Friday, March 27, 2026

When Devils Sing by Xan Kaur


“When Dawson Sumter goes missing, all he leaves behind is a smattering of blood in room 4 of the debt-ridden motel owned by Neera Singh's family. Disappearances like this aren't uncommon in the rural Georgia town of Carrion, especially every thirteen years when a periodical cicada brood returns from underground, shrieking their deafening screams.

For Neera, Dawson is another reminder that in this corner of the South, the rich only get richer, and the poor—well, nothing good comes their way.

Neera sets out to investigate Dawson’s whereabouts—if he even still lives—along with three other teens: Isaiah, son of a prominent judge and clandestine true crime podcaster; Reid, son of the wealthiest man in the region; and Sam, estranged daughter of the local hitman. As they find themselves entangled in a messy web of secrets and lies, they discover the riches of the adjacent Lake Clearwater community may have a terrifying source of power dating back to the town’s founding and an ancient urban legend about three devils, each more sinister than the next. How deep does the rot go, and can they find a way to escape its reach?”
- taken from Goodreads.

This book reminded me of the Charlie Daniels song, The Devil Went Down to Georgia. Except in Carrion, Georgia, local folklore has it that there are actually three devils at the crossroads, each one more sinister than the next. They each prey on desperate residents in rural, backwater Georgia where the uber rich live close by who keep their secrets even closer.

Not all is what it seems in Carrion/Lake Clearwater. And as readers dive deeper into the story, the more all of the pieces of this story come together as Sam, Neera, Reid, and Isaiah race to figure out what has happened to Dawson Sumpter, the one person who initially ties them together. This was an excellent Southern Gothic mystery/thriller that will keep readers eagerly anticipating what really is going on in Southwest Georgia. The audio version was incredible.

Visit Xan Kaur’s website.

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