Publishers Weekly
05/20/2024
In Dyer’s rich debut, a woman reckons with her family’s legacy of Appalachian mountain magic. After Lee Carnell splits from her husband, Cooper, she and her adolescent children, Meredith and Cliff, return from California to Craw Valley, the homestead she left 20 years earlier. Under the guidance of her grandmother Belva, who is respected by many of the locals as a witch woman, Lee reacquaints herself with “the power of the land,” which her family and others have channeled for healing purposes. The magic has a vengeful side, too, as Lee learns after Belva casts a spell meant to thwart the lust of a man named Joseph Hall who was caught ogling Meredith’s friend. After Joseph is found dead under mysterious circumstances, Lee confronts her estranged mother Redbud for answers about the scope of the magic’s power. Dyer raises the stakes further when Cooper shows up to try to lure the kids away and Lee rekindles a high school romance. The ease with which Lee and others master the magic feels contrived, but Dyer fortifies the tale with a well-timed surprise and gratifying reconciliations between her characters. It’s catnip for fans of homespun tales of rural America. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, CAA. (Aug.)Correction: An earlier version of this review incorrectly stated that the story takes place in the Ozark mountains.
From the Publisher
Lush, vivid, and utterly unique, Strange Folk is as much a rich exploration of trust, identity, and redemption as it is a page-turning mystery. A bewitching debut!” —Andrea Bartz, New York Times bestselling author of The Spare Room and We Were Never Here
“Alli Dyer’s Strange Folk is so completely enchanting, so unlike anything I’ve read before, that I couldn’t stop dreaming about it whenever I wasn’t reading. Dyer’s Appalachia is lush and gorgeous, her character portraits incisive and moving, and her exploration of familial inheritance and generational trauma—the dark heart of the book—wise and beautifully rendered. This book is a seductive slice of magic, and a new favorite. “ –Ashley Winstead, author of Midnight is the Darkest Hour
“In this bewitching debut, not only do we bear witness to ‘folk’ who call on the strange and supernatural to change fortunes, we also see the magic of forgiveness, grace, and purpose. With warmth and fervor, Dyer masterfully delivers a powerful story about flawed and gifted beings as they struggle to navigate both the natural and mystical worlds.” –Diane Marie Brown, author of Black Candle Women, a Read with Jenna Book Club Pick
“STRANGE FOLK is an evocative journey of self-discovery – and rediscovery – that tickles every sensory input. I can't remember the last time I could not only see a story, but smell, taste, touch, and hear it, too. Its witchy prose made me feel like part of the Buck clan and its sense of place is as well-defined as its eccentric characters, somehow both eerily timeless and blisteringly current. With this stunning debut, Dyer shows herself to be a new standard-bearer for contemporary Southern Gothic.” –Julia Whelan, author of Thank You for Listening
“A taut thriller threaded through with dirt and blood, honey and moonshine. Dyer roots her suspenseful tale so beautifully in this land and in this family that the novel becomes an interrogation of what rootedness itself means and is worth. I couldn't put this book down.” —Clare Beams, author of The Illness Lesson
“Delicious and haunting, Alli Dyer’s Strange Folk invites readers into a world where extraordinary folk magic finds itself fighting against the ordinary evil that hums through the Appalachian community of Craw Valley. An atmospheric novel that somehow manages to be both sultry and homey at the same time, Strange Folk is a story that deftly weaves family legacy, uncanny inheritances, and the perennial question of how a place can shape who we become. Perfect for fans of Sarah Penners’ The Lost Apothecary and Chloe Benjamin’s The Immortalists.” —Katy Hays, New York Times bestselling author of The Cloisters
“An absorbing, atmospheric debut that skillfully blends elements of suspense and the fantastical as it explores generational trauma and the ways in which families both hurt and heal one another. Like the Buck family and their link to the power of their ancestral land, this book thrums with a strange magic that will stay with you long after you're done.”—Alyssa Cole, New York Times bestselling author of When No One Is Watching
“Original, gripping and beautifully conjured, Strange Folk is a story of magic as you’ve never seen it before. I loved this unforgettable novel of the hope and heartbreak of family and the transcendent power of the natural world.” —EMILIA HART, New York Times bestselling author of Weyward
"Lush and arresting, Strange Folk transports readers into a transcendent world of Appalachian magic, where secrets and desire continue to shape each generation. With warm-hearted insight, sharp detail, and richly rendered characters, Alli Dyer's stirring debut captures the radiance of a community where the old traditions stubbornly refuse to die. A captivating novel for those who feel deeply the connection to land and legacy." —Thao Thai, author of Banyan Moon, a Read with Jenna Book Club Pick
“Alli Dyer’s Strange Folk is magic in the dark as the story flickers with coziness and tension in equal measure and drips with sweet dandelion jelly. I could smell, taste, feel, and hear Appalachia in these pages and got lost in the warm mist of the love and lore of the land, and this family aching to do the best they can with what they've been given. As the mysteries of Craw Valley rev up and radiate, Dyer’s beautiful sentences will make the reader want to slow down, to savor and sip. Strange Folk pulses with curious light, drawing the reader closer and closer until they are fully under the spell that only books this well-written and dreamily atmospheric can cast.” —Leesa Cross-Smith, author of Half-Blown Rose, an Amazon Book Club Pick
