Those Across The River

It's 1935 when Frank and his "wife", Eudora, move to the small town of Whitbrow. They've inherited a house from Frank's aunt and since they are otherwise down on their luck, they put aside the letter of warning that came with the inheritance, and set out on their new adventure.

The house is idyllic. Yellow. Sunny. Free. Frank hopes to write upstairs in his office, a book about his deceased grandfather. Frank's grandfather was a slave owner near Whitbrow and was known for being brutal to his charges, but also a brilliant Civil War General. Dora doesn't care for Frank's grandfather or the idea for the book, but she takes on the local teaching job with gusto and gets very involved in the lives of her students.

Just as they get settled in, things in Whitbrow take a turn for the worse. While Frank is out for a walk one afternoon, he sees something that can't be right. He chalks it up to heat exhaustion or a hallucination. Talking to the down drunk about what he saw does nothing to assuage his nerves about the situation, though. What did Frank see?

Christopher Buehlman reels you in with his foreshadowing and his little tasty crumbs and then flabbergasts you with his surprise plot lines. This was intense reading and it went quickly. I liked it and I would read more by Buehlman in the future! Perfect for Halloween.