic who believes she is the next coming of her great-grandfather, an infamous African sorcerer whose followers have somehow found a way to resurrect his spirit. When the life of Eden's beloved aunt is endangered, she embarks on a journey to uncover the roots of her decidedly inbred family tree. From the ruins of a Tennessee sanitarium where her mother died to the halls of a decrepit Georgia mansion to the gator-infested swamps of southern Florida, Eden's investigation leads her to the terrible truth…
Priest's Four and Twenty Blackbirds is one of those exceedingly rare literary gems that will not only engage and challenge readers on a cerebral level but will also masterfully manipulate their emotions. Lyrical, poignant, and brilliantly understated, Priest's debut novel is a genre-transcendent storytelling tour de force. Fans of writers like Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Peter Straub will absolutely fall in love with this spellbinding novel -- and with Cherie Priest, who is undeniably one of the most exciting new authors to come along in years. Paul Goat Allen
From the Publisher
"Cherie Priest kicks ass! Four and Twenty Blackbirds is lush, rich, intense, and as dark and dangerous as a gator-ridden swamp."—Maggie Shayne, New York Times bestselling author of Blue Twilight
"Fine writing, humor, thrills, real scares, the touch of the occult . . . had me from the first page. I read straight through. An absolutely wonderful debut, and a book not to be missed."—Heather Graham, New York Times bestselling author of Haunted, on Four and Twenty Blackbirds
"Cherie Priest has created a chilling page-turner in her debut novel. Her voice is rich, earthy, soulful, and deliciously southern as she weaves a disturbing yarn like a master! Awesome-gives you goosebumps!" —L.A. Banks, author of Minion and The Vampire Huntress Legend Series, on Four and Twenty Blackbirds
"Spooky and engrossing, this revenge play is as sticky as a salmagundi made from blood and swamp dirt. Priest can write scenes that are jump-out-of-your-skin scary. This is the first installment in what I can only hope will be a long and terrifying friendship."—Cory Doctorow, author of Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, on Four and Twenty Blackbirds"Wonderful. Enchanting. Amazing and original fiction that will satisfy that buttery Southern taste, as well as that biting aftertaste of the dark side. I loved it."—Joe R. Lansdale, Stoker- and Edgar-winning author of The Bottoms, on Four and Twenty Blackbirds"Breathlessly readable, palpably atmospheric and compellingly suspenseful, Four and Twenty Blackbirds is a considerable debut. It's written with great control and fluency, and it looks like the start of quite a career."—Ramsey Campbell, World Horror Grand Master
"Cherie Priest has mastered the art of braiding atmosphere, suspense and metaphysics into a resonant ghost story that offers even more than what you hope for."—Katherine Ramsland, bestselling author of GHOST: Investigating the Other Side, on Four and Twenty Blackbirds
"Southern Gothic at its best. An absorbing mystery told with humour and bite."—Kelley Armstrong, author of Industrial Magic and the Otherworld series, on Four and Twenty Blackbirds
"Four and Twenty Blackbirds is a rare bird, the novel you wish you'd written yourself—excellent!"—C.J. Henderson, author of The Things That Are Not There
"Four and Twenty Blackbirds is an extraordinary first novel-heck, it's an extraordinary novel, period. It's a ghost story and a voodoo mystery-and like any good Southern Gothic, it has a healthy obsession with race and inbreeding. But Blackbirds is more than the sum of its traditional parts. Cherie Priest's writing, while decidedly capable of giving you the creeps, is infused with a refreshing spunkiness and interesting, believable characters . . . . Fans of supernatural horror should keep an eye on Cherie Priest!"—SciFiDimensions.com
