And by God's Hand You Shall Die

by David Sodergren

On holy ground it rests, a strange, windowless brothel built upon the ashes of a church. No one who works there believes in the rantings of the insane priest, Father Patrick. Not when he warns of the coming apocalypse, and certainly not when he speaks of a tidal wave of blood coming to wash away the sinners.

No one believes him… except Candy.

For only Candy has experienced the grim terrors that dwell within the basement. Only Candy has glimpsed hell in a maddening vision that almost drove her mad. And only Candy can prevent the end… of everything.

Packed with his signature outrageous sex and violence, And By God’s Hand You Shall Die is the latest supernatural shocker from David Sodergren, the twisted mind behind The Forgotten Island and Maggie’s Grave. This time, you haven’t got a prayer!

Genres: Horror, Splatterpunk, Horror Thriller, Thriller

280 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 2023

About the author

David Sodergren lives in Scotland with his wife Heather and his best friend, Boris the Pug.

Growing up, he was the kind of kid who collected rubber skeletons and lived for horror movies. Not much has changed since then.

His best known books include the gory and romantic fairy tale The Haar, the blood-drenched folk-horror Maggie’s Grave, and the analog-horror fever dream Rotten Tommy. David also writes under the pseudonym Carl John Lee, publishing splatterpunk
novels such as Psychic Teenage Bloodbath and Cannibal Vengeance.

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Oh, that pesky Father Patrick. His weakness was…that he cared too much. Like way, way too much. And when any type of religion goes to your head, what happens? A killing spree, of course. This was a really wild story. And in some ways it mirrored Evil Dead Rise, which happened to be on in the background while I was reading. You see, I have to read while there is television on or I can’t focus. Another testament to my neurodivergence. So I didn’t like the movie, but the book made up for the bad experience there. Our lead, Candy, has some really great depth, and was a delight to follow for majority of the story. Her relationship with her fellow prostitute, Foxy, was also really subtle, but sweet, and it bugged me that it was never quite able to come to fruition. So we have a brothel, an extremist killer preist who remains an otherworldly presence in the basement of said establishment, which used to be his church, along with ghouls, protesters, cops, and just a ton of interesting things going on. Did I mention the wooden depiction of Jesus being crucified crawling around, too? Yep, yep, that really is a thing here. So there is absolute chaos during the night when this all takes place. Tons of action, lots of sex, creepy moments, and gore galore. The author also has some fantastic, vivid spectacles throughout, too, especially the final sequence with Candy, Father Patrick, and Jesus? The only minor critique I had here was that when some of the hallucinations took place, I understood the idea of wanting to disorient the reader a bit. But there were quite a few, and it did make it hard to follow the main plotpoints, so I would have preferred to have these visions be more clear. I can’t say that this was my favorite David Sodergren book, but it came awfully close. It was really unique, fun, scary, and everything that I like to see in a good horror book.

[Brandon Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

And By God’s Hand You Shall Die takes place in a brothel in 1980’s NYC, and follows a myriad of characters as they try to survive the night as hell starts to come to earth.

This is filled with graphic, imaginative gore, some gnarly kills, characters that are easy to picture/keep straight, and although things get insanely dark, there is a bit of dark comedy in the writing so things don’t feel *too* bleak.

I started reading this last night, but one sequence was so claustrophobic I had to put it down for the night 😅 the gore and injury details also had me cringing every now and then, which is absolutely nothing new with Sodergren 😂

It’s everything I’ve come to love about Sodergren’s writing, and if you’ve enjoyed any of his books in the past, you’ll love this!

[Johann (jobis89) · Rating 5 out of 5]

His most wild book yet?? Possibly!! It all kicks off in this one. Someone needs to make Sodergren’s books into slasher movies. 4.5 stars

[Lizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bunch of prostitutes and johns get locked in a brothel during the end times... lovely... you'll probably enjoy this if you like slashers, no ones safe from David Sodergren lol

I enjoyed the reading experience but this felt very forgettable, so much so that I can't remember half of what happened despite only having finished it a couple days ago 😭 I'll come back to this author for more popcorn reads, maybe his others might stick with me longer?

[Robert Fontenot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gruesome, gory, and blood-soaked, this bit of grindhouse is set in an early 80s NYC whore house and, while perhaps grander in scope than that one location, still doesn't quite rise to the promise of the description. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it (Sodergren is perhaps my favorite splaterpunk writer at this point) but between the morality based violence, the religious overtones, and the attempts to expand the action into the greater city, the book becomes muddled. My last Sodergren book was The Haar and this lacks the clarity and emotional weight of that far superior book. If I had read this earlier than maybe I would have liked it more but now that I know just what he can pull out when he wants too, it's hard to be satisfied with less.

[Angyl · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

I didn't connect to the story as strongly with this one but I still appreciate Sodergren's use of gore & violence and will always love the way he blends horrific real life situations with supernatural elements to create his wild and unpredictable stories.

[jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

lesbians!

[RoseDevoursBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book may not appeal to everyone and that may include even the most hardcore of horror fans. This is over-the-top religious horror that’s not for the easily offended. If you’re familiar with Lucio Fulci’s films such as Zombie 2, City of the Living Dead and The Beyond (to name a few), you’ll appreciate the “Fulci-esque” style Sodergren goes for in this novel. This is the authors love letter to the Godfather of Gore and I was here for it.

What initially pulled me in was the gritty backdrop of the story set in NYC from 1972-1981. The majority of the story does take place inside of a burned down church turned brothel which is just the cherry on top of an atmosphere filled with unease. There’s a sense of dread that lingers throughout as things increasingly get worse for the working girls dealing with an unknown supernatural force. And this sinister force at hand is something straight out of my nightmares! Inanimate wooden Jesus statue coming to life?! Hell no! That image is hair-raising in itself! And in true Sodergren fashion this horror is accompanied with lots and lots of gore with scenes that are uniquely gross and unpleasant. I think my eyes were bulging out of my head several times…

Fulci fans will easily recognize the film influences that inspired this novel and that’s something I can appreciate. If hyper-violence with extreme amounts of blood and gore combined with sleaze and a bit of surrealism sounds good to you, then this is the book for you.

[Amy Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolutely wild ride from start to finish, I could not put this down. The characters were relatable and brilliantly developed, particularly while handling the subject of sex work which lots of authors still get wrong. The religious horror elements in here were chilling and gruesome. The gore was off the charts perhaps the goriest book by Sodergren yet and I loved every second of it. It was very dark and really made me feel claustrophobic and uneasy at times. An excellent read.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many conflicting thoughts about this book, the premise is great - we follow one sex worker in particular, Candy, one evening who works at a brothel in 1981 New York that was erected on the grounds of a church that had been burned down some years prior. I love a story about sex workers, and some of the POVs and backgrounds to the women working at the brothel were fantastic, and some quite emotional. The commentary was on point and the storytelling empathetic. It was rough to see these girls die one by one.

The book is dedicated to Lucio Fulci who happens to be my favorite film director, so seeing several of his movies be clearly the source of inspiration for various scenes and horror was really fun for me to read as a fan. My critiques though are that sometimes I felt the writing was a little uneven, the first part was quite heavy, the second leaned into humor and sometimes toilet humor (literally), and with only 30 pages to go we finally realize what kind of horror is actually happening in the book. So pacing and writing was all over the place, but for a schlocky, pulpy story rooted in 1980s horror cinema, with some modern sensibilities on it subject matter, overall I'd say this was quite successful. I'd recommend this to any Sodergren or Fulci enthusiast.

[elli ⛧ yourspookymom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn you, Sodergren, you’ve done it again. And By God’s Hand You Shall Die was a WILD ride from start to finish. The setting & concept for this book was unique - 1980s NYC in a brothel built on top of the ruins of an old church. A church once run by a crazed priest who is out for revenge on the new institution. The additional supernatural elements in this book were so awesome. I don’t think I’ll read anything like it again!

As Sodergren has done in so many of his books, we are introduced to very thoughtfully fleshed out characters. He did a great job of humanizing sex workers, and I felt as if everyone’s personalities were so well crafted, even if they were only in a chapter or two. The multiple storylines worked well and came together all in the end seamlessly.

Definitely the goriest that I’ve read from this author and many times I laughed out loud at how insane this story was. Hilarious, absolutely terrifying, and fun. 5 stars for me!

[Joseph Sackett · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely amazing! Top notch horror Gem!

I’ve been a big fan of David’s work after reading Maggie’s Grave. I didn’t know what to expect with this novel, but wow! I love the style of writing and unexpected twists. This one will keep you on the edge of your seat! Looking forward to reading more of David’s work!

[Sally Chang · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was bloody good!!!

[Ilija Ilić · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jesus Christ (pun intended 🤣) what the hell did I just read?! And why did I like it this much?!

[Sarah Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the most fun I’ve ever had reading a book! Full review soon. ✨

[L.J. Dougherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 Stars for AND BY GOD’S HAND YOU SHALL DIE. Sodergren delivers wonderful characters, incredible pacing and control of tone. The perfect blend of dark humor and chilling horror permeates each page. As per usual, Sodergren writes so cinematically that I could practically see each camera movement, each sly edit and direction in my head as a smiled through every chapter. This one is absolutely brutal! Fulci would be proud.

[Jacob B · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my most anticipated books of the year. There were some very creepy moments in that basement, and the vent scene was incredibly suspenseful. This is a great tribute to Fulci films, and I bet he'd have wanted to make this into a ridiculous movie.

[Angel Celeste · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't normally give long reviews to books, but this one has filled me with so much anger and disgust I feel the need to rant. I don't want to hide this review, in the hopes that it might save someone from dealing with the nastiness I felt whilst reading, but please be aware I will be mentioning plot points, so somewhat mild spoilers throughout!

I should preface that gore and horror does not bother me. I love a good horror, thriller, slasher etc. So this is nothing against those aspects of the book. I will credit Sodergren here that he writes these portions and descriptions well. He also has a good sense of pace and suspension throughout, but it is from this that most of my anger stems. He obviously has skill as a horror writer, so why does he chose to write such horrible, vitriolic depictions of violence against women?

You might think with the plot of the book that this is something that could not have been avoided, but, as a fan of religious horror plots, I believe there was a much better way this book could've been written, still giving it those slashery horror elements, but removing the rampant gore and over-the-top violence against the book's female characters.

The book begins with a flashback to the night of a church burning - something that is going to be an essential part of the plot. Within said church, there is a man and a woman having sex, the woman just so happening to be a sex worker. Naturally the plot progresses to Father Patrick Morgan having to murder both of them, supposedly under the instructions of his God. I do not take issue with this, what I have problems with is the juxtaposition of how he describes the murders of the man vs the woman. I shall take quotes here directly from the text.

'Patrick slit the man's throat. The flesh tore like cheap fabric, thick gouts of dark blood gushing forth and spraying wildly over the pulpit. The man gurgled, then dropped lifelessly to his knees, exposing the woman in all her naked glory.'

This is the majority of the description of the murder of the man. We get this small quote, then the rest of the chapter is dedicated to the horrors Father Morgan enacts upon the woman. She is splayed out, naked, covered in blood, 'her breasts stained red with the man's lifeblood'. She attempts to escape, she is tripped, he begins quoting from the Bible at her. A candle is knocked over in this struggle, setting fire to a banner decorating the pulpit. It is noted here that, on any other occasion he would have noticed, but, because of the blood soaked, naked woman screaming in his church, crawling along the floor 'her legs spread wide open' (why am I rolling my eyes ten pages into the book), he simply does not notice the large fire beginning to rage behind him.

As she attempts to escape, the door obviously being locked to prevent this, he stomps on her ankles, breaking the bone. Further descriptions of violence against her, and Father Morgan, with the 'virtuous power' of God flowing through him, cradles the woman, taking the opportunity to fondle her breasts and stray towards touching her further. He spouts some more nonsense about her being a jezebel and a temptress, it obviously being her fault that he cannot keep his hands to himself, that its her fault he is taking advantage of her. There is some more horrible descriptions of him dragging her backwards by grabbing her, seemingly like a bowling ball, by her genitalia. Which, I want to point out here, is not really how feminine anatomy works, but I don't really expect proper depictions of women to occur by this point.

Father Morgan ends up killing her by slamming her head between a door frame, taking time to point out how fascinated he is by 'the jiggle of her buttocks' as her dying body spasms on the floor, having been almost completely beheaded. All of this happens within the first 12 pages of the book. You could make the argument that obviously Father Morgan is going to be the villain of the story, or part of the greater horror that is to occur, and so actions must be taken to make him seem so dreadful of a person. I understand that is how a story and its characters have to function, but why is this much effort not placed also into the male character? Why is he, to be vulgar, boringly killed and tossed to the side in order to focus the larger descriptions of violent actions against the woman instead?

This is a trend that continues throughout the entire book. I won't go in depth into the rest of the story, lest you wish, for some reason, to read it yourself. But there are multiple instances of Sodergren introducing female characters, attempting to flesh them out quite poorly, and then going into great detail about the horrific ways they are to be violated and then murdered. The whole plot of the book, for a good portion of its length, revolves around introducing another sex worker from the brothel, who has not been mentioned previously, only for her to be murdered in a grisly way, and then repeat.

Another issue I had was with the male patrons of the brothel. Obviously, with the emerging themes of the novel, they're not going to be the most savoury of characters, but there is very little in terms of variety of characterisation. At one point the main character is injured and so her friend grabs who she believes to be a doctor, who is the client of one of the other girls. It is later revealed that he is merely pretending to be a doctor, and spends the entire interaction oogling the injured girl, making lewd and inappropriate comments about the little clothes that she is wearing, how big her ass is, how it "eats up" her shorts, because of course he does. I get that this is set in a brothel and these women are sex workers, but it feels like Sodergren is taking every opportunity to objectify them, even in scenes were it just isn't at all necessary (which I think is all of them, but this is written by a man so the bar is exceedingly low at this point).

There are further examples of this, but I don't want to harp on about the same problem multiple times. I felt it was necessary to talk this much about it purely to show how much it occurs within the book, it is an almost constant background point of every scene.

The other, major issue I had with this story is the overt stereotyping of the only black character (if I remember correctly, but I am trying to forget I even read this) in the entire novel. She is one of the sex workers at the brothel, described as being probably the closest friend the main character has. She is head-strong, somewhat sassy, and very out-spoken in key scenes later on in the novel. And her name is Foxy. The only black woman in the book and her name is Foxy, and she is the biggest Foxy Brown stereotype you could have written. She also does not have a good relationship with her family, she is too proud to ask them for help. It just feels a bit, I don't know, Racist? At least to me, but I fear I am the wrong person to properly dig into this one too much as I am white. But surely if I can pick up on it, with my short amount of research to properly confirm why I felt it was off, surely it should have been picked up by an editor or a beta reader, to not write the only black character this way?

Obviously we can read whatever we want. You're not a bad person if you enjoyed this book, although I would be interested to know why, as the only thing I got out of this was increasing levels of disgust. I hope that, in the myriad of positive reviews that do not touch on any of these issues I have perceived, my review will help at least one person to realise this book might not be for them.

[Danny Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Sodergren is one of a few indie horror authors that has helped direct indie horror into a new direction. His work is often very bleak and terrifying, but he always comes out with something different and new. "And By God's Hand You Shall Die" is a novel I've wanted to read for a while and now I finally have.

Ten years ago, a church in NYC burned to the ground under violent circumstances; now, it's been rebuilt into a brothel, much to the displeasure of the former priest. Protestors led by the priest believe the end is coming, all sinners shall burn in the fires of Hades. Only Candy takes heed of their warning, especially when strange events happen in the old basement. The brothel built on holy ground is at the very epicentre of a disaster that could destroy the entire city. The dead will rise, the blood of sinners will flow, and not a single person will get out alive.

David Sodergren has written a fast-paced and terrifying horror novel that is atmospheric, claustrophobic, intense, gruesome and very bizarre. It's a story that explores the life of prostitutes in a brothel and the unfair reality they live in; I felt really sorry for some characters in this story, especially the protagonist. It's a story that highlights just how dangerous and bleak the life of a sex-worker can be. It's not that sex-work is bad, it's simply the outlook of other people that makes it so dangerous.

There are some really well-written characters in this novel, and the atmosphere is impeccable. It's a tense and horrifying story that will have on the edge of your seat. If there's anything we need to take away from this novel, is that we need to treat sex-workers with the same respect we have to other job professions. They're human too, you know!

Overall: It's an outstanding novel that isn't just terrifying, but also leaves you with a lot to think about. 10/10

[Eduardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time reading this author. Didn’t know what I was getting into. It’s definitely its own kind of horror. I enjoyed it, but I can see why some may not. Very graphic, completely absurd in some ways but still compelling storytelling. I must admit, at first, I found some of the language abrasive and bordering on misogynistic, if not unnecessary. However, by the novel’s close, I think I had a better grasp of what kind of world the author was trying to create. So, essentially, it’s a vibe. You’ll either dig it or find it repulsive, I think. Without giving much away, it has a host of unlikeable characters ranging from a supernatural, self-hating priest, an egoistical, psychotic brothel owner and zombies. Quite fun.

[Katelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another example of Sodergren making you care about characters before doing the most violent (and in this case sacrilegious) things to them.

I feel like I need to go to confession after reading this one.

[Jeffreyleepierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

En otäck salig blandning med inspiration ifrån Lucio Fulci & Hellraiser.

[Petri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really bloody, cruel and fun. Everything I've come to expect from a David Sodergren book.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favourite Sodergren, but I’m certainly not done with him. Just a miss!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Danny · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my new favorite authors

[Wyrd Witch · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Well, readers, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: 2023 is the year of religious horror. It’s been genuinely invigorating to read and enjoy so many different takes on the subject. In particular, Chuck Tingle’s Camp Damascus focuses hard on the queer, neurodivergent experience while raised within a fundamentalist cult. Hailey Piper’s Cruel Angels Past Sundown, though, dives into the philosophical underpinnings of religious morality and its attacks on agency and freedom.

By sheer contrast, David Sodergren’s latest novel, And By God’s Hand You Shall Die, takes religious horror to a new, gore-soaked direction. Sodergren really seems to ask, “What if Lucio Fulci wrote Catholic exploitation?” For the most part, he succeeds in answering the question.

Read the rest of the review here.

[Kurt · Rating 4 out of 5]

(hubristically) no gods could ever kill me, that's for sure

[yasmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

i love sodergrens books so very much. this book definitely made me feel very uneasy and sent shivers down my spine a million times. but unfortunately something felt off (though i can’t exactly pin it down). still an enjoyable read for the most part! cant wait for my next sodergren read

[Shawna · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Everyone dies. So why not get it over with?"

Candy works at a brothel built upon the ashes of a church. Many protestors, including Father Patrick, frequent the place with their ramblings. Nobody believes the priest about an apocalypse coming to wash away the sinners. Nobody but Candy as she has had her own experiences of what lurks in the basement.

Sodergren killed it again with another outrageous story filled with sex and violence. It was gory and graphic and I loved every minute of it!

The characters were awesome. I loved following our kickass protagonist Candy, and her fellow sex workers, getting brief insights into their lives on how they came to work at the brothel. And how often do you read about a psycho priest killing sinners in the name of god?! That shit was wild 😂

There were supernatural forces at hand - a wooden Jesus Christ coming to life and zombie like creatures. Crazy, right?? This book was bloody and fun with dark humour sprinkled throughout. Definitely made it into my top 10 books of the year 🙌🏾