The next thing Titus knows, he is waking up on the side of the road, his SUV behind him is empty with its doors flung open, and Melanie is nowhere to be found. On an unusually cool spring day, Titus and his wife Melanie are driving along 177 towards the state park where they will be spending their honeymoon, when they come across a one-lane rickety bridge leading into the swampy darkness. Their disappearance is usually preceded by reported sightings of a mysterious seventh bridge along the west-to-east route on State Road 177, though of course, only six bridges exist according to any map. The story takes us to a tiny backwater town on the edge of the Okenfenokee Swamp in Georgia called Staywater, where every thirteen years or so, someone always goes missing. The Toll by Cherie Priest is a disturbingly dark tale of the supernatural, tinged with gothic horror and eldritch elements. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
(Jan.I received a review copy from the publisher.
Agent: Stacia Decker, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary. Priest is also adept at conjuring cosmic horror while eschewing mustiness, clunky writing, or clichés, as evidenced by “The October Devotion” and “Bad Sushi.” The latter is a standout, with an unusual lead-septuagenarian sushi chef Baku-standing between humanity and disaster. The ensuing tale is a clever fictionalization of a real case probed by psychic investigator Harry Price (1881–1948) involving an Englishwoman who persuaded her followers that she was pregnant with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. “The Catastrophe Box” showcases Priest’s skill at drawing readers in with ominous understatement (“It began when my wife returned from London with a wooden box and a nervous aspect, both of which unsettled me deeply”). Each entry combines evocative prose and imaginative reinventions of classic tropes.
This outstanding collection of 14 stories and one poem from Priest ( The Toll) should get this gifted, versatile author the wider acknowledgment her significant talent merits.
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