I loved this book. I could have read another 100 pages, just to spend more time with these characters. The storytelling is haunting and even hypnotic. This was a very memorable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC.

The story follows Weatherly, who is a Death Talker. Deep in Appalachian Georgia, Weatherly’s family follows old ways of witchcraft intertwined with their Christian faith. Weatherly has a gift, by a can’t save everyone- which even she doesn’t understand. When her cousin is killed in what is labeled as an accident, Weatherly begins digging into the mysteries surrounding her family and her own gift.

This is a great magical-realism mystery. Beautifully written.

𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄: IN THE HOUR OF CROWS 
𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑: Dana Elmendorf
𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐑: Harlequin Trade Publishing / MIRA
𝐏𝐔𝐁 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: ⁣ June 4, 2024
𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐄: Southern Gothic / Magical Realism
Thank you @htp_hive @harpercollins @htpbooks @danaelmendorf for sending me this gorgeous book box.

In The Hour of Crows by Dana Elmendorf, is southern gothic that will keep flipping the pages. A murder mystery that takes places in the Appalachian mountain town of Black Fern, Georgia in the 1980s
Lush atmospheric imagery, catapultes readers into vividly descriptive tale. A character driven storyline that features magical realism, and family bonds.

Weatherly Opal Wilder is a Death Talker, was gifted an extraordinary talent by her grandfather. She is able to bring people back who are on the brink of death. In a series of events Weatherly cousin Adaire is in an accident. As the mystery unfolds readers will be follow Weatherly as she seeks answers.
An addictive read with a unique love storyline. I enjoyed the romance and thought Weatherly’s love interest rook was creative.

Magic, Family Bonds and Appalachia Folklore.. A great Book 📚

“I was born in the woods,
in the hour of crows,
when the day is no longer,
but the night is not yet.”

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣{𝐇𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒}
#htpbooks #harpercollins #inthehourofcrows #mirabooks #danaelmendorf #folklorebooks #gothicbooks

The premise of the book is magic but I found it hard to follow through the first half of the book. Things were not detailed enough for me to follow - or it was just me. Second half picked up and it was a fulfilling finish. It was probably this reader's fault.

In a small Appalachian town, the people live side by side with superstition, and death. They paint their doorways blue to keep spirits away. They avoid the places where black ferns grow because death will follow there. And when the Death Talker speaks, people listen. That is until the death of Weatherly Opal Wilder’s cousin. Weatherly, the Death Talker, believes Adaire was murdered for what she Saw when she used her Scrying gift. And when, for the first time ever, Weatherly cannot talk the death out of the mayor’s son, chaos and suspicion burst forth. This is the story of how Weatherly sets about discovering who killed her cousin, whatever it takes.

I love a good murder mystery. I love a murder mystery seeped in magic and suspense even more. In the Hour of Crows takes the journies of identity and love and spins this tale into a beautifully dark picture. The way that Weatherly was written, and the insights into her thought process, were delightful in that they sometimes made me wonder if the whole book was a new take on the Secret Window plot twist. I love that the magic was stand-alone and that it was woven into the murder mystery in a way that kept it centered rather than leaving it as an afterthought.

Overall the writing was good, though very slow-paced - and that was my biggest complaint. The pacing for the first two-thirds of the book was slow enough that I had to remind myself to not get distracted with other things while I was reading. But the last part of the book picked up the pace in such a delightful way that I am glad I finished the book! I recommend this one to anyone who likes found family vibes, magical realism, Appalachian magic murder mysteries, and family drama.

Content Warnings:
Major - Child death, grief, gaslighting
Moderate - Death, murder, blood, classism,
Minor - Alcoholism, abortion, car accident, mental illness

The idea of this book is so very interesting and I love how it was implemented. This probably would have gone down as one of my more favorite reads this year, but the religious trauma themes are not it for me.

This book has a great mystery element to it, and the gift that Weatherly has is so interesting.

I read this book fairly fast. It was interesting but didn't WOW me like I had hoped it would. I enjoyed it but also got aggravated with the characters. I also gagged in places. When it talked about the thing that Weatherly did after she brought or attempted to bring a person back from the brink of death.

This book is about a family who lives in Georgia. In a small town in Appalachia. Weatherly Opal Wilder is a death talker. She talks death out of people. Or tries too. That is the aggravating part of this story. Seem to me that every time she attempted to do this the person did die and she was blamed for their death. So what kind of gift does she really have? It's more like a curse if you ask me. I liked Weatherly for the most part. She wanted nothing more than to find out who killed her cousin. She had a hard life. Her mother left her and she didn't know who her father was. Her grandmother was mean. Not a likable woman at all.

Many truths are exposed in this story and a few deaths. A few secrets are revealed also. I found this book to be pretty good but not jaw dropping great. It held my interest enough to keep reading. Except the parts that made me literally gag. I couldn't help it. It was pretty gross to me. But it is what it is. How can you be called a Death Talker if you don't talk out death. If you can't make it leave. Or is that what it's suppose to do. Whatever. I think this book would have been better if Weatherly's mother would have come back when there was a death in the family. Or at least if she would have been in some way a part of Weatherly's life. She was suppose to love her so much. I didn't buy that.

I loved Rook. I wish there would have been more about him. I think he may have been the most interesting character in this story in many ways. I did love how the author wrapped things up in the epilogue though. I was hoping things would make a turn for them...

Overall I think this book was good but not wowing. It was gross in places but I understand that it was a big part of the story. It was about family drama and not a lot of love there. Oh and I liked Bone Layer a lot.

This book has a bit of a magical presence. A lot of a mystery and a lot of drama. It shows what life is like for someone who is poor as opposed to the rich family. There was a few things I wish would have been closed but for the most part I was satisfied with the ending.

Thank you #NetGalley, #DanaElmendorf, #HarlequingTradePublishing, for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

3.5 stars.

This was intricate and weaving story of southern gothic fiction set at the base of the Applachians in Georgia, in the small town of Black Fern. Weatherly is a sin eater that pulls death away from people, but in this superstitious town, do they thank her for it? No. We learn about Weatherly's life from her as she's trying to prove her cousin, Adaire, was murdered. Hardly anyone will listen to her, even family and friends. Which was strange to me at first, even though they knew what she did, they just thought her grief was talking I guess. This was a hard book for me to get through because it was, frankly, depressing. I know Gothic generally means depressing, but the life Weatherly survived with her Grandmama was just... It took me a week to read it because of this. I did find it a little wordy, I wouldn't say info dumps, but long-winded on occasion. That being said, the second half of book, started to pick up the pace and gave us more, and three-quarters of the way, I couldn't put it down. The "walking the veil" part of the book was perfectly written. The magical elements were woven in elegantly with the rest of the story. And the ending was great.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing | Mira and NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

"In a small town in Appalachia, people paint their doorways blue to keep spirits away. Black ferns grow where death will follow. And Weatherly Opal Wilder is a Death Talker."

This book is about cousins who have gifts: one can talk Death out of coming for someone, and the other can see the future in dark surfaces. When one of the cousins is murdered, the other will do whatever it takes to find out what happens.

This was richly atmospheric, and I kept turning pages to find out what happened.

I was initially intrigued with this book because of the description. Weatherly has the ability to talk to death and to help bring back people from the brink of death. It made the book unique for me. The characters also helped it be unique. However, for me the plot was missing information. For example, Weatherly is some kind of witch with those powers, but I don't think we get a really in depth telling of everything about her. The beginning was a little confusing for me as well because I think there needed to be more information given.

I did enjoy most of this book, it was just one that didn't hit the mark for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for a copy of this ARC!

Deep in Appalachia, Weatherly Wilder lives an extraordinary life as a Death Talker, someone who can convince death to leave the body it's trying to take. After it enters her body, she coughs it out. It's thick mucous becoming Sin Eaters Oil. A precious liquid can be used for good or evil, and its use controlled by Weatherly's harrigan of a grandmother. After her best friend and cousin is killed by a car, she goes on a quest to find the murderer. A murderer who is trying to implicate Weatherly. Mystical and evocative the story may seem to meander but the author has it under control through to the beautiful ending that ties it all together.

I loved the atmosphere of the North Georgia Appalachian Mountains setting. Although the small town feels oppressive, it has an air of unsettling vibes that are hard to resist. Weatherly Wilder is a Death Talker who changes the fate of those close to death by talking it out of them – which releases a dark substance in her mouth called Sin Eater Oil she then spits into a bottle (poisonous and totally gross). Her impoverished and eccentric family is looked down upon by the town until their help is needed (her grandmother is a Granny Witch and her cousin a Scryer). When Weatherly’s best friend/cousin is killed while riding her bicycle in a hit and run accident, Weatherly won’t rest until the killer is found. She’s aided by Rook, who she saved from death when he was a boy. Rook spends part of his time helping souls cross over, and the rest as a crow. He’s a mysterious character I’d have liked to know better. As Weatherly investigates, another murder occurs, and she’s the number one suspect.

Character development in this novel is exceptional. Even the characters I didn’t care for were well-crafted. While searching for her cousin’s murderer, Weatherly uncovers some shocking truths about herself and her family that make her question everything about herself. The story is heavy with grief and tragedy, but it’s also a journey of self-discovery as Weatherly learns things about herself and what she truly wants from life. I thought the ending was perfect, and it’s one I still thought about days after finishing the book.

Recommended for readers who enjoy a blend of magic and folklore, small town mysteries with long held secrets, and poetic prose descriptions.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Black Fern, Georgia

“I was born in the woods,
in the hour of crows,
when the day is no longer,
but the night is not yet.”

Weatherly Opal Wilder is a Death Talker, who brings people back who are on the brink of death. Her PawPaw had this ability, and gave it to her before he died. If she wishes to relieve herself from her ability, and sometimes burden, she must give it to someone of the opposite sex before her death or it’ll die with her. She lives with her Grandmama, whose goal is to use Weatherly’s gift for good, but also for evil.

Weatherly’s cousin Adaire was a Scryer, who could glimpse into the future. Adaire tried glimpsing into the future for Weatherly on a Thursday evening but her visions were blurry when looking into Saturday which was only two days ahead. She was killed on that Saturday by a man who accidentally ran her over…twice.

Weatherly sets off into the night to investigate her cousin’s death, which pulls her into a riddle of life and death, but reveals who killed Adaire.

The premise of this book was right up my alley with the mystery, suspense, and fantasy, but I had a really hard time getting into the storyline. This book is about a death talker, but there wasn’t much death involved, it was mostly about Weatherly’s day to day life after losing Adaire. While other may love this unique story, it wasn’t for me.

I rated this book 3.5 and rounded up to 4, because you can't give half stars.

Weatherly Wilder lives in Appalachia and is what they call a "death talker". When someone is in need of her services she can talk the death out of them, thus saving their lives. However there is a caveat, she can only do this for someone once, but never more than that. While this gift is extremely special, it means that people only want her around when she's needed, but are scared of her when they don't.

Weatherly's cousin and best friend Adaire is also gifted with the ability to Scry, which allows her to see the future when looking at dark surfaces. Right before she's killed in an accident Weatherly witnesses her see something alarming and it causes her to believe that Adaire was actually murdered. Therefore, when Weatherly is unable to talk the death out of the mayor's son, she is accused of trying to get revenge by not saving him on purpose.

Determined to prove that she's right about Adaire's death, Weatherly uses the clues she left beheld and her family's witchy recipe box to start her own investigation.

In the Hour of Crows appealed to me because I love a good witchy book. Unfortunately, the book was a little too slow of a burn for me. I felt like I wasn't fully interested in what was happening until about 80% . However, the end was fantastic! Once we got to the 80% mark things rapidly picked up and I was completely engaged and wondering what was going to happen next. I only wish the entire book was paced more like this.

Despite the pacing I do what to say that I loved the characters. Weatherly, Adaire (there were flashbacks), Davis, Grandmama, Bone Layer, etc. We are either extremely likable or so easy to hate; depending on Elmendorf's intention. She does wonderful character work!

All in all I think if you like a slow burn, then you probably would like this book. The premise and the characters are both fantastic, which helped to make it more enjoyable.

"We're in the hour of crows. It's when the day is no longer but the night is not yet."

💜 Southern Gothic
💜 Murder Mystery
💜 Magical Realism
💜 Small Southern Mountain Town
💜 80s pop references

Weatherly Wilder has the gift of being a Death Talker - she can remove the death from those who are knocking at death's door and produce Sin Eater Oil (the physical remnants of death). Her cousin Adaire is a Scryer, and can see premonitions of the future albeit somewhat murky. Days before her death, Adaire had a puzzling premonition and Weatherly is determined to find out what it meant and to solve mystery of her murder.

In the Hour of Crows is a Southern gothic murder mystery that takes places in the deep Appalachian town of Black Fern, Georgia in the 1980s. This story is primarily character driven and touches on themes of small town/family life, secrets, deceptions, grief, and prejudice. Appalachian folklore is a huge component of this book and the the author seamlessly wove it through the story to create a magical atmosphere. While I did find it hard to follow along in some parts, the mystery and intrigue of the characters and magical elements kept me going. The ending was a fun surprise and I would love to see if it will be expanded on!

Thank you so much to Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advance reader copy in return for my honest review.

This book was really great! It took a moment to get into fully but then it took off and I couldn’t put this book down. Weatherly Wilder had a special gift of being able to talk the death out of folks once only. They call her a Death Talker 😱 Her grandmother is a witch in the literal sense. Potions and herbal remedies and such. When her cousin Adaire dies after being hit on her bicycle , Weatherly is sure it was no accident and sets out on a journey basically to find out what happened and why and who is responsible for her best friends/cousins death. I’ll let you read it to see how it ends but I think you’ll enjoy it. 😋

Well! This is not your usual story! Weatherly has a unique gift. She is a death talker. She can talk people out of dying. Being from rural Georgia and the Appalachian mountains, Weatherly is used to superstitions and strange behavior. Her grandmother is considered a witch of the region and has raised Weatherly but she has also used her and her gift. When Weatherly’s cousin Adaire was hit by a car and killed, Weatherly knows she must use everything in her power to find out what happened even if it alienates everyone around her.

I really enjoyed this unique novel. I was captivated by Weatherly and her gift. Talk about a strange family and strange situations. Weatherly is truly gifted, but she is also a bit abused by her grandmother. As she gets older, she realizes, her grandmother has not been truthful and has kept many secrets.

This story is rich with superstitions and a bit of the supernatural. It also has fabulous characters and a good mystery to boot!

Need a unique tale with a bit of sorcery…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

RATING: 4.5/5

Thank you to htp_hive , danaelmendorf , & mira_books_ for this enchanting ARC!

This book was so magical! I fell in love with the MC’s name, Weatherly, since I initially read the synopsis. Her character did not disappoint either! Dana did a wonderful job of developing her throughout the story. This provided all the witchy, fantasy, magical realism feels. The poignant family drama kept me drawn in. & Dana threw in a fabulous plot twist at the end that took me by surprise! It had a darker element to it that was enjoyable. I look forward to reading Dana’s next book & recommend that you read these pages you all!

In The Hour of the Crows by Dana Elmendorf takes us to rural Georgia and has us meet Weatherly who has a unique gift of talking the dead out of people. She needs to solve her cousins death to remove suspicion from herself.

A very creative descriptive read with good characters. Weatherly lives with a very controlling grandmother and she is able to grow through out the book. Thank you to NetGalley and MIRA for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This gothic story was such a great read! The story follows Weatherly who can talk death out of people. She has been saving people since she was a kid. When Weatherly's cousin Adaire is killed, she soon realizes their are more lies than truths being told and she wants to get to the bottom of it. This book grabbed my attention from the begging. I only wish it were longer. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review!