Those Across the River

Publishers Weekly

Buehlman packs suspense and secrets into his debut novel, set in the deceptively quiet fictional town of Whitbrow, Ga., just after the Great Depression. When unemployed soldier Frank Nichols inherits a house from his last living relative, he ignores the disjointed note from his deceased aunt warning him away and moves in along with his girlfriend, Dora. At first, everything is idyllic, but as Frank uncovers strange superstitions concerning the woods across the river—the site of his great-grandfather's plantation—the mysterious inhabitants of those woods are starting to take notice of him. The era is vividly rendered, complete with Jim Crow laws, vigilante justice, and racial tensions. The elegant prose and heavy foreshadowing keep readers on their toes right up until the big reveal, but once the monster is out of the bag, the novel clumsily muscles its way to a formulaic finale. (Sept.)

Linda Marotta

I won't give away the specifics, but as the title suggests, this is a book that deals with the Other : black/white, city/country, civilized/savage. Complex enough for Freud yet primal as Peckinpah, part literary fiction, part primal folk tale, this is much more than a supernatural STRAW DOGS. Economic upheaval has a way of exposing the guilt and violence lurking just beneath the civilization's thin skin. Toss the haves in with the have-nots and see what kind of monsters crawl out.
— Fangoria

Library Journal

College professor-turned-would be author Frank Nichols comes face to face with his past and a violent family secret when he inherits his family's old estate in the rural Southern town of Whitbrow. Although instructed to sell the house as soon as possible, Frank finds whispered stories of a slave-owning great grandfather who tortured his slaves for sport too compelling not to investigate. With his mistress, Dora, down-on-his-luck Frank moves south with plans to write about his family's history. After a town decision, influenced by Frank and Dora, to stop sending sacrificial pigs into the woods, strange and deadly things begin to happen. Something living in the woods wants the pigs to be sent and is making it known. When Frank has nothing left to lose, he starts to understand what it will take to overcome the thing in the woods. VERDICT Buehlman delivers a creepy, suspenseful, and well-crafted debut set in post-Depression era South. The action begins early and never lets up. Recommended for horror fans and those willing to be scared enough to want to stay out of the woods!—Amanda Scott, Cambridge Springs P.L., PA