The story is set in Cinderwitch, TN, a town that appears to be a ghost town except for a few struggling businesses. While I wouldn't call it a horror, the plot revolves around a mystery that is well-plotted to draw the audience in. The story takes its time to establish the relationships between characters, allowing the audience to become invested in the mystery.

As a result of Judith, Ellen's former teacher and partner, and Kate, Ellen's niece, impromptu trip to Cinderwitch, TN, secrets are uncovered, and healing takes place. The two are sparked by a 40-year-old town cold case interest story from a nearby newspaper asking "Who put Ellen in the Black Gum Tree"? Kate's aunt Ellen disappeared around the same time Cinderwitch's Ellen was found in the tree by a few of the town's children.

The story includes strange happenings, creepy warnings, and mystics that all add to the mystery. However, some areas of the book fell flat for me. I felt that a longer book could have ironed out these areas, particularly the whole Freemason situation.

I received this audiobook via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Since being burned on a few ARCs, I’ve started checking goodreads to see what the ratings are. I generally stay away from anything under 3. This one had mediocre reviews but still piqued my interest so I took a chance.

I’m glad I did. I suspect this hit much better as an audiobook, but the pace was great, the characters were relatable (to a degree anyway), and the writing was easy to listen to and process. This is a spooky book, which I deduced from the cover. I enjoyed the creepy small town TN vibe (as I’m from TN) and the Appalachian folklore feel. I liked the ambiance and the exposition, and thought this book was unfairly lowly rated. I enjoyed listening to this, it was interesting and spooky and reminds me of several Appalachian pieces of wisdom, such as not being in the woods at night among other things.

It’s not a long story by any means and is a quick, fun, and creepy read. 4.25⭐️

It’s been decades since the body of a woman was found in the crook of a tree by a bunch of girls in the woods of Cinderwich, Tennessee. Since then the mysterious message, “Who put Ellen in the blackgum tree?” has haunted the town and families looking to identify a lost loved one. Now Kate and her former professor and friend, Judith, think maybe this Ellen is their Ellen - - Kate’s long lost aunt and Judith’s long lost lover. Together they go to Cinderwich to find answers only to end up getting more than they bargained for.

First, this was a really well done audiobook. The pacing was spot on and the narrator truly captured the voice of Kate. Very easy to listen to and enjoy.

Second, the novel itself was pretty great too. This was a light thriller/horror that really kept you wondering what happened to Ellen and what is really is going on in Cinderwich. The tension built perfectly. I did feel the ending was a little abrupt but overall enjoyed the read. 4 stars.

Review based on a Advanced Audiobook provided by Dreamscape Media and NetGalley. Thank you!

Thank you to NetGalley for offering this title in their catalog. The opinions expressed are entirely my own. I really enjoyed the unique premise of this book. The story was written well and pacing was consistent. Usually I complain about how a book is too long or bogged down by unnecessary details, but this one could have actually benefited from more complexities. Overall, a quick, interesting read.

I loved the description of this book but the story really never took off for me. Too many characters with too little development

I wanted to love this the moment I saw that surreal, creepy cover. However, the pacing stayed incredibly slow all the way up to ~80%. This is fine if not for the bland atmosphere and main characters that never caught my interest even through all of their extended conversations. In fact, the side characters, the eclectic townspeople, were the most intriguing but they were never explored beyond their two-dimensional archetypes. The last ~20% of the book also unfortunately fell flat.

I listened to this on audio, and well at least the narrator was really good.

Little personal nitpick: the careless use of the term OCD. Like many characters trying to be funny, OCD is once again used in the "just checking my car is locked again out of my quirky OCD tendencies" context. I am tired of it, diagnosed OCD is debilitating and the character clearly did not suffer it.

Thank you Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I leave this review voluntarily.

Cinderwich by Cherie Priest and narrated by Tracy Odom. This book is a fun quirky mystery about Ellen thrush or Ellen thrush Junior, Senior went missing before Junior‘s birth and while in graduate school she became friends with Ellen seniors girlfriend a who is now juniors mentor, Ruth. Ever since she went missing Ruth has been trying to find out what happened to her and this is how she comes up on an article from cinder which Georgia and her and Junior go on a trip to the town to find out what happened. They meet the townsfolk and the sisters who found the body in the gum tree who are just as strange as the town. Like most great investigators they get warned to leave the town before getting their answers but when they finally get their answer they’re going to wish they would’ve left. This book is witty with an intelligent plot I thought the narrator did a great job I loved Ruth and Ellen’s quirky relationship and thought they made great protagonist and I do believe the sisters could have their own book. I highly recommend this book and want to thank dreamscape media for my free ARC via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I received an arc (audio) of this book (thank you!) and I enjoyed it for the most part. It had this creepy, ghost town vibe to it which was fun. A strange, small town mystery trying to be solved. I loved the ghost aspect. I wish the paranormal phenomenon at the end was bigger. It felt like so much lead up to a big ending that only lasted a few minutes. And other than them seeing it and running, we didn’t get much else because the town took care of it and they left. I liked the end, however we never actually found out for sure why she was put in the tree. We have her guess about saving her from whatever that black presence was, but that’s it. The free mason thing was a plot hole. Or maybe I just missed it.

I liked the narrator. She brought it to life well. I thought it was descriptive and I could imagine it all really well in my head.

I so wanted to like this one but I struggled to get through its opening pages. I am still very thankful to the publisher, author, and netgalley for granting me advanced access to this one before publication day.

I finished this book wondering what did I miss and what did I read. Do I need to read it again or just acknowledge that this book was not for me. I enjoyed up until the last chapter and then I was confused.

It's not really fair because I knew going in that I would love this. I have a huge stack of books to read but I pushed this to the top because I am already a fan. This kind of Southern Gothic horror with strong female protagonists is fun, exciting, and rewarding. In this book, the supernatural elements take a back seat in the beginning while we watch Kate and her former college professor try to solve the mystery using traditional methods. Of course, that doesn't work because there are forces at play! Anyone who likes this should also check out Priest's The Toll. I also think the narrator did a great job matching the mood. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook

I love this author and this narrator, so I might have some bias here.
This was fabulous. I love the relationship between the two women and Judith's memories of Ellen. I also loved the librarian and the cranky people in the town.
This was perfection. I listened to it all at once.
I loved the ending