King of Nod

by Scott Fad

“Folks say evil can’t cross water,” she told the boy, “which is why islands is ripe with all kinds’a inbred nastiness.”

Sweetpatch Island, South Carolina, 1971. For young Boo Taylor it’s a land of lush salt marshes and sun-soaked beaches, rich in history and folklore—yet steeped in superstition and hiding a terrifying secret.

After twenty years of self-imposed exile, Boo is summoned home to Sweetpatch upon news of his father’s strange death to face the friends and enemies of his youth, including his long-forsaken love. It seems everything he ran away from—the bigotry, the violence, the betrayal—has been buried under a modern landscape of golf courses and luxury hotels. Yet his homecoming reawakens the ancient forces that haunt the island and seek to right a centuries-old crime.

Scott Fad’s Southern Gothic masterwork, King of Nod, layers time and secrets in an intricate pattern of half-truths and glimpses of redemption to unravel the island’s great mystery—and its inexorable connection to Boo’s own fate.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Horror, Fiction, Suspense, Historical, Gothic

Kindle Edition

First published July 13, 2010

Reviews

[Rachel Drenning · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book. Magical realism, beautiful prose, great characters, supernatural elements. A great, beguiling storyline. I don't know where this book has been, but so glad I found it. It's an epic coming of age.

[Nancy]

I won in a Goodreads giveaway. I couldn't follow the plot. I may give it another try later but for now I just wasn't enjoying it.

[S · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book via Goodreads giveaway
DNF at 99 pages.
The author is a very good writer - you can picture the scenes, most things are vividly described and it’s an overall smooth read.
My problem is with the pacing. There are a lot of good, albeit disjointed scenes, and it feels like not a lot has happened. I’m not excited by any of the characters. I don’t have any sense of where the story is going.
This book just isn’t grabbing me and I’m not emotionally invested enough to slog through another 880 pages.

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, let me just say, "Wow! I loved this book!" Scott Fad's writing is as smooth as silk. It was like walking through a dream/nightmare. I was totally engrossed in his world, with his characters, with his story.

King of Nod is gothic suspense at it finest. It will take me awhile to disengage from Sweetpatch Island and its people even though the last page has been read and the back cover has been closed.

I hope there are more books in this author's head because I will be there for them.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

King of Nod by Scott Fad is a gripping Southern Gothic mystery that totally draws you into the eerie, haunting world of Sweetpatch Island. Set in 1971, it follows Boo Taylor returning home after twenty years for his father’s mysterious funeral. From the very first page, you can feel the tension, secrets, and long-buried betrayals bubbling under the surface.

Fad does a great job blending family drama, local folklore, and dark secrets, all wrapped in a richly atmospheric Southern setting. The salt marshes, sun-soaked beaches, and old town gossip make the island feel like its own living character. The story’s big, sprawling, and packed with twists, but that just keeps you hooked and turning pages to see how everything unfolds.

It’s long at 738 pages, but if you love mysteries with deep family secrets, complex characters, and a touch of Southern charm, King of Nod is totally worth the dive.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced copy to review for my honest opinion.

[Feathered Quill Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boo Taylor, a former athlete who is now working in construction and real estate in South Carolina, is haunted by ghosts, demons, and mysteries that he had escaped in the late 1970s. But when his father dies twenty years later, he must return to Sweetpatch Island to confront what has changed, and what remains the same, in a place full of racial and class-based violence, fueled by land disputes and injustice. What is more, Boo had abandoned an edgy love affair with Gussie Dutton, and now that is coming back to trigger him, too.

Boo grew up privileged amongst the poor, an adopted son of a doctor living on Sweetpatch Island, but he was raised more by the local herb woman, Laylee Colebriar. This island, located off the coast of South Carolina, is a central character in the novel; it is a deceptively paradisical place where the fauna may be an herb women’s manna, but the social strife is its inhabitants’ menace. The island got its name when, during antebellum America, “it was a sweet patch of freedom for runaway slaves.”
This epic, Southern Gothic novel tells of residents continually clashing, stories of copious cruelty, revenge, and violence with an overarching narrative of Boo Taylor trying to solve the mysteries surrounding his friend, Hoss Beaudy’s untimely death, as well as his father’s mysterious death. Rhymes from Carolina low country harmonize with the frogs and crickets of swamp lands. Full of lyrical richness and engrossing storytelling, this novel offers much to satisfy avid readers, especially those who like detailed epics.

This novel wrestles with these questions: who is the next rightful “king” of Sweetpatch Island? Who will have the most social influence, political pull, and economic power? What will it take to secure such a powerful status?

Laylee Colebriar, the black herb woman, who talks “of root cures for headaches made with stump water and gator tails,” owns property, locally known as Chaliboque, which was once owned by Jojo Tribbit who had been born a slave but made it to Sweetpatch Island to become its king...until he was lynched. Chaliboque is a piece of coveted land; disputes over this land prove deadly.
The island is also haunted by a legendary beast and a witch named Mamie Stuvant. Historically, Hoss Beaudy’s grandfather had been at Jojo’s lynching, and the townspeople and the readers are led to believe Mamie Stuvant killed Hoss Beaudy in revenge and used his blood to write Boo Taylor’s name on the wall. Boo spends his life trying to lift the curse that has afflicted him since Hoss’s death. Witches that swallow crows whole, potions and spells mixed by herb women who talk of legends and history in the same breath—these are some of the tropes featured in this impressive tome.

The local Baptist preacher tells what he has seen of the hoodoo arts, and Boo Taylor goes about also trying to uncover another mystery that involves a fire that happened on the Island in 1971. We are simultaneously learning about what is happening in the present and the past, and the revelations are compelling enough to keep a reader turning the pages. The continual time jumps and shifts in point of view make the multiple storylines difficult to follow at times and it often feels like it’s not cohesive. However, overall it is, indeed, a powerful read.

Also, here is a trigger warning: this book contains disturbing rape scenes and descriptions of lynchings that feel too horrific to be written about in such a lyrical way because the lyricism risks unnecessarily fetishizing horror and violence.

Quill says: Containing every dramatic experience from violence to humor, plus every kind of personality from witches to politicians, King of Nod is a valuable addition to any library that celebrates the Southern Gothic literary tradition.

[Lynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this lengthy novel as a giveaway through Goodreads and I'm ready to give it back. I gave it 3 stars because the author was very descriptive, but this is definitely not my preferred genre. The story follows Boo Taylor as he grows up on Sweetpatch Island in the low country of South Carolina. Sweetpatch was originally settled by freed slaves after the Civil War, but has since become an island of the privileged wealthy and the desolate poor. The author paints a picture of old-fashioned Southern life with many elements of the supernatural like ghosts, evil spirits, witches, magic, spells, curses, and shape-shifting. The plot is also rife with racism, cruelty, violence, and revenge. The story moves back and forth between the past and present as Boo Taylor tries to untangle his twisted family tree and its history of orphans and death brought on by "Sheba's curse". Between the shifting in time period and the many characters in the book, it is sometimes difficult to follow the rambling, meandering plot of this story. Although other readers have highly rated King of Nod, it's just not my cup of tea.

[Sherrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm choosing four stars, but at any given moment I could think differently. This is a long meander of a book, without enough lemonade or sweet tea to keep your energy up. We've got some Southern gothic, some magical realism, some racial and class injustice, and some fairly distasteful romance, pushed along by some hard work trying to create a sense of place. It isn't badly done, but for me it didn't quite ring true, didn't all come together to make magic. There's a mystery of sorts woven throughout, and I think it got answered at the end, but I'm not entirely sure about it, and I don't care enough to go back and sort it out.

I'm grateful for the Kindle giveaway invitation to visit Sweetpatch Island, but I don't think I'll be back.

[Kayla Demmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great storytelling, but a little drawn out
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2023
This was a thrilling story that, if I’m being honest, reminded me of a Stephen King novel. Being from Maine, I have read, and own almost all of Stephen kings books. That being said, some of them are a little unnecessarily lengthy and drawn out. The author did do a good job with painting a picture in your mind, but I felt at times was repetitive and overly descriptive. I did however enjoy the story nonetheless.

[Xan Kaplan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magical realism story set in the American south that will have you looking at the world with fresh eyes. This is a beautifully written tale and a compelling mystery I couldn't put down. Probably one of my most dog-eared books from multiple re-read but it is so deep that I recognize something new each time. I'm so surprised it isn't more well-known because it is truly an experience that is both unique and somehow familiar to anyone who grew up in the States.

[Dora Okeyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like books that have layers and layers to them, and this one started off with that- and in trying to unravel the story, I had to work with the lead's perspective and memories, and though very descriptive, what I did find was that some of his memories and experiences were lengthy- more like he was drowning in them, other than that, it took me a long time to finish reading it and get this review written.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very well written, but it is long! Possibly a bit too long, and there were definitely times when I didn’t quite understand what was going on. Encompassing multiple genres and themes, this was a fascinating read and it will definitely make you think.

I won this last year as a Goodreads Giveaway, and may not have chosen to read it otherwise, but I’m glad I did. I think this is one that may stick with me for a while.

[Amy Vandesteeg]

I don’t know how to rate this book. It was about 200 pages too long but it still hooked me the whole way. I did start skimming toward the end (action scenes - normal for me to tune out). It paints a horrifying and poignant picture of racism and generational hate which seems weird from a white guy. I think it would have been more powerful if there wasn’t quite so much going on. Maybe it was 300 pages too long….

[Martin Herrmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Epic storytelling

This really should have been broken up into two books at 979 pages long. Wonderful character development, but the story occasionally wandered in the twilight zone and took me a while to get back to the story.
But I loved the characters of Boo and Gussie, as well as Miss Laylee Colebriar, and all the Dutton family.

[Stephanie Hobbs-Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me on more twists, turns, and near misses than I could have ever imagined possible. The imagery was spot on I could see every inch of Sweetpatch Island in my head. It kept me guessing right til the very end, and now that it’s finished, I’d love to read more

[Debbie Barbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book

It took a couple of chapters to get in to the story but, then I was hooked. Totally became absorbed by the lives and life lessons of the people of this back woods island.

[Shanon Whitfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written enjoyed book

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

It felt like a Stephen King novel of the South, loved it!

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

What A Ride

Don’t start this book unless you are prepared to do nothing else until you have finished it. A good read well worth the time.

[Deborah Barbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the history and the magic in this book. Sometimes I'd get the characters confused as there were so many but, this was a really good read. I highly recommend this book.

[Kathy Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this Kindle edition book in a Goodreads
Giveaway. Thank you to everyone involved.
Great book. Great characters!

[Jess Conley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever

I really liked the story but I'm not a slow paced girl. I found this to be way too slow of a pace for me. But I loved the theory.

[Laura Hundley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come 2/25/2024

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book to be part fiction and part paranormal. I felt it would have been easier to read if I were more familiar with the culture that was being represented. It was often difficult to determine the ethnicity of the characters and how they interrelated with each other.