Priest delivers a good, spooky mystery with Cinderwitch. I enjoyed getting to know Kate and Judith as they worked together to find out if the Ellen of "Who put Ellen in the Blackgum tree" fame in Cinderwitch, TN was their very own Ellen. I loved smart-ass Kate and the sisters that the two finally found that added some additional spunk to the story and I adored the narrator, I just found myself wanting more answers to more questions at the end. Thank you to Dreamscape, Cherie Priest, and NetGalley for the early listen in exchange for my honest opinion. 3.5 stars

This book gets off to a slow start, but the author does a nice job creating the somewhat claustrophobic atmosphere of the run-down town of Cinderwich, Tennessee. I was enjoying the creepy Southern gothic vibes and the incorporation of Appalachian folklore, as well as the main character’s interactions with the small town’s quirky residents. However, I was disappointed at the resolution of the mystery, which left too many unanswered questions for my taste. I was also disappointed with the sudden intensity of the climax, which was a shockingly different tone compared to the rest of the story. It might have made more sense in a longer story with more gradual buildup of tension and additional denouement, but given the abruptness here, it felt unbelievable.

The audiobook production was good, and I enjoyed the narration by Traci Odom. Her pacing is appropriate, her pronunciation is clear, she creates voices and speech patterns to suit each character, and she’s able to convey mood and emotion effectively.

This is a story best suited for fans of Southern gothic ghost stories and supernatural suspense. I think mystery fans might be disappointed at how many unanswered questions remain at the end of the story.

I received a free advanced listener copy of the audiobook through NetGalley. I volunteered to provide an honest review.

Cinderwich is an engaging southern gothic light horror novella by Cherie Priest. Due out 11th June 2024 from Apex Books, it's 184 pages and will be available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

Creepily atmospheric, this is a modern ghost story with a nearly abandoned small town in Tennessee at the epicenter of a cold case murder. a young women found in a tree by a group of young girls. Drawn into investigating the mystery by a long ago family disappearance, two academics, a mentor and mentee, one related to her namesake who vanished before her birth, the other, the vanished woman's lover, try to find out if the Ellen found in the tree is their vanished loved one.

The writing is restrained and the horror/supernatural elements are mostly understated, with one exception. There are red herrings aplenty, and some plot threads which fizzle out and are unresolved by the end of the book, but overall, the denouement is clear and satisfyingly resolved.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 5 hours 55 minutes and is beautifully narrated by Traci Odom. She has a light voice which has a slightly breathy quality. She does a good job differentiating characters of a range of ages. She has a generic southwestern US accent which goes well with the read.

Four stars. Well written. Creepy, but not gory.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I listened to the audiobook and liked the narrator. The book itself was pretty short but it seemed like it took forever for something interesting to happen. I’m sure this will be a favorite for some, but this isn’t the book for me.

Decades ago, Kate Thrush's Aunt Ellen mysteriously disappeared. Even though Kate is too young to even remember Aunt Ellen, she was actually named after her and Ellen has been the shadow looming over her entire life. As a young adult, Kate befriended Ellen's long-time girlfriend, a college professor, Dr. Judith Kane. Judith and Ellen were partners at the time of Aunt Ellen's disappearance, and Judith has never truly been able to let go of that experience.

Eventually, Kate and Judith grew apart, so when Kate hears from Judith seemingly out of the blue, and Judith asks for her assistance, Kate is curious and takes her up on the offer. Judith has continued searching for any evidence that may tell her what happened to Ellen all those years ago. She's recently come across something she feels could be connected. A story, really more of a local legend, regarding a woman's body found years ago in a blackgum tree in the small town of Cinderwich, Tennessee. Children know the chant, 'Who put Ellen in the blackgum tree?'

Many have traveled to Cinderwich over the years, trying to determine the identity of the body found in the tree. Some of these people were even searching for Ellen's of their own, others were mere trauma tourists. Either way, the people of Cinderwich are used to strangers passing through and asking questions.

Kate and Judith make a plan, and meet up in the small town, checking into an eclectic local hotel. Immediately, they being digging into the town history, looking for answers. They're ill-prepared for what they'll ultimately encounter there.

I really enjoyed this highly-readable Horror novella. I was initially attracted to it because of the eerie cover and I have to say, the cover suits the story perfectly. It's got a sweet Southern Gothic feel to it, heavy with mystery vibes. Kate and Judith were such a fun pair. An odd couple of sorts, but I adored the dynamics of their relationship. It was a great premise as well; them meeting up in the small creepy town and looking into a decades old mystery.

The overall themes explored were well done and I found Priest's writing to be fluid, as well as engaging. This was actually the first I have read from her, and I'm definitely looking forward to picking up more. I've had [book:The Toll|41555927] sitting on my shelves for way too long now.

I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook for this one and absolutely recommend that format if it's available to you. We're getting this story from Kate's perspective and I felt that the narrator, Traci Odom's, voice was perfect for Kate.

My only slight critique would be that I wish it could have been longer. I feel like that way frequently with novellas that I enjoy, mainly because I just don't want them to end. For this one, I feel like it wrapped up rather quickly, I wouldn't have minded more time to really dig into this conclusion.

Overall, I feel like this is a fast, compelling, creepy read, with great vibes and characters. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys Southern Gothic stories, stories that feature small town vibes with creepy local lore, or unlikely friends investigating cold cases.

Thank you to the publisher, Dreamscape Media, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I can't wait to read more from this author!

“All I had in the whole world was a fistful of maybes and a little bit of hope. It wasn’t enough and I knew it.”

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook! I wasn’t sure if I liked the narrator’s voice at first, but I quickly realized it was perfect for the story. I was intrigued by the story from the beginning—it was unique and sucked me in. I was an easy to finish length as well, coming in at only about 5.5 hours.

This was part murder mystery, part small town horror with a lot of folklore mixed in!

There are some things that are left unexplained, which may have been intentional, but I am left curious about them. At least the main storyline was wrapped up nicely!

Cinderwich by Cherie Priest and brilliantly narrated by Traci Odom is a glorious southern gothic tale of two generations of women, Ellen Thrush and Ellen Thrush Jr. Jr returns to Cinderwich with her aunt to discover the truth behind a body found in the crook of a tree, unidentifiable, the stuff of local legend in a small, deteriorating country town

Beautifully descriptive, the reader is transported to another place and time where you can almost feel the humidity beading on your brow. Great humour, dark as you can imagine and a wry wit you could use to sand boards with, outstanding!

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, the author Cherie Priest (who is now totally on my TBR list) and the awesome narrator Traci Odom. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

Traci Odom did a wonderful job with the narration on this book! She speaks very clearly and was easy to listen to for hours! The story is about a small Tennessee town where lots of legend and stories are told about the murder of a girl named Ellen. I really enjoyed the dynamic between the two main characters and the town, while kinda creepy, had that small superstitious town feel. I liked the way it all wrapped up and will keep an eye out for other books from this author!

This was a very slow book. It took until 80% to even start to touch the creepy/spooky and even then it was underwhelming. I prefer more suspense and there wasn’t a lead up. It just isn’t my type of book. That doesn’t mean it isn’t for everyone!

A Priest classic.

Although short, this little folk horror packs a lot of punch. The characters are interestingly imperfect, and produce a great sense of deeply relatable friction in their relationships. The mystery is juicy and the small town setting is beautifully fleshed out, leaving just enough to imagination and leaving readers with plenty to think about at the end.

The narrator did a great job infusing personality into the various screwball and serious characters, making it even easier to get sucked into the story.

Lovely and sad and sometimes terrifying.

The niece and the lover of a missing woman, named Ellen, come together 40 years after she disappeared. A vague newspaper article surfaces regarding an unsolved murder and an unidentified body of a woman in a tree. “Ellen is in the black gum tree” is teasing graffiti and a tantalizing hint sprayed around the town of Cinderwitch.

This book was enjoyable. The mystery unwound slowly and intriguingly and I was deeply invested in how the mystery would be solved.

Cinderwitch is a scary little town with a terrifying secret. Scary things happened and maybe silly things? The ending was a little crazy and unsatisfyingly abrupt.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was creepy and a little spooky. I enjoyed the characters and their attempt to find out what happened to their aunt and friend. I wish more of the lore would have been introduced earlier on in the book because it was interesting when it came in the end.

The story is set in Cinderwitch, TN, a town that appears to be a ghost town except for a few struggling businesses. While I wouldn't call it a horror, the plot revolves around a mystery that is well-plotted to draw the audience in. The story takes its time to establish the relationships between characters, allowing the audience to become invested in the mystery.

As a result of Judith, Ellen's former teacher and partner, and Kate, Ellen's niece, impromptu trip to Cinderwitch, TN, secrets are uncovered, and healing takes place. The two are sparked by a 40-year-old town cold case interest story from a nearby newspaper asking "Who put Ellen in the Black Gum Tree"? Kate's aunt Ellen disappeared around the same time Cinderwitch's Ellen was found in the tree by a few of the town's children.

The story includes strange happenings, creepy warnings, and mystics that all add to the mystery. However, some areas of the book fell flat for me. I felt that a longer book could have ironed out these areas, particularly the whole Freemason situation.

I received this audiobook via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Since being burned on a few ARCs, I’ve started checking goodreads to see what the ratings are. I generally stay away from anything under 3. This one had mediocre reviews but still piqued my interest so I took a chance.

I’m glad I did. I suspect this hit much better as an audiobook, but the pace was great, the characters were relatable (to a degree anyway), and the writing was easy to listen to and process. This is a spooky book, which I deduced from the cover. I enjoyed the creepy small town TN vibe (as I’m from TN) and the Appalachian folklore feel. I liked the ambiance and the exposition, and thought this book was unfairly lowly rated. I enjoyed listening to this, it was interesting and spooky and reminds me of several Appalachian pieces of wisdom, such as not being in the woods at night among other things.

It’s not a long story by any means and is a quick, fun, and creepy read. 4.25⭐️

It’s been decades since the body of a woman was found in the crook of a tree by a bunch of girls in the woods of Cinderwich, Tennessee. Since then the mysterious message, “Who put Ellen in the blackgum tree?” has haunted the town and families looking to identify a lost loved one. Now Kate and her former professor and friend, Judith, think maybe this Ellen is their Ellen - - Kate’s long lost aunt and Judith’s long lost lover. Together they go to Cinderwich to find answers only to end up getting more than they bargained for.

First, this was a really well done audiobook. The pacing was spot on and the narrator truly captured the voice of Kate. Very easy to listen to and enjoy.

Second, the novel itself was pretty great too. This was a light thriller/horror that really kept you wondering what happened to Ellen and what is really is going on in Cinderwich. The tension built perfectly. I did feel the ending was a little abrupt but overall enjoyed the read. 4 stars.

Review based on a Advanced Audiobook provided by Dreamscape Media and NetGalley. Thank you!

Thank you to NetGalley for offering this title in their catalog. The opinions expressed are entirely my own. I really enjoyed the unique premise of this book. The story was written well and pacing was consistent. Usually I complain about how a book is too long or bogged down by unnecessary details, but this one could have actually benefited from more complexities. Overall, a quick, interesting read.

I loved the description of this book but the story really never took off for me. Too many characters with too little development

I wanted to love this the moment I saw that surreal, creepy cover. However, the pacing stayed incredibly slow all the way up to ~80%. This is fine if not for the bland atmosphere and main characters that never caught my interest even through all of their extended conversations. In fact, the side characters, the eclectic townspeople, were the most intriguing but they were never explored beyond their two-dimensional archetypes. The last ~20% of the book also unfortunately fell flat.

I listened to this on audio, and well at least the narrator was really good.

Little personal nitpick: the careless use of the term OCD. Like many characters trying to be funny, OCD is once again used in the "just checking my car is locked again out of my quirky OCD tendencies" context. I am tired of it, diagnosed OCD is debilitating and the character clearly did not suffer it.

Thank you Bolinda Audio and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. I leave this review voluntarily.

Cinderwich by Cherie Priest and narrated by Tracy Odom. This book is a fun quirky mystery about Ellen thrush or Ellen thrush Junior, Senior went missing before Junior‘s birth and while in graduate school she became friends with Ellen seniors girlfriend a who is now juniors mentor, Ruth. Ever since she went missing Ruth has been trying to find out what happened to her and this is how she comes up on an article from cinder which Georgia and her and Junior go on a trip to the town to find out what happened. They meet the townsfolk and the sisters who found the body in the gum tree who are just as strange as the town. Like most great investigators they get warned to leave the town before getting their answers but when they finally get their answer they’re going to wish they would’ve left. This book is witty with an intelligent plot I thought the narrator did a great job I loved Ruth and Ellen’s quirky relationship and thought they made great protagonist and I do believe the sisters could have their own book. I highly recommend this book and want to thank dreamscape media for my free ARC via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I received an arc (audio) of this book (thank you!) and I enjoyed it for the most part. It had this creepy, ghost town vibe to it which was fun. A strange, small town mystery trying to be solved. I loved the ghost aspect. I wish the paranormal phenomenon at the end was bigger. It felt like so much lead up to a big ending that only lasted a few minutes. And other than them seeing it and running, we didn’t get much else because the town took care of it and they left. I liked the end, however we never actually found out for sure why she was put in the tree. We have her guess about saving her from whatever that black presence was, but that’s it. The free mason thing was a plot hole. Or maybe I just missed it.

I liked the narrator. She brought it to life well. I thought it was descriptive and I could imagine it all really well in my head.