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From Publishers Weekly
The classic Southern gothic gets an edgy modern makeover in Priest's debut novel about a young woman's investigation into the truth of her origins. What Eden Moore digs up in the roots of her diseased family tree takes her across the South, from the ruins of the Pine Breeze sanitarium in Tennessee to a corpse-filled swamp in Florida, and back in time to the Civil War, when the taint in her family bloodline sets in motion events building only now to a supernatural crescendo. Priest adds little new to the gothic canon, but makes neo-goth chick Eden spunky enough to deal with a variety of cliché menaces—a scheming family matriarch, a brooding Poe-esque mansion and a genealogy greatly confused with inbreeding—that would have sent the genre's traditional wilting violets into hysterics. Eden is a heroine for the aging Buffy crowd, and her adventures will play best to postadolescent horror fans.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
In this new edition of a novel that was 100 pages shorter in its original, regional-publisher printing in 2003, Priest sinks deep into the tale of a Tennessee orphan who draws upon grit worthy of Scarlett O'Hara to extract an evil canker from her Spanish moss-hung family tree. Visitations by spirits spur Eden, who has grown up seeing ghosts, to pursue dangerous genealogical research. Also fueling her investigations are attempts on her life by a maniacal cousin, whose plots have the blessing of a crusty old matriarch resentful of Eden's slave--descended branch of the family. This southern-gothic closet is fairly overflowing with skeletons, from a polygamist wife murderer to a coven of voodoo priests. It all screeches to a somewhat unsatisfying halt after a cinematic climax, but there's mystical, sultry appeal in the thick Chattanooga atmosphere and strong characterizations (Eden's tongue is as sharp as the heels of her signature black boots), and a mixed-race heroine lends welcome diversity to a genre well populated with porcelain-complected heroines. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
When the sky is filled up with all the feathered wings,
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Four and Twenty Blackbirds (Paperback)
"Four and Twenty Blackbirds" is a hard book to classify -- it's got a heavy dose of Southern gothic, a dash of fantasy, and a whole lot of horror. Cherie Priest's debut novel is a gloriously rich, atmosphere slog of supernatural plotting and family strife -- it kind of drags for the first third of the story, but once Eden grows up it really takes off.Eden Moore spends her childhood haunted by two things -- ghosts and malignant spectors that only she can see, and the mysterious absence of her dead mother. But as a confident young woman, Eden seems to have left the past behind her... until her insane cousin Malachi tries to shoot her at a slam poetry meet. Suddenly all her old questions pop up, and Eden begins searching for her her father's identity, her mother's last inexplicable actions, and the reason why members of her distant family want her dead -- as well as why Malachi believes that she's the reincarnation of an evil warlock. So Eden sets out on a road trip for some answers, ending up on the doorstep of a cruel elderly cousin who loathes her (both because of Malachi, and because Eden is biracial). But finding out about her murky family history is only the beginning -- Eden learns of a Civil War-era evil that is supposedly due to return, and might destroy her and what's left of her family. Is it just a weird old voodoo story... or something horrendous about to happen? Shriveled hands, magic water, decaying Southern mansions and creeping shadows that only a mangled nursery rhyme can drive away. "Four and Twenty Blackbirds" is sort of a big stew of mild horror, urban fantasy and southern gothic -- and it has the unique quality of being very creepy and mysterious, but in a subtle way that doesn't bang you over the head. It's also very obviously a first novel: during the chapters about Eden's childhood, Priest just sort of meanders along, providing anecdotes that don't lead to anything (what was the point of that camp story again?). Fortunately after Eden grows up, the book tightens up into a spooky weave of supernatural weirdness, and slowly builds up to the harrowing, nightmarish climax. And even when the plot wanders, Priest's lush, murky prose keeps you riveted. Eden is also a very likable (and sadly rare) heroine -- a strong, intelligent biracial young woman who doesn't have a twinge of self-indulgent angst. She just strides along, determined to uncover her past and deal with the evil stuff ahead. And Priest sketches out a colorful cast with plenty of facets -- the loving Aunt Lu and Uncle David, malevolent crone Tatie Eliza, and the mysterious Harry. Even crazy Malachi is given dimensions beyond "gunslinging religious fanatic." The South is a place of shadows and ghosts in "Four and Twenty Blackbirds," which meanders for awhile but quickly evolves into an eerie, powerful little novel. Early days from a brilliant writer.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely a good read ...,
By
This review is from: Four and Twenty Blackbirds (Paperback)
I bought this book based on a review I glanced through while surfing the internet and thought "what the heck". It sat around for a month or so and then I had a chance to start reading it. After reading the first two pages, I logged back onto Amazon and ordered all of Cherie Priest's books. This is a great book that just sucks you in and sweeps you away. It's a ghost story, a mystery, with more a fair bit of suspense and humour to give it a nice edge. All I can say is "buy it, you'll like it".
4.0 out of 5 stars
loved it!,
By "walk-walk" (Harper Woods, MI United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Four and Twenty Blackbirds (Paperback)
excellent read. I couldn't put the book down. great surprise ending
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