In this brilliant debut novel by Kimberly Allen, she succeeds in weaving a tightly wound thriller with southern gothic horror sensibilities into a cautionary tale on the dangers of antique book collecting. At times this tale seems somewhat autobiographical but the ghastly supernatural elements make the readers pray it is not. For those looking for a modern antebellum take on the ghost story and heir apparent for writers such Michael McDowell and VC Andrews, look no further. Allen excels in the short form and we hope she continues to grow as a novelist.