The Ghosts of Varner Creek - A Review

In the summer of 1909, Solomon Mayfield awoke to find his mother and sister had disappeared. Left with his alcoholic and abusive father, Sol lived his life believing the story he'd been told, the story all the people of Varner Creek believed about what happened that summer. But in a plot of twists and family secrets that will leave the reader reaching for their jaw upon the floor, Sol is taken back to his childhood by the spirits he knew in life when he passes away so many years later . . . it is only then he learns what secrets The Ghosts of Varner Creek have been keeping so many years.  

It’s quite interesting when a main character dies in the first chapter of a book, which is exactly what happened with the Ghosts of Varner Creek. The rest of the book is told posthumously by Solomon through his memories, his sister’s memories, and flashbacks of when his parents met. I was enthralled with this book.  Don’t get me wrong, it is dark, and I mean very, very dark at times and not in a fantasy-evil-witchcraft-and-potions kind of dark – in a humans-are-capable-of-unspeakable-acts way.  I still really loved it though. I enjoyed the mystery of what truly happened to the mom and sister and was completely convinced that they’d disappeared for unsavory reasons, along with the rest of the characters. I liked the spooky ghost aspects of this book, but they really took a backseat to the living characters and I felt like they were more a means to an end of telling this story the only way it should’ve been told. I thought it was a very refreshing and creative take on a plot, but still so dark and thought-provoking. I would recommend this to others, but not to the sensitive reader.

 ** There is a disclaimer from the author stating this is material for 18 and older, which I would abide by. It isn’t raunchy or 50 Shades-esque by any means, but it is tragically sad and children are hurt in the worst way in the story line.