Most times in life when things seem too good to be true, they are. Such is the case in Emily Carpenter’s latest novel, Gothictown (Kensington, 2025). If you liked Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery,” you are bound to enjoy the mysteries hidden behind the innocent façade of Gothictown.
Carpenter begins the novel with brief backstory on the town to create dramatic irony. From the opening pages, readers understand that there is something creepy about the town of Julianna. It was named for a founder’s firstborn daughter, Julianna Minette, who had died many years earlier. Founding residents had made their fortune from a gold mine in the days before the Civil War. While Sherman burned out other town, Julianna was spared. Local residents hid the mine from the invaders and saved their gold. But in the process, women and children hiding inside the sealed-up mine, perished. Thus began a paganistic cult who prayed to the gentle daughter Julianna—and occasionally made sacrifices to her.
As the main story begins, Billie Hope feels down on her luck. Her New York City restaurant has failed during the pandemic and her mother has moved away to join a cult—so there went any chance of finally forging a closer relationship with her. Then, a surprising email arrives, soliciting new residents to boost the economy of the little town of Juliana, Georgia. For $100, she can purchase a spacious Victorian home and leave behind her cramped apartment, starting a fresh new life with her husband Peter and her daughter Mere. Sounds like a dream come true. Instead, it is the start of a nightmare.
At first, all goes well for the Hope family. Billie starts a successful restaurant, Peter conducts his family therapy and counseling over the internet, and the nature-loving Mere thrives in the countryside. But soon, Peter becomes afflicted with insomnia and has strange temper fits, while Billie and Mere suffer recurrent nightmares in their old Victorian house. The family cat begins to have crazy fits and attacks people. And Billie can’t quite put her finger on it, but something seems “off” with the town and its “Old Guard,” the descendants of the town’s founders who are in charge of everything. The sheriff. The judges. The schools. They decide who pays taxes and who doesn’t. They decide who gets charged with crimes and who doesn’t. Who gets to move into town and who gets to leave.
One descendant of the founders, Jamie Cleburne, is devastating handsome. He hangs out in Billie’s restaurant every morning, reciting the same prayer each day:
“For food that stays our hunger. For rest that brings us ease. For homes where memories linger, we give our thanks for these.”
But who, exactly, are the founders’ descendants praying to? It isn’t clear to Billie. As the attraction between Jamie and Billie grows and Peter becomes increasingly short-tempered, Billie’s marriage becomes rocky.
The novel builds suspense and dread through short chapters that end with cliff-hangers. Readers will wonder if this will be the moment when Billie figures out the menacing nature of the town’s founders. What sacrifices will the founders demand of Billie and her family next? Will she solve the mystery in time to save her family and herself?
Gothictown is an entertaining novel written in the best Southern Gothic tradition. It is peopled with outwardly innocent characters hiding monstrous secrets. So, suspend your disbelief and escape into the strange town of Julianna with Billie Hope and her family. You’ll be glad you did.

Emily Carpenter
Emily Carpenter is a bestselling author of novels of suspense. Her previous novels include Burying Honeysuckle Girls, The Weight of Lies (which received starred reviews by both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly), Every Single Secret, Until the Day I Die, and Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters. After graduating from Auburn University in Alabama with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication, Emily moved to New York City. She’s worked as an actor, producer, screenwriter, and behind-the-scenes soap opera assistant for the CBS shows, As the World Turns and Guiding Light. Emily is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, she now lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her family.
Leave a Reply