About the Author
Emily Carpenter is a bestselling author of novels of suspense. Her previous novels include Burying Honeysuckle Girls, The Weight of Lies (which received starred reviews by both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly), Every Single Secret, Until the Day I Die, and Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters.
After graduating from Auburn University in Alabama with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication, Emily moved to New York City. She’s worked as an actor, producer, screenwriter, and behind-the-scenes soap opera assistant for the CBS shows, As the World Turns and Guiding Light.
Emily is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, she now lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her family.
Early in her writing career, she hoped to publish romantic comedies, but it was not a good fit. Instead, she decided to write books that were dark, creepy, atmospheric and southern gothic. With this, she has been very successful.
About the Book
In an immersive Southern Gothic with echoes of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery and Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, a restauranteur lured by pandemic-era incentives moves her family to a seemingly idyllic small town in Georgia, only to discover a darkness lurking beneath the Southern hospitality and sun-dappled streets...
Welcome to gentle Juliana, where you can have it all…if you pay the price.
The email that lands in Billie Hope’s inbox seems like a gift from the universe. For $100, she can purchase a spacious Victorian home in Juliana, Georgia, a small town eager to boost its economy in the wake of the pandemic. She can leave behind her cramped New York City rental and the painful memories of shuttering her once thriving restaurant and start over with her husband and her daughter. Plus, she’ll get a business grant to open a new restaurant in a charming riverside community laden with opportunity. It seems like a dream come true…or a devil’s bargain.
Reviews
"Cinematic, Realistic, and of course, Gothic." Jesse Rae Morton, Southern Review of Books
"Timely, intense and terrifyingly good," J.T. Ellison, New York Times best-selling author of A Very Bad Thing
"Gothictown is an absolute knockout," Kimberly Belle, internationally best selling author of The Paris Widow
"Troubled waters rise slow and dark and sneaky in Gothictown..." Robert Gwaltney, award-winning author of The Cicada Tree
"The post-pandemic what-do-I-do-now feeling is Spot On!" -firstCLUE
"Emily Carpenter's new novel Gothictown is about as buzzworthy as they come. With a television series already in early development at AMC, Carpenter's novel is poised to become a hit, and rightfully so. WIth a title like Gothictown,readers come in with a variety of expectations, and Carpenter is more than prepared to offer up classic South Gothic tropes, characters and settings with enough twists to keep us turning the pages. Giant spooky old house. Check. Dark secrets in a small town? Locals who are a little too friendly? Promises too good to be true? Check, check and check." - Southern Review of Books
https://southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/03/25/gothictown-emily-carpenter-review/
About the Event
The event will take place at the Roswell Library on October 25, 2025 at 2 p.m.
The event is free and open to the public, but you must register to attend:
https://AtlantaAuthorspresentsEmilyCarpenter.eventbrite.com
Event is made possible by Bookmiser;book purchase is recommended.
