Kentucky Blood: A Southern Gothic Psychological Thriller Series

Kentucky Blood #1

by Ashley Thomas Sheikh

A GRIPPING, DARK SOUTHERN GOTHIC SAGA.
Award-winning fiction that pushes boundaries: WINNER of The BookFest Psychological Thriller Award and PenCraft Intrigue Award.

In a 90s-era Kentucky fueled by sex, drugs, and violence, the Cunninghams stop at nothing to find The Temple, a place of unimaginable wealth and glory. To unlock its secrets, they imprison victims in their garage, each kidnapping leading them closer to their coveted prize.

“We’re gonna find it, Daddy…”

“The Temple…”

But dark secrets threaten to tear the family apart. Rhonda, the eldest daughter, harbors a thirst for violence that may jeopardize everything. Bill, her father, struggles to balance parenthood with the brutal demands of the Quest. Then there’s Bobby, the current prisoner, who may be more dangerous than they realize...

Meanwhile, in the 1970s, a young Bill embarks on a violent rise to power. Driven by prophetic dreams, he forms a ruthless “Posse” determined to rule the Tri County. Standing in his way are the Smoketown Boys, led by Tommy Glick, a rival haunted by visions of his dead brother and a place called "The Temple." In the battle for dominance, both sides spiral deeper into a conflict they can’t control; a warning of the horrors in Bill’s family’s future.

Two timelines. One family. One destiny.

Will Bill’s dreams lead him to greatness—or a point of no return?

AWARDS & ACCOLADES FOR KENTUCKY BLOOD


The BookFest Awards 2025

1st Place – Fiction: Thriller – Psychological
2nd Place – Fiction: Gothic
2nd Place – Fiction: Literary – Mystery, Thriller & Suspense


PenCraft Awards 2025 – 1st Place, Best Fiction – Intrigue
Firebird Book Awards 2025

1st Place – Most Unforgettable Opening Line
1st Place – Best Chapter Titles
3rd Place – Best Southern Fiction


Hawthorne Prize 2025 Hawthorne Prize (the only Gritty / Horror / Suspense / Noir finalist) (American Writing Awards) – Finalist
IPPY Awards 2025 – Silver Medal, Best Mystery / Thriller
The Plaza Prizes 2024 – Finalist, Crime: First Chapter Award
Killer Nashville Claymore Award 2023 – Finalist, Best Southern Gothic
Page Turner Awards 2023 – Finalist, First Chapter Award
Sunspot Literary Journal 2023 – Finalist, Inception Award
Kansas Author’s Competition 2023 – Third Place, First Chapters

522 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 30, 2024

About the author

Ashley is the author of the award-winning Kentucky Blood series, a gritty, uncompromising Southern Gothic saga that explores complex characters and raw emotion. Raised in the rural enclaves of western Kentucky, he survived for 11 years in Tokyo’s cutthroat corporate world and now splits his time between countries. He’s always had a soft spot for the bad guys in stories and hopes his books will make you feel the same.

Awards & Recognition

The BookFest Awards 2025
1st Place – Fiction: Thriller – Psychological
2nd Place – Fiction: Gothic
2nd Place – Fiction: Literary – Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

PenCraft Awards 2025 – 1st Place, Best Fiction – Intrigue

Firebird Book Awards 2025

1st Place – Most Unforgettable Opening Line
1st Place – Best Chapter Titles
3rd Place – Best Southern Fiction

Hawthorne Prize 2025 (American Writing Awards) – Finalist

IPPY Awards 2025 – Silver Medal, Best Mystery / Thriller

The Plaza Prizes 2024 – Finalist, First Chapter Award

Killer Nashville Claymore Award 2023 – Finalist, Best Southern Gothic

Page Turner Awards 2023 – Finalist, First Chapter Award

Sunspot Literary Journal 2023 – Finalist, Inception Award

Kansas Author’s Competition 2023 – Third Place, Fiction

Reviews

[Milt Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I pretty much had a good idea of what I was getting myself into, thanks to the detailed synopsis, yet the book still went places I never expected. It's grim, dark, and occasionally vulgar; and I especially appreciated the feeling of dread accompanying me throughout the reading of the story. The twisty and densely plotted narrative dives deep into the complexities of a sick family's dynamics, the lack of personal growth, and the haunting shadows of really bad past decisions. Though the use of flashbacks gave me some trouble, I confess I was kept on edge from very early on: the characters are completely flawed, their motivations totally unrelatable (well, they are psychopaths lol), yet it was easy to follow their exploits because of the secrets, the mysteries, and the painful truths delivered with great emotional intensity. The characters of Rhonda and Bobby, in fact, are fleshed-out with such amazing attention to detail, they felt like real persons. Eagerly awaiting Book 2!

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Damien Babington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never read a book like this. It's got thriller vibes, but it's a southern gothic saga, and a little bit of horror all at the same time. Also feels like the TV show LOST with the dual timeline and all the flashbacks. Bobby is probably the weirdest character I've read in recent memory, and Charlie Young is somehow, strangely, the most likeable.

Rhonda just terrifies me.

My only complaint is the cliffhanger ending, and that there's TONS of mysteries with ZERO answers yet, which makes it feel even more like Season 1 of LOST. But I pre-ordered book 2. Ready for the war!

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kentucky Blood has it all. Loveably bizzare characters doing insane things you think there's no way to come back from, intrigue, suspense, cringe-worthy and uncomfortable violence, and a compelling story-line.

I'm not sure I've ever read a book quite like this. In more than one space I couldn't believe I wanted to read more and yet there I was, compelled to keep going - I had to know what happened. Rarely have I read a book that made me so cognizant of questioning my own assumptions while I was reading it.

Can't wait for what's next.

[David Tedstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant Surprise.

Loved the author's style of writing,the story gets you from page 1.
Waiting for the 2nd book in the series now.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what ride! This story consist of two intertwining timelines where needing a sense of purpose, and respect, is the driving force behind these characters behavior.

The grittiness and no holds barred approach is part of what makes the story compelling. Feels like real backwoods craziness, you never know what to expect.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel grabbed me and just kept tightening its grip. It’s dark, tense, and way more layered than I expected.

The characters were what really did it for me. Nobody’s flat or predictable.

The Kentucky setting and the ’90s era Easter eggs were delicious jolts of nostalgia for me. I went to high school in Kentucky, so I ate that part up.

Overall it was bold, tense, and haunting in a way that stayed with me. I flew through it and it lingered after, leaving me desperately wanting for more. That said, can’t wait for Book 2!!!!

[Christoph Naito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutal, compelling, and unlike anything I've ever read

I LOVED this book. It's super unusual in a good way, and unlike anything I've ever read. The author has an innovative way of playing around with a certain writing style that I've never seen before. This helps you get inside the character's heads and makes you really feel like you're with them. When we interact with people, a lot's going on in our dialogue and in our head, and the writing really helps evoke that. Fair warning: This book is packed with interesting and complex characters which walk a line. You're getting inside the heads of psychopaths and weirdos and it can be pretty gross at times. So be prepared for that. Explicit language and content warning!

MAIN CHARACTERS:
Rhonda Cunningham: She was the most fascinating and compelling character of them all! Has a real complex bad-ass personality and it's compelling to read how she walks the line of acting normal but being a psychopath on the inside. She's very violent and dominant (as you will learn within a few pages…) but also shows vulnerability through mysterious flashbacks.
Bill Cunningham: Rhonda's Dad, we meet him in both timelines (1970s and 1990s), so we see how his decisions from the past influenced his present. He's best friends with Charlie Young and has a huge rivalry with Tommy Glick.
Charlie Young: Best friend of Bill and loves speaking Spanish which he uses to impress girls. Extremely obsessive about cleanliness, which leads to something traumatic for him...
Tommy Glick: Leader of a group called the Smoketown boys. Rivals Bill which leads to various confrontations between these two.
Bobby: A real weirdo / pervert with a traumatic past. Also a complex character and fascinating to be in the head of such a person.

Here's some other points I enjoyed:
DIALOGUE
This book has so much amazing dialogue, some of which is darkly hilarious. I can already imagine this as a TV series.

VIOLENCE
An important theme of the book is violence. Nearly all main characters display some kind of brutality which they use to gain control. Everybody is controlled by someone or something.

TIME JUMPS
The story jumps between the 1970s and the 1990s, so we can see how decisions of events from the past resulted in the future. Bit by bit we unravel the mysteries of why certain things are the way they are. As this book is only the first from the series, quite a few mysteries are still open.

THE "QUEST FOR THE TEMPLE"
An overarching theme which is pursued throughout the book. Since this is just Book I of what seems to be an epic saga, we don't know much about it yet, but I've got a few theories...

FINAL THOUGHTS
The best thing for me about this book are the characters which feel alive and are like real, fleshed-out persons. Especially their interactions with other people. You can feel there's true friendship or rivalries between the characters. If you want to get into the heads of psychopaths, weirdos, perverts, and other fascinating people, this book is for you!

[Nora Flood-Houston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok i went into this blind. You better hold on its a wild read! It's not for the faint of heart. Im not sure i understand what the Temple is yet. I missed that this was book one of a series. I probably wouldn't have read it but im so glad I did. There are plethora of characters. And it flips back in forth to Bill Cunningham and his posse and the the Smokehouse boys selling and doing drugs and into the future about twenty years where Bill is a father of three strange children. They each have some issues, some worse than others. I dont want to spoil anything about this amazing story. It's a long saga but the reading seemed to go fast because its so intense. Not one dull moment in this book. Im ready for book two Now! Something bad is going to happen...

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kat M · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was a strong psychological thriller novel, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed from this type of book. The characters were everything that I wanted in this and had that secrets that I was expecting. It was a strong psychological element that I wanted and was engaged with the suspenseful atmosphere that I was hoping for. This was a strong start to the Kentucky Blood series and glad I was able to read this. Ashley Thomas Sheikh wrote this well and was glad I got to read this.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Caesar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the ROUGH SOUTH!

So, I honestly I didn’t know what “Rough South” was but now I’m hooked. It’s gritty and uncompromising and hard to read at times and yet I COULDN’T put it down. Dual-timeline was compelling and I think there's going to be some huge "twists" in future books. Ready for THE BATTLE OF THE SMOKEHOUSE. But warning: this book is definitely for ADULTS ONLY!

[James McBee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately I just became active on Goodreads today and I have read another book since I have read this one.

Things I like about this book.
I like the story about grimy dude with the Barbie doll.
I like Rhonda.
I like the 1970’s storyline.

I didn’t like how the book stalled towards the end. This book was 400+ pages of full on action and the last 100 pages or so seemed to drag along.

[Ashton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Epic, rough, Southern and BRUTAL! Ends on a cliffhanger with NOTHING resolved, but with all the mysteries and Easter eggs, I'm excited about the rest of the series. Pre-ordered Book 2! And FWIW Charlie Young is my favorite character, with Jack a close second.

[Nicole J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a surprise. Like Requiem for a Dream, but set in the rural South and more twisty. Rhonda is probably one of my favorite characters in any books I've read recently.

[Wendee · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF I didn’t understand where it was going so I can’t continue.

[Jessica Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutal and awesome. Rhonda Cunningham is my favorite femme fatale character now