This book was unfortunately a frustrating disappointment.

The good : The author created a very creepy and disturbing setting that made me want to keep reading so I could witness the moment when the characters realize just how awful the idyllic town actually is.

The less good : The first 60%ish of the book are incredibly long and boring. Yes, there is tension, but tension for so long just fizzles out if it doesn't deliver anything new. Then, something big happens, and I was so excited for the story to finally turn, but alas, from that point on, the main character makes the most ridiculous decisions every single chance she gets, to the point I completely stopped believing her as a person and her motivations made no sense. I had a really hard time finishing this book and wanted to DNF, but I pushed through hoping the ending would be satisfying and a big reveal, but it fell flat by its predictability and 'easiness'? I don't know how else to explain it.

I had high hopes for this story based on the summary and I will give the author another chance because the writing was atmospheric and had potential had the plot itself not disappointed me.


Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I enjoyed this one! Excellent plot and thoughtfully developed characters. Once I hit a third of the way through, I could t put it down. I could already see this as a movie or series. Looking forward to checking out the author’s other work!

When restaurateur, Billie Hope, receives an email inviting her family to relocate to idyllic Juliana, GA, and purchase a home there for $100, it sounds too good to be true. Billie, her husband Peter, and their daughter Meredith have been living a different life than originally planned in NY, following the pandemic. Billie had to close her restaurant, her mother left to join a cultish group of relatives in Maine, and Billie has become a stay at home mom to Meredith. They decide that the incentive to move to Juliana might just be the thing their family needs to start over. While Juliana seems picture perfect from the outside, the town and its three original founding families are hiding dark secrets. After settling in, the Hope family starts to experience disturbing dreams and occurrences, that might be the key to unraveling the power the town’s founding families have held over the past 160 years.

Gothictown was definitely an intriguing read for me! I loved the southern setting, and Carpenter captured the feeling of a small southern town and its different stereotypes perfectly. I’ve been to many a small town in the southern states, that have this same vibe.

I think psychological thriller is a good way to categorize the book, because it doesn’t feel like mystery or Gothic Horror to me, because the founding families lay out their plan at the beginning of the book. I would say it does have a Southern Gothic vibe, because of some of the ominous experiences Billie’s family faces, once they get there. The horror aspect comes from the lengths the founding families’ descendants are still willing to go to, to follow the original plan set out to keep Juliana as a prosperous, idyllic town. There is also a historical fiction storyline included in the book, that Carpenter sets up with the original founding families, set during the time of the end of the Civil War. I really enjoyed the way she worked the historical fiction aspect into the psychological thriller storyline.

I wasn’t always sure how I felt about Billie as the main character, but I think Carpenter wrote her that way, to add to the tension in the story. She doesn’t have it all together and makes a lot of mistakes, but I think if her character had been too perfect, it wouldn’t have felt right in the story. I did enjoy the fact that she was a female chef and restaurateur, since I love watching celebrity chefs, so much, on Food Network.

I loved the way that Carpenter wrapped up the story at the end, with an unexpected twist being the undoing of the founding families’ perverted sense of town devotion. Gothictown is definitely an engaging read if you love southern charm, haunted small towns, and unhinged townspeople willing to go to unfathomable lengths to protect their home town.

Gothictown by Emily Carpenter is a suspenseful thriller. The story follows Billie, a restauranteur who receives an email that completely changes her life. She ends up moving her whole family from New York to Julianna, Georgia, in order to start fresh in the town's initiative. She has the opportunity to open a new restaurant, and they purchase a house for $100! Yes, 100, that's it. Seems sketchy, I know!

I absolutely enjoyed this read. It was one of those books where you just want to yell at the fmc the whole way through it. But honestly, this town seems amazing with great opportunities and the nicest people. But things just start to seem off the longer they stay. The fmc's husband is acting weird. The town seems to run off of just bartering with each other and just weird creepy things happening.

If you like creepy house vibes, new towns, secrets, and mystery vibes, then check this one out!

Gothictown is a blend of thriller, gothic horror and somewhat cozy mystery vibes.

When Billie Hope receives an email from the town of Juliana, GA explaining that they are incentivizing people to move to their quaint town after the pandemic, she sees an opportunity for her daughter to grow up in nature and for herself to open a new restaurant after her swanky NYC restaurant closed. She convinces her husband it's a good idea, and they move to Juliana. As Billie begins building her new life, the towns elders grow increasingly involved, to the point it feels suffocating. And when she starts having nightmares, she starts to wonder if she will ever leave Juliana.

Fans of popcorn thrillers, off-kilter small towns and creepy suspense will love this one!

Gothic Town by Emily Carpenter is NOT to be missed!

I have read several of this author's books, and this one is unlike any I have read of hers, and it hits ALL the marks!!!

A family lured to a dream opportunity, once in a lifetime.
Billie Hope has had a hard time after the pandemic and has to close her restaurant in NYC.
They are headed to the southern town of Juliana, Georgia.

Not only do they get this amazing opportunity of buying a home for $100, but comes with it a grant to open a new restaurant.

Well, you know what they say, when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Nightmares begin, and the secrets of this old town start coming to light.

This story weaves the perfect balance of a mystery with gothic creepy vibes.

The characters are complex, flawed, and well fleshed out.

Southern mystery with a gothic small town feel and some incredible twists kept me flipping the pages on this incredible novel.

Highly recommend!

I have read all of Emily Carpenter's books and this one is completely different but oh so good! Lots of twists and turns and pure creepiness, kept me reading this book far past my bedtime. I cannot wait for the next Emily Carpenter book!!! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

This is probably my top read of the year so far!

Creepy small town with creepy small town people. Billie accepts an offer that is clearly too good to be true and is surprised by the results.
While I did feel that this was a bit predictable at times, I was still so caught up in the story that I could not put it down until I found out exactly what happened.

Thoroughly enjoyed and will definitely be checking out the author's other works.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Emily Carpenter’s Gothictown is a gripping thriller drenched in gothic atmosphere, already set for a TV adaptation even before its release.

The story follows Billie Hope, who moves with her family to Juliana, Georgia, lured by an irresistible offer—a $100 Victorian home and a $30,000 business grant. But their fresh start soon turns unsettling. Nightmares plague Billie and her daughter, her marriage begins to strain, and the town’s eerie traditions and suffocating influence grow impossible to ignore. Even more disturbing, the town worships its namesake, Juliana, as a divine figure, and its residents still sing the ghostly songs of those long lost.

While the novel starts strong with its eerie gothic suspense, the latter half shifts toward psychological thriller territory, losing some of its initial mystique. The pacing feels rushed, and the cult-like elements overshadow the atmospheric dread that made the first half so compelling.

That said, Gothictown is made for the screen—its chilling premise, haunting setting, and eerie small-town secrets seem destined for a gripping TV series, even if the book itself doesn’t fully satisfy seasoned thriller readers.

3.5/5

Gothictown is a mystery/thriller, set in a small town in Georgia, where an unsuspecting family is lured into what they think to be paradise, but soon find out to be something very, very strange.

Post pandemic, Billie Hope is trying to re-discover herself and find the next great thing for her family. She receives an email from a town called Juliana, Georgia, offering a deal so great, she is sure it is spam. Billie decides to pursue this offering, calls Juliana, and finds out the offer seems to be legit. After Billie and her husband go check out the town, they make the decision to move their family to this beautiful small town of Juliana. Billie finds a good spot to open her restaurant and gets that up and running pretty quickly. But, everyday that the family is in Juliana, there are weirder things happening, and things that just seem a little off, is it just new town new people, or is there something sinister going on?

I absolutely loved this book. and what I really enjoyed about this story, is the big secret that the town holds,. While we get to follow Billie anxiously as she slowly discovers this secret, the reader actually already knows! The beginning of the story starts in the past, and explains the sinister secrets behind Juliana and its original families. So while we as the reader are aware of what the main character is getting into, the character has NO idea, and I find this way of telling a thriller story really fun. You cannot wait for Billie to discover the truth, all the while knowing the horrors, and suspecting the reason why her family has been lured to Juliana. I have to admit I did have a different idea of why Billie and her family were brought to Juliana at first, but as the story evolved realize it is something else.

Even knowing the big secret that Billie was trying to figure out herself, there were still a lot of completely unexpected things in this book that I did not see coming! I loved that.

I am just this year delving more into mystery/thriller books, and I have to say this one made me excited to read more!

Thank you to netgalley and Kensington and the author for a review copy of this book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Billie Hope has received the offer of a lifetime. To buy a home for the low cost of $100. After the close of her NYC restaurant due to the pandemic she is desperate for a fresh start, not only for herself but for her whole family. So with spirits high and excitement Billie, her husband Peter, and daughter Meredith embark on their journey to their new home of Juliana Georgia. Along with their new home comes the opportunity of a business grant to open a new restaurant. And with a perfect town such as this Billie can’t help but think how very lucky they are…even if there seems to be a few strange occurrences. Vivid nightmares begin to plaque her, ones filled an ominous song making her wonder if all the southern hospitality she has felt is just hiding the towns darker secrets.

Gothictown mixes small town century old secrets and mysterious deaths with a sprinkle of southern gothic thriller. The setting of Juliana was a perfect backdrop for all the drama and lies that unfold through the books entirety. Personally I can’t help but love a good story that weaves a bit of spookier vibes with a mystery and as such was invested early on. When reading you do encounter a few flashbacks with almost journal entry like qualities, allowing the reader a glimpse into the towns secrets. And while I did enjoy these tinier scenes it also made the “why” of it all clear earlier on than I had hoped. However this one aspect aside did not stop me from liking the book as a whole. While reading I could easily see how this has gotten picked up to be a television show and am curious to see how these characters and town will come to life on the small screen. Overall this was a good southern mystery read that I definitely recommend.

Gothictown comes out March 25th, 2025.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve been deceived by an ominous title and a disturbing book cover!

Nope, this is not a creepy gothic tale similar to Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery or Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects as the publisher suggests. What lies inside is no more than a dark cozy mystery.

Have you ever heard the saying, “If something is too good to be true, then it usually is?”

If you saw an advertisement for a town’s initiative that was offering $100 houses and $30,000 business grants just to move there wouldn’t you be suspicious?

Not Bille! Despite her mother recently falling prey to a cult (SMH), she takes the bate and moves from Manhattan to Julianna, Georgia with her husband Peter and young daughter Mere in search of post-pandemic freedom. She longs for a new start, country air, more space, and wants to re-open her award winning restaurant.

It turns out that Julianna Georgia is not the picture perfect town that was advertised. The townspeople are hiding dark secrets spanning generations and no one is safe. Is their house haunted? They are all having similar nightmares and Peter is not acting like himself.

Billie soon learns that when residents come to live in Julianna, they cannot leave…

I really enjoyed Carpenter’s Every Single Secret so I was excited to read her new Gothic thriller. Unfortunately, Billie is not a very sympathetic FMC. She is self-centered, a terrible wife, and she leaves her six year old daughter for days! It takes her way too long to realize that something isn’t right in Julianna, as she is too busy worrying about herself.

There is virtually no scare factor here and it mostly reads like a cozy mystery. The reader is told in detail what actually happened in Julianna at the beginning of the book so there is no element of surprise.

This book did not live up to its comparisons and left me disappointed.

Trigger Warning: cults

2.5/5 stars rounded up

Expected publication date: 3/25/25

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington publishing for the ARC of Gothictown in exchange for an honest review,

✒️📖ARC REVIEW📖🖋️

It was very hard to out this book down. It does keep you on the edge of your seat, and makes you question how far you would go to give your family a better life -or at least what you think is one. Definitely had me in some parts of the plot, and the characters were morally grey as you would expect from a closed small town that “protects their own.” This felt like a modern drama/thriller where all the characters were messy -likable traits colored by stupid, stupid actions-, the mystery is given to you a little piece by piece, and maybe a little too rosy of an ending. I was imagining the ending would be a little darker.

The creepiness of the seemly forced romances reminded me of Mexican Gothic…bit of supremacy of the founding families there and the “offerings” chosen a bit at random (I guess that is like The Lottery since it also has a tone of sacrifice to save the town).

Some of the characters absolutely deserved better, but I think everyone’s judgement was clouded by fumes or misguided idolization. I did love that Peter pointed out that every town pretty much needed a bookstore, and this one didn’t have one…yet.

This is an artful blend of mystery, thriller, and a hint of paranormal, but what southern town doesn’t have a few ghost stories of its own. I did like that there was a bit of a parallel between the paths of Billie and her mother -don’t want to give away any spoilers since that build up is basically from page one to the end.

I was provided a free advanced reader copy courtesy of Kensington Publishing and Emily Carpenter via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

#arc #advancedreadercopy #NetGalley #Gothictown #KensingtonPublishing #EmilyCarpenter

This book really wasn't for me, but I'll do my best to share some thoughts on its strengths. "Gothic Town" aims to be a Southern Gothic horror novel, but I feel it falls short of capturing that true literary gothic vibe. It has the usual elements—set in the South, a haunted house, past sins, and some surreal aspects—but the story just feels too weak and forced to hold it all together. I couldn't connect with any of the characters; they came off as bland and their actions felt unrealistic. The plot has plenty of holes and relies on random coincidences to move forward. The steamy scenes felt awkward, and I found Carpenter's writing style pretty basic and lacking any real literary flair. As for the structure, I think starting with a prologue was a misstep. The reader is clued in from the beginning, making the overall plotline way too obvious. It would have been much more engaging if we discovered the dark past alongside the protagonist instead of just waiting for them to catch up. I didn't find it suspenseful at all, and the story felt forced, almost like a script for a bad movie.

I like Emily Carpenter and I wanted to like this so badly... I did like it during those first few mysterious chapters where southern charm and opportunity were on full display.

But, there were just a few too many inconsistencies throughout that ultimately hampered my enjoyment.

A family is offered a large home and business grant if they move to a small town in Georgia but the town elders occasionally sacrifice citizens to appease the 'founders' long deceased daughter.

I'm completely onboard with all of this.

To collate my thoughts, there are too many leaps in logic or jumping to conclusions without sound reason. The timelines of said decisions are escalated and characters are either acting/reacting too quickly or too slowly to feel make sense.

It felt like it wanted to be a gothic horror but couldn't commit and brought in too many 'elements' that ended up without a resolution.

So thankful to have a new Emily Carpenter book and to Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for the advanced copy, this one was just a bit off the mark for me.

⭐⭐💫

Gothictown reminds me of those creepy small-town horror novels by John Saul I devoured in the 80s, which has me thinking about how horror changes when we center different perspectives. Where those stories followed men who seemed to exist outside the domestic sphere of daily life, Gothictown's Billie is firmly grounded in the minutiae of family life - running a restaurant, dealing with a six-year-old, managing a marriage. When she uproots her family from New York to a suspiciously cheap mansion in Georgia, we're tied to her daily rhythms even as the horror creeps in. It's different reading this at 48 than reading Saul at 11 - the domestic details that make Billie's world feel real also somehow dilute the eeriness (I hate writing this; it feels like I am dismissing domestic and family work...but that was my honest thought as I was having it.) The book doesn't help itself by revealing too much too early. We know the town's secrets, and we're left to watch Billie stumble toward revelations we've already pieced together.

Gothictown by Emily Carpenter
*Advanced Reader Copy*
Publish Date: March 25, 2025
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I love a southern gothic tale and Emily Carpenter does not disappoint. The writing, the small town, the evil simmering below the surface, the slow burn…..loved it all. You must read this when it comes out in March.

Billie Hope had it all. A handsome husband, a spunky daughter and her own restaurant in NYC (even Al Pacino was spotted there). Then the pandemic hit. That was the end of her restaurant and a big part of Billie’s identity.

Fast forward and Billie receives a unique opportunity to relocate her family to the idyllic town of Juliana, Georgia. It offers a beautiful backdrop for her daughter with small town safety and an opportunity to open another restaurant. The offer is so affordable, so easy that it almost seems too good to be true.

The family arrives in Juliana to warm southern welcomes, warm southern nights, and a beautiful historic home that is a bargain. What they did not bargain for were strange nightmares with crying children and the feeling of being watched all the time. Is Juliana too good to be true?

I lived the premise of this book - spooky and southern, with a bit of mystery and magic. It was fun and definitely had me guessing the whole time. It was a bit longer than it needed to be, but it scratched my thriller itch for sure!

When Billie Hope gets an email offering a $100 Victorian home in Juliana, Georgia, plus a grant to open her dream restaurant, it feels like a fresh start she can’t pass up. She and her family jump at the chance to leave NYC behind and settle into the charming, welcoming town.

But soon, Billie senses something isn’t right. Beneath Juliana’s Southern charm lies an unsettling, menacing vibe, and Billie starts to wonder if her family’s new beginning might become their biggest mistake.

This was an enjoyable read overall. Billie’s journey into uncovering a town-wide cult worshiping a long-dead little girl—and believing she’s the reason for their prosperity—was both eerie and intriguing. The book nailed the creepy vibes with ghost stories, an unsettling Southern setting, and even sacrifices. That said, the ending felt a bit too neat and cheerful for my taste, lacking the punch I was hoping for after all the build-up. Still, it’s a solid mystery/horror story with plenty to keep you turning the page.

This book reminded me of the 80s style of horror. Perfect town, perfect family but something chilling lies beneath it all. Juliana, Georgia, is a perfect place to live but needs new blood and new businesses. It welcomes people to apply for the Initiative, a program that provides business grants and $100 homes if you meet their standards. Despite some initial misgivings, Billie and Peter and their daughter Mere apply, are accepted and move to Juliana to start a new life. They soon discover that anything so perfect comes with a price. I enjoyed this book a lot, although the stream of consciousness was overdone and I skipped over some of it in order to get back to the plot. Overall, it was well written and the story was interesting. I found myself flying through the pages to get to the end.