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The Borden Dispatches #2
Chapelwood
From Cherie Priest, the award-winning author of Maplecroft, comes a new tale of Lizzie Borden’s continuing war against the cosmic horrors threatening humanity…
Birmingham, Alabama is infested with malevolence. Prejudice and hatred have consumed the minds and hearts of its populace. A murderer, unimaginatively named “Harry the Hacker” by the press, has been carving up citizens with a hatchet. And from the church known as Chapelwood, an unholy gospel is being spread by a sect that worships dark gods from beyond the heavens.
This darkness calls to Lizzie Borden. It is reminiscent of an evil she had dared hoped was extinguished. The parishioners of Chapelwood plan to sacrifice a young woman to summon beings never meant to share reality with humanity. An apocalypse will follow in their wake which will scorch the earth of all life.
Unless she stops it…
Birmingham, Alabama is infested with malevolence. Prejudice and hatred have consumed the minds and hearts of its populace. A murderer, unimaginatively named “Harry the Hacker” by the press, has been carving up citizens with a hatchet. And from the church known as Chapelwood, an unholy gospel is being spread by a sect that worships dark gods from beyond the heavens.
This darkness calls to Lizzie Borden. It is reminiscent of an evil she had dared hoped was extinguished. The parishioners of Chapelwood plan to sacrifice a young woman to summon beings never meant to share reality with humanity. An apocalypse will follow in their wake which will scorch the earth of all life.
Unless she stops it…
448 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2015
43 people are currently reading
1848 people want to read
About the author
Cherie Priest
73 books4,373 followersCherie Priest is the author of about thirty books and novellas, most recently the modern gothics It Was Her House First, The Drowning House, and Cinderwich. She's also the author of the Booking Agents mysteries, horror projects The Toll and The Family Plot – and the hit YA graphic novel mash-ups I Am Princess X and its follow up, The Agony House. But she is perhaps best known for the steampunk pulp adventures of the Clockwork Century, beginning with Boneshaker. She has been nominated for the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, and the Locus award – which she won with Boneshaker.
Cherie has also written a number of urban fantasy titles, and composed pieces (large and small) for George R. R. Martin’s shared world universe, the Wild Cards. Her short stories and nonfiction articles have appeared in such fine publications as Weird Tales, Publishers Weekly, and numerous anthologies – and her books have been translated into nine languages in eleven countries.
Although she was born in Florida on the day Jimmy Hoffa disappeared, for the last twenty years Cherie has largely divided her time between Chattanooga, TN, and Seattle, WA – where she presently lives with her husband and a menagerie of exceedingly photogenic pets.
Cherie has also written a number of urban fantasy titles, and composed pieces (large and small) for George R. R. Martin’s shared world universe, the Wild Cards. Her short stories and nonfiction articles have appeared in such fine publications as Weird Tales, Publishers Weekly, and numerous anthologies – and her books have been translated into nine languages in eleven countries.
Although she was born in Florida on the day Jimmy Hoffa disappeared, for the last twenty years Cherie has largely divided her time between Chattanooga, TN, and Seattle, WA – where she presently lives with her husband and a menagerie of exceedingly photogenic pets.
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September 28, 2015
In response to the first in this series, 'Maplecroft,' my friend wrote: "I assume, however, there's a sequel because the big "Lizzie Borden vs. Cthulhu" build-up was not really satisfied. ... I'm definitely looking forward to the next one."
(https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
I have to reveal that this book might not really satisfy those looking for the Borden vs. Cthulhu Boss Fight, either.
Thirty years after the events of 'Maplecroft,' Lizzie Borden is living a life of quiet isolation, having outlived her sister and 'lost' her lover. [Again, Priest diverges from history: Emma Borden actually outlived her sister by about a week, although by that time, they had not spoken in twenty-two years. Nance O'Neil, rather than mysteriously disappearing, actually married, had a long career, and lived to the ripe old age of 90.]
Although things may be quiet in Fall River, something's brewing down in Birmingham, Alabama, where a Reverend has founded a creepy holy roller church that, although ostensibly fundamentalist, may actually be contacting the Great Old Ones of the Lovecraftian mythos. Simultaneously, and possibly connected in some way to this church, a serial killer is applying weird equations to determine his kills.
The enigmatic Inspector Wolf, who was involved in the Borden affair thirty years earlier, gets involved when a friend of his, a Catholic priest, is murdered. Odd details bring Lizzie Borden to mind, and although he hasn't spoken to her in all that time, he requests that she come down South as a consultant in this matter.
As a spooky serial killer murder mystery with a Lovecraftian edge, this book is perfectly good. I would say that the raison d'être for the story's existence is to subversively put Lovecraft's eldritch horrors on the same side as racists and the Klan, since Lovecraft himself was such a racist. (And that's a really fun idea - I wholeheartedly approve.) However - there's really no earthly (or unearthly) reason for Lizzie Borden to be in this story. She's not even a main character. I mean, she's portrayed as a helpful and competent character, but there's no reason for it to be Lizzie Borden.
My main complaint with the first book was the lack of accurate details regarding historic Fall River. In this one, Priest moves the action out of Fall River, but some of the problems still persist. Some are small, as when Lizzie makes an a comment about the words "supper" and "dinner," ("supper" is used in the south, but ALSO in the northeast - my grandmother, who lived in Fall River around the time period of this book, served "Sunday dinner" at noon, and ate "supper" as an evening meal) but some are more significant. One of the main themes of this book is the Klan's (and their associates') anti-Catholic sentiment. The Borden family were Congregationalists, but Fall River is and was a Catholic-majority community. Having lived there her whole life, one would think that Lizzie would find the bigoted religious attitudes odd, or notable, at least, as a big change from what she was used to... especially given her fictional interest in comparative religions in this book... but she makes not one mention of any of that.
The main character of this story is, as I said, not Lizzie. It's really Ruth Gussman, a young woman whose abusive father joins the worship community of Chapelwood - and who suspects that her father and the church have some kind of nefarious plans for her (and, of course, she is right.) In order to escape her father's, and the Reverend's clutches, she runs away and marries Pedro, an older, Catholic, Puerto Rican laborer who has previously done work for her family. Of course, her father is furious - and his anger launches the action.
That's all good - but here is also one of the main flaws of this book. I don't think Pedro even gets a speaking line in this book. Puerto Ricans in Birmingham? I don't know anything about that! It's interesting! Is there an immigrant community? What's Pedro's story? How'd he end up there? What's his motivation and rationale behind agreeing to marry Ruth? We don't know, at all. For a story with racism as a major theme, it'd be really nice to get to hear from the non-white character.
Still, there are plenty of murders, investigating, clues, and spooky occurrences. I loved Storage Room Six. And I can't hate on Ax Action!
Many thanks to Roc and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinion is solely my own.
(https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
I have to reveal that this book might not really satisfy those looking for the Borden vs. Cthulhu Boss Fight, either.
Thirty years after the events of 'Maplecroft,' Lizzie Borden is living a life of quiet isolation, having outlived her sister and 'lost' her lover. [Again, Priest diverges from history: Emma Borden actually outlived her sister by about a week, although by that time, they had not spoken in twenty-two years. Nance O'Neil, rather than mysteriously disappearing, actually married, had a long career, and lived to the ripe old age of 90.]
Although things may be quiet in Fall River, something's brewing down in Birmingham, Alabama, where a Reverend has founded a creepy holy roller church that, although ostensibly fundamentalist, may actually be contacting the Great Old Ones of the Lovecraftian mythos. Simultaneously, and possibly connected in some way to this church, a serial killer is applying weird equations to determine his kills.
The enigmatic Inspector Wolf, who was involved in the Borden affair thirty years earlier, gets involved when a friend of his, a Catholic priest, is murdered. Odd details bring Lizzie Borden to mind, and although he hasn't spoken to her in all that time, he requests that she come down South as a consultant in this matter.
As a spooky serial killer murder mystery with a Lovecraftian edge, this book is perfectly good. I would say that the raison d'être for the story's existence is to subversively put Lovecraft's eldritch horrors on the same side as racists and the Klan, since Lovecraft himself was such a racist. (And that's a really fun idea - I wholeheartedly approve.) However - there's really no earthly (or unearthly) reason for Lizzie Borden to be in this story. She's not even a main character. I mean, she's portrayed as a helpful and competent character, but there's no reason for it to be Lizzie Borden.
My main complaint with the first book was the lack of accurate details regarding historic Fall River. In this one, Priest moves the action out of Fall River, but some of the problems still persist. Some are small, as when Lizzie makes an a comment about the words "supper" and "dinner," ("supper" is used in the south, but ALSO in the northeast - my grandmother, who lived in Fall River around the time period of this book, served "Sunday dinner" at noon, and ate "supper" as an evening meal) but some are more significant. One of the main themes of this book is the Klan's (and their associates') anti-Catholic sentiment. The Borden family were Congregationalists, but Fall River is and was a Catholic-majority community. Having lived there her whole life, one would think that Lizzie would find the bigoted religious attitudes odd, or notable, at least, as a big change from what she was used to... especially given her fictional interest in comparative religions in this book... but she makes not one mention of any of that.
The main character of this story is, as I said, not Lizzie. It's really Ruth Gussman, a young woman whose abusive father joins the worship community of Chapelwood - and who suspects that her father and the church have some kind of nefarious plans for her (and, of course, she is right.) In order to escape her father's, and the Reverend's clutches, she runs away and marries Pedro, an older, Catholic, Puerto Rican laborer who has previously done work for her family. Of course, her father is furious - and his anger launches the action.
That's all good - but here is also one of the main flaws of this book. I don't think Pedro even gets a speaking line in this book. Puerto Ricans in Birmingham? I don't know anything about that! It's interesting! Is there an immigrant community? What's Pedro's story? How'd he end up there? What's his motivation and rationale behind agreeing to marry Ruth? We don't know, at all. For a story with racism as a major theme, it'd be really nice to get to hear from the non-white character.
Still, there are plenty of murders, investigating, clues, and spooky occurrences. I loved Storage Room Six. And I can't hate on Ax Action!
Many thanks to Roc and NetGalley for the opportunity to read. As always, my opinion is solely my own.
September 14, 2015
I almost gave this four stars, but ultimately couldn't. I think I wanted to love this book much more than I actually ended up doing. Pacing-wise, the story drags---I can perhaps see why someone else might read it as a sort of slow-building terror, but I just ended up bored. Parts of it read like it was meant to connect to another series (not "The Borden Dispatches", some other series, starring Inspector Simon Wolf and his parent organization). I haven't researched Cherie Priest's other books, so there may be such a series. But the whole situation just felt really shoehorned in.
Parts of this book didn't make sense. The climax seemed ill-thought-out and, well, anticlimactic. The character of George Ward seemed redundant---I didn't feel he added anything to the overall narrative. The setting had promise, and felt like it was going to deliver some very interesting ideas (given Lovecraft's well-known racisim), but ultimately the whole situation just fizzled. It felt REALLY bizarre to play up the KKK situation and then not have any African-American characters.
Parts were well-written, and the character of Lizzie Borden was well-done. (Though honestly, I'm not sure how much of that judgment I'm actually drawing from the much-superior Maplewood.) And some parts of the Lovecraftian-ness were suitably creepy. (Though I think the ending kind of spoiled that.) Overall, this book just felt like a number of good ideas poorly stitched together, with some rather bad ideas thrown in to sour the pot.
Parts of this book didn't make sense. The climax seemed ill-thought-out and, well, anticlimactic. The character of George Ward seemed redundant---I didn't feel he added anything to the overall narrative. The setting had promise, and felt like it was going to deliver some very interesting ideas (given Lovecraft's well-known racisim), but ultimately the whole situation just fizzled. It felt REALLY bizarre to play up the KKK situation and then not have any African-American characters.
Parts were well-written, and the character of Lizzie Borden was well-done. (Though honestly, I'm not sure how much of that judgment I'm actually drawing from the much-superior Maplewood.) And some parts of the Lovecraftian-ness were suitably creepy. (Though I think the ending kind of spoiled that.) Overall, this book just felt like a number of good ideas poorly stitched together, with some rather bad ideas thrown in to sour the pot.
August 12, 2024
Set in rural Alabama, a dangerous cult worships cosmic entities with occult practices, spiritualism, and ritualistic sacrifice.
An axe murderer is on the loose and investigators, Simon Wolf and Lizbeth Andrew (the infamous Lizzie Borden) are called to Birmingham to solve the case.
Audiobook is the perfect format for this one due to the epistolary style. It feels like an old radio drama with all the characters' POVs.
-Cosmic
-Lovecraftian
-Cults
-Historical
-Serial killer
-Supernatural
-Apocalyptic
-1920s
An axe murderer is on the loose and investigators, Simon Wolf and Lizbeth Andrew (the infamous Lizzie Borden) are called to Birmingham to solve the case.
Audiobook is the perfect format for this one due to the epistolary style. It feels like an old radio drama with all the characters' POVs.
-Cosmic
-Lovecraftian
-Cults
-Historical
-Serial killer
-Supernatural
-Apocalyptic
-1920s
July 29, 2016
I loved this book. Just like book one, it was deliciously fun and chock full of creepy weirdness. But it lost a star at the end. One final event just really made the ending less fulfilling for me. You'll know when you read it. Just felt kind of out of the blue and unfair to the reader.
Maybe we'll get some more though, since this book was supposed to be the last but ended just open enough for potential future entries.
Maybe we'll get some more though, since this book was supposed to be the last but ended just open enough for potential future entries.
April 28, 2025
Chapelwood is a continuation, of sorts, of Cherie Priest's other novel with a re-imagined Lizbeth (Lizzie) Borden fighting off Cthulhian threats with the help of Boston investigator Simon Wolf. A generation later, Lizbeth is feeling too old for this nonsense, but when a friend of Simon's is killed in Birmingham, Alabama--with an accompanying set of strange and unsettling circumstances--he asks her to come down from Massachusetts for one more case.
There's a lot going on in this novel. Catholics vs. Protestants, white supremacists vs. everybody else. Corruption in city government. A cult-like enclave that fronts as a Christian church but actually has a much more far-reaching and sinister goal.
This book is yet another that took me far too long to read as I threw myself headlong into a three-month-long reading slump in the latter part of last year. I ended up reading the first third of so of Chapelwood twice, since I'd forgotten a lot of details in that intervening time and just decided to start over.
Honestly, I wouldn't resent that if the book hadn't been so very, very slow.
There was frequent repetition as character point of views caught up with each other. While individual scenes were interesting, they often didn't feel like they progressed things very far. On the whole, this could easily have lost about a third of its page count, and every point of view section of and been a tighter and more mysterious story.
The larger plot is very evident if you have even a vague idea of the sorts of creatures that exist in the Cthulhu mythos and the means by which they make their way into human space and human minds. That's fine. A book doesn't have to have a strong and unpredictable plot to keep my attention.
There were quite a few books during the time frame this duology was published that interrogated the Lovecraft mythos from the points of view of marginalized characters. But you don't really get that here. People of color, Jews, etc. exist, but are only ever bit parts and aren't given their own narratives.
I enjoyed the newly introduced character, Ruth. She was raised by parents who eventually joined the Chapelwood cult, and not only does she escape their grasp by spontaneously marrying a Puerto Rican immigrant, she testifies against her father in a trial. Over the course of the novel, she proves herself to be active and intrepid, and unwilling to be a perfect WASP woman. She's a natural candidate .
I also liked a lot of the settings. The hospital that one of accountant Kincaid's victims ends up in*, the underground lair of the cult, and--best of all!--Storage Room 6 under Birmingham City Hall, that seems to have a kind of mind of its own, as well as a penchant for making documentary evidence--or even memories--disappear.
* a major thread of the first half of the book involves Kincaid having been a member of the cult who could engineer the arrival of the Cthulhian horrors with the power of mathematics. He has a change of heart, and seeks to thwart the enemies' plans, which unfortunately involves murdering a bunch of people.
The biggest problem with Chapelwood for me was that the stakes were too high. Maplecroft was full of scenes of creeping, almost intimate horrors, and a lot of its interest came from three women in a tense household situation who were also under threat from the sea-born monsters. When the universe lies in the balance, and there isn't a lot of interpersonal conflict to build character, my interest naturally starts to flag. Lizbeth was a fun character in the first book, and she's too-frequently sidetracked for far less interesting ones in this one.
Maybe someone whose background has some religious trauma could get something out of the cult aspects of the story. If such a thing existed for me during or after my now-abandoned Catholicism, I don't feel it much now. As often happens, I could perceive the author's intention here, but nothing in particular had a strong impact and it was a struggle to motivate myself to continue after every break, even during the climax of the book. I finished it, and this series is finally off my backlog, but I'm not so sure that either goal was worth completing. I'll keep my ARC of Maplecroft from way back when, and may read it again, but this one's going to the charity shop.
There's a lot going on in this novel. Catholics vs. Protestants, white supremacists vs. everybody else. Corruption in city government. A cult-like enclave that fronts as a Christian church but actually has a much more far-reaching and sinister goal.
This book is yet another that took me far too long to read as I threw myself headlong into a three-month-long reading slump in the latter part of last year. I ended up reading the first third of so of Chapelwood twice, since I'd forgotten a lot of details in that intervening time and just decided to start over.
Honestly, I wouldn't resent that if the book hadn't been so very, very slow.
There was frequent repetition as character point of views caught up with each other. While individual scenes were interesting, they often didn't feel like they progressed things very far. On the whole, this could easily have lost about a third of its page count, and every point of view section of and been a tighter and more mysterious story.
The larger plot is very evident if you have even a vague idea of the sorts of creatures that exist in the Cthulhu mythos and the means by which they make their way into human space and human minds. That's fine. A book doesn't have to have a strong and unpredictable plot to keep my attention.
There were quite a few books during the time frame this duology was published that interrogated the Lovecraft mythos from the points of view of marginalized characters. But you don't really get that here. People of color, Jews, etc. exist, but are only ever bit parts and aren't given their own narratives.
I enjoyed the newly introduced character, Ruth. She was raised by parents who eventually joined the Chapelwood cult, and not only does she escape their grasp by spontaneously marrying a Puerto Rican immigrant, she testifies against her father in a trial. Over the course of the novel, she proves herself to be active and intrepid, and unwilling to be a perfect WASP woman. She's a natural candidate .
I also liked a lot of the settings. The hospital that one of accountant Kincaid's victims ends up in*, the underground lair of the cult, and--best of all!--Storage Room 6 under Birmingham City Hall, that seems to have a kind of mind of its own, as well as a penchant for making documentary evidence--or even memories--disappear.
* a major thread of the first half of the book involves Kincaid having been a member of the cult who could engineer the arrival of the Cthulhian horrors with the power of mathematics. He has a change of heart, and seeks to thwart the enemies' plans, which unfortunately involves murdering a bunch of people.
The biggest problem with Chapelwood for me was that the stakes were too high. Maplecroft was full of scenes of creeping, almost intimate horrors, and a lot of its interest came from three women in a tense household situation who were also under threat from the sea-born monsters. When the universe lies in the balance, and there isn't a lot of interpersonal conflict to build character, my interest naturally starts to flag. Lizbeth was a fun character in the first book, and she's too-frequently sidetracked for far less interesting ones in this one.
Maybe someone whose background has some religious trauma could get something out of the cult aspects of the story. If such a thing existed for me during or after my now-abandoned Catholicism, I don't feel it much now. As often happens, I could perceive the author's intention here, but nothing in particular had a strong impact and it was a struggle to motivate myself to continue after every break, even during the climax of the book. I finished it, and this series is finally off my backlog, but I'm not so sure that either goal was worth completing. I'll keep my ARC of Maplecroft from way back when, and may read it again, but this one's going to the charity shop.
eventual-reviews
August 8, 20168/23--Loving this one. It's so...curious. Very different writing voice where everything almost sounds like journal entries. It's working for me though.
This cover! Total #Covergasm And pretty good so far. Interesting voice.
Reviewing for herding cats & burning soup.
This cover! Total #Covergasm And pretty good so far. Interesting voice.
Reviewing for herding cats & burning soup.
October 5, 2015
Mon avis en Français
My English review
I liked the first volume as it introduced many interesting ideas and I was curious to discover this second novel. I must say that I enjoyed this volume a little more than the last one, which was a pleasant surprise.
20 years have passed since the end of the previous novel and Lizzie is more alone than ever in her mansion. Nance has disappeared without a trace, Emma is gone as well as well as the dear doctor we had learned to get to know. Everyone thinks she’s a witch and her life continues in solitude. Yet an unexpected character will return to her life by a phone call, the detective Wolf. Indeed, it seems that something strange is happening in Birmingham. A murderer with an axe rages like a distant memory without anyone understanding the motivations and an exhibit seems to show a portrait of Nance. Could Lizzie finally understand what happened to her half? But that’s not all because it is the story of a young woman, Ruth, who left the sect in which she was enclosed to marry and therefore flee her father, the one who killed the priest who helped her. Elizatbeth finally thought she would have the answers to her questions, but these are only amplified when she teams up with Wolf to help the young woman and tries to understand what is happening here.
I admit that I was very surprised by the ideas of the story, it was very interesting to see the references to the Ku Klux Klan, or even the sects and I was curious to see how everything would evolve. Lizzie has not changed much over the years but it is quite sad to see the person she has become … I do not know if we will have more novels in the series but it’s true that I’m curious see what might happen now. Our heroes must go through many hurdles here and it will be difficult for them to manage what they want to do. Besides, I enjoyed the passages with our heroine, I found that her chapters were the most touching, always written in the form of a letter to Emma. It really helps to more easily share all her feelings.
As you can see, I had a good time with the story and I’m curious to have more.
My English review
I liked the first volume as it introduced many interesting ideas and I was curious to discover this second novel. I must say that I enjoyed this volume a little more than the last one, which was a pleasant surprise.
20 years have passed since the end of the previous novel and Lizzie is more alone than ever in her mansion. Nance has disappeared without a trace, Emma is gone as well as well as the dear doctor we had learned to get to know. Everyone thinks she’s a witch and her life continues in solitude. Yet an unexpected character will return to her life by a phone call, the detective Wolf. Indeed, it seems that something strange is happening in Birmingham. A murderer with an axe rages like a distant memory without anyone understanding the motivations and an exhibit seems to show a portrait of Nance. Could Lizzie finally understand what happened to her half? But that’s not all because it is the story of a young woman, Ruth, who left the sect in which she was enclosed to marry and therefore flee her father, the one who killed the priest who helped her. Elizatbeth finally thought she would have the answers to her questions, but these are only amplified when she teams up with Wolf to help the young woman and tries to understand what is happening here.
I admit that I was very surprised by the ideas of the story, it was very interesting to see the references to the Ku Klux Klan, or even the sects and I was curious to see how everything would evolve. Lizzie has not changed much over the years but it is quite sad to see the person she has become … I do not know if we will have more novels in the series but it’s true that I’m curious see what might happen now. Our heroes must go through many hurdles here and it will be difficult for them to manage what they want to do. Besides, I enjoyed the passages with our heroine, I found that her chapters were the most touching, always written in the form of a letter to Emma. It really helps to more easily share all her feelings.
As you can see, I had a good time with the story and I’m curious to have more.
March 6, 2016
Storage Room Six is TERRIFYING.
August 1, 2020
As a follow up and a conclusion to the first book, this works pretty well, though Borden's reason to be in the book is weak.
The other negative aspect is that Pedro who risks his life to help a woman really doesn't get that much of a speaking role and he should.
However, I did enjoy Ruth and I hope to see her again.
The Lovecraftian elements combine with the identification to the politics of the time was well done, though it lacks the power of a The Ballad of Black Tom, though I don't think that Priest could have written Ballad, not because LaValle is better author - they are equally good - because LaValle has the background. It is to Priest's credit that she doesn't use any token diverse characters, though Pedro who is Puerto Rican comes very close. (It is part of the reason he should have had more of a role).
But it was spooky.
The other negative aspect is that Pedro who risks his life to help a woman really doesn't get that much of a speaking role and he should.
However, I did enjoy Ruth and I hope to see her again.
The Lovecraftian elements combine with the identification to the politics of the time was well done, though it lacks the power of a The Ballad of Black Tom, though I don't think that Priest could have written Ballad, not because LaValle is better author - they are equally good - because LaValle has the background. It is to Priest's credit that she doesn't use any token diverse characters, though Pedro who is Puerto Rican comes very close. (It is part of the reason he should have had more of a role).
But it was spooky.
April 17, 2016
The first thing I had to do to sort my thoughts regarding Chapelwood is to stop comparing it to Maplecroft.
With that out of the way, you could see why this story is special. And yes, different. First, where else can you find sixty or so year old protagonists? Since this book takes place thirty years after the events in Maplecroft, both Lizzie and Inspector Wolf are much older than you are used to in fiction.
As in the previous book, there are more point-of-views; each chapter features a different one. Not all of them are from the positive side either. My favourite ones are Lizzie's and Wolf's.
Something terrible is happening in Birmingham, Alabama. A serial killer is killing people with an axe, elections with a very bad result, racism, harassment of Roman-Catholics are the least of the town's worries. Reverend Davis and his 'True Americans' with their headquarters on a secluded estate called Chapelwood seem to be the connection between every single bad thing that happens in the town. And the good Reverend is trying to open a way into our world for beings nobody sane would even try to contact.
I prefer a bit less realism in my horror. I prefer horror stories that don't centre on human element. I know people do terrible things to each other. I don't need to be reminded of the fact in everything I read or watch. 'True Americans' and their ties to the Klan and their overall behaviour was horrible. The trial of a murderer was also really tough to get through.
Overall, unless one expects Lizzie fighting a bunch of weird monsters throughout the book, there aren't any disappointments.
The tone of Chapelwood is bitter-sweet. It makes this book more memorable as far as I am concerned. You simply know that only considering the age of the protagonists this just might be their last fight.
Another reason to rate this high - Storage Room Six.
With that out of the way, you could see why this story is special. And yes, different. First, where else can you find sixty or so year old protagonists? Since this book takes place thirty years after the events in Maplecroft, both Lizzie and Inspector Wolf are much older than you are used to in fiction.
As in the previous book, there are more point-of-views; each chapter features a different one. Not all of them are from the positive side either. My favourite ones are Lizzie's and Wolf's.
Something terrible is happening in Birmingham, Alabama. A serial killer is killing people with an axe, elections with a very bad result, racism, harassment of Roman-Catholics are the least of the town's worries. Reverend Davis and his 'True Americans' with their headquarters on a secluded estate called Chapelwood seem to be the connection between every single bad thing that happens in the town. And the good Reverend is trying to open a way into our world for beings nobody sane would even try to contact.
I prefer a bit less realism in my horror. I prefer horror stories that don't centre on human element. I know people do terrible things to each other. I don't need to be reminded of the fact in everything I read or watch. 'True Americans' and their ties to the Klan and their overall behaviour was horrible. The trial of a murderer was also really tough to get through.
Overall, unless one expects Lizzie fighting a bunch of weird monsters throughout the book, there aren't any disappointments.
The tone of Chapelwood is bitter-sweet. It makes this book more memorable as far as I am concerned. You simply know that only considering the age of the protagonists this just might be their last fight.
Another reason to rate this high - Storage Room Six.
August 4, 2015
This is the kind of sequel that some fans of the original will tell you is not as fun; there's no chance of getting the band back together, for various reasons, and Priest refuses to distort either the story or the characters in order to just serve up more of the same. By which I mean, it's 30 years later and Lizzie has been living quietly by herself for most of that time, not spending her time hunting monsters. There are no sudden resurrections of beloved past characters, and while the relationship between her and Simon Wolf is both one of the best parts of Chapelwood and the part most rooted in the first book, it is markedly different here, and takes place with both characters in an entirely new part of the country facing an entirely distinct threat. Which means that this novel both avoids the worst kind of sequel retread it could have been, and the same people who find, say, the latter seasons of The West Wing or Buffy unenjoyable or even deniable because those ensembles are split up, stressed out, and things are never going back to the cozy status quo of earlier stories might not like this one.
For my money, though, it's if anything even stronger than its predecessor. The epistolary format is still very well handled, if a bit less prominent, but the marrying of Lovecraftian terrors from beyond the stars with KKK/"True American" fanatics (while not necessarily the first time that idea has been used) is very well done and amply scary in a wholly different way than the first book's threat. Birmingham in Chapelwood is outright terrifying and would be even without the cult that Wolf and Borden investigate; indeed, much of the evil that takes place here doesn't need any Elder God as a cause or justification. Another very satisfying entry, although maybe the last one; the ending seems like it could go either way. I'd love to see a third dispatch, with [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] somehow encountering [REDACTED] again, but I guess we'll see.
For my money, though, it's if anything even stronger than its predecessor. The epistolary format is still very well handled, if a bit less prominent, but the marrying of Lovecraftian terrors from beyond the stars with KKK/"True American" fanatics (while not necessarily the first time that idea has been used) is very well done and amply scary in a wholly different way than the first book's threat. Birmingham in Chapelwood is outright terrifying and would be even without the cult that Wolf and Borden investigate; indeed, much of the evil that takes place here doesn't need any Elder God as a cause or justification. Another very satisfying entry, although maybe the last one; the ending seems like it could go either way. I'd love to see a third dispatch, with [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] somehow encountering [REDACTED] again, but I guess we'll see.
October 16, 2015
A disappointment after the wonderfully creepy Maplecroft. The relationships between the characters had less depth, the characters themselves were more thinly drawn, the first person narration was frequently clunky (and I dearly wished to excise the phrase from the book), and the historical Lizzie Borden story was so far from central to the plot that it felt an unnecessary addendum. Perhaps most damningly, I--the biggest scaredy-cat of my acquaintance--read this book alone at night and wasn't terrified once.
I did get a bit of a kick out of the novel's juxtaposition of the KKK and similar idealogical groups and (the infamously racist) Lovecraft's mythos, though.
I did get a bit of a kick out of the novel's juxtaposition of the KKK and similar idealogical groups and (the infamously racist) Lovecraft's mythos, though.
January 1, 2017
This book was actually better than the first book in this series, Maplecroft. It is set 30 years after the events of Maplecroft. All the questions left hanging in the first book were not answered in this second one. But that really did not matter in the end. This was a good stand alone story and touched many of my old stomping grounds. I grew up less than 45 minute from Lilydale, NY which is still a spiritualist community going strong. I currently live about 2 hours North of Birmingham AL, the location of this second book. The last 100 pages of this book are the best part of this book and I see the potential for a spin-off series, which I would not be opposed to.
all in all I'll give this book a weak 3 stars.
all in all I'll give this book a weak 3 stars.
January 1, 2020
Lizzie Borden, now in her sixties, becomes involved in a church that may be worshipping Cthulhu-like creatures.
This is like throwing the previous book (Maplecroft) in a blender, adding a big cup of crazy, and then hitting the power button. And that's saying something because Maplecroft included Lizzie Borden as a hero with creepy creatures led by some sort of deep ocean sourced evilness.
I'm glad I knew going in that thirty years passed between these books (thanks for the heads up, J!). I wish there had been a larger focus on Lizzie (or Lizbeth, as she is now called) but I still really enjoyed it.
This is the third book by Cherie Priest that I've read. I would rank them from most enjoyed as Maplecroft, Chapelwood, and Boneshaker (which I didn't really enjoy).
This is like throwing the previous book (Maplecroft) in a blender, adding a big cup of crazy, and then hitting the power button. And that's saying something because Maplecroft included Lizzie Borden as a hero with creepy creatures led by some sort of deep ocean sourced evilness.
I'm glad I knew going in that thirty years passed between these books (thanks for the heads up, J!). I wish there had been a larger focus on Lizzie (or Lizbeth, as she is now called) but I still really enjoyed it.
This is the third book by Cherie Priest that I've read. I would rank them from most enjoyed as Maplecroft, Chapelwood, and Boneshaker (which I didn't really enjoy).
March 1, 2018
The first book of the series was amazing and this would have been too, if it didn't stumble into some social issues C.Priest was unable to handle properly. If you like lovecraftian horror and/or stories of Lizzie Borden you're probably going to enjoy this.
We all know what a raging racist H.P.L. was. I think it's smart writing when authors write cultists as racists and white angry men. It makes narrative sense and it serves as a subtle critique of Lovecraft's racism and prejudices. So, I find it very fitting and clever that C.Priest did the same. Unfortunately I read this book after Lovecraft Country.
Lovecraft Country is a horror lovecraftian masterpiece of a novel, that also deals with racism in America during the Jim Crow era. It is written from the point of view of various black people as they face white, racist, cultists and eldrich horrors. Part of the horror is the racism itself and the atmosphere is constantly tense and uncomfortable. Racism isn't just a gimmick, or a single paint-stroke to add realism and flavor to the plot. It's an integral part of the setting, of the action, the story and the characters. And there lies the difference with Chapelwood.
In Chapelwood all the narrators are white and all people of color are victims, killed and chased. The novel does not dive into why people are so hateful, neither does it analyze social dynamics nor power structures. The community is so poorly structured by the author that all non-white people seem to only exist to die or help the white protagonists. It doesn't feel real or well thought out and unfortunately it reads like a juvenile white-savior fantasy that I did not expect from this author.
It's not like I expected some eloquent diatribe of racism in the small towns of America. But I expected the setting to feel real, like the one of the wonderful previous book. This hasty worldbuilding ruined the suspension of disbelief to the point I could see more of C. Priest's misgivings and ended up half-enjoying, half-criticizing each page.
Like.
Does she HAVE to mention inspector Wolf's weight in EVERY.SINGLE.CHAPTER.HE.IS.MENTIONED? We get it, he's fat, oh so fat, fatily fat fatily fating. There isn't a single chapter where she does not say something about his weight. Even when it's from his own point of view. Mind you, it's not always negative, sometimes it's even cute and benevolent. But it's ALWAYS there. How he craves food, what size his clothes are, whether he can run or climb stairs, that he can't stand warm weather. In every chapter. I imagined Priest writing this excitedly fantasizing how she can illustrate the man's fatness.
At first I was happy to see a fat character that's smart, kind and competent, since there aren't that many portrayed in a positive light. But it soon turned sour. After a while I started wondering whether this constant mention of his size wasn't just the ramblings of a thin person but the attempt of a lesser writer trying to make the character feel unique. She imagined a sort of Hercule Poirot, but in a lovecraftian universe. And when that thought struck me, I couldn't unsee it. Did this character have any other characteristics other than being fat, insightful and an inspector? Any other quirks, traits, whatever? Nope.
And that's when I stopped enjoying the story. After my realizations about how she writes race and fat, the whole novel crumbled. Lizzie's cliche tragic lesbian lovestory felt more and more like a gimmick and made even her sound one-note. Why couldn't she have found happiness, or another lover? Why are all our lesbians sad and their partners dead?
I think if it weren't for the faults in these social matters I could have enjoyed this one immensely. Despite the two dimensional characters. The horror elements were nicely written and thought out and very creepy. I wanted to love it as the first one, I really did.
We all know what a raging racist H.P.L. was. I think it's smart writing when authors write cultists as racists and white angry men. It makes narrative sense and it serves as a subtle critique of Lovecraft's racism and prejudices. So, I find it very fitting and clever that C.Priest did the same. Unfortunately I read this book after Lovecraft Country.
Lovecraft Country is a horror lovecraftian masterpiece of a novel, that also deals with racism in America during the Jim Crow era. It is written from the point of view of various black people as they face white, racist, cultists and eldrich horrors. Part of the horror is the racism itself and the atmosphere is constantly tense and uncomfortable. Racism isn't just a gimmick, or a single paint-stroke to add realism and flavor to the plot. It's an integral part of the setting, of the action, the story and the characters. And there lies the difference with Chapelwood.
In Chapelwood all the narrators are white and all people of color are victims, killed and chased. The novel does not dive into why people are so hateful, neither does it analyze social dynamics nor power structures. The community is so poorly structured by the author that all non-white people seem to only exist to die or help the white protagonists. It doesn't feel real or well thought out and unfortunately it reads like a juvenile white-savior fantasy that I did not expect from this author.
It's not like I expected some eloquent diatribe of racism in the small towns of America. But I expected the setting to feel real, like the one of the wonderful previous book. This hasty worldbuilding ruined the suspension of disbelief to the point I could see more of C. Priest's misgivings and ended up half-enjoying, half-criticizing each page.
Like.
Does she HAVE to mention inspector Wolf's weight in EVERY.SINGLE.CHAPTER.HE.IS.MENTIONED? We get it, he's fat, oh so fat, fatily fat fatily fating. There isn't a single chapter where she does not say something about his weight. Even when it's from his own point of view. Mind you, it's not always negative, sometimes it's even cute and benevolent. But it's ALWAYS there. How he craves food, what size his clothes are, whether he can run or climb stairs, that he can't stand warm weather. In every chapter. I imagined Priest writing this excitedly fantasizing how she can illustrate the man's fatness.
At first I was happy to see a fat character that's smart, kind and competent, since there aren't that many portrayed in a positive light. But it soon turned sour. After a while I started wondering whether this constant mention of his size wasn't just the ramblings of a thin person but the attempt of a lesser writer trying to make the character feel unique. She imagined a sort of Hercule Poirot, but in a lovecraftian universe. And when that thought struck me, I couldn't unsee it. Did this character have any other characteristics other than being fat, insightful and an inspector? Any other quirks, traits, whatever? Nope.
And that's when I stopped enjoying the story. After my realizations about how she writes race and fat, the whole novel crumbled. Lizzie's cliche tragic lesbian lovestory felt more and more like a gimmick and made even her sound one-note. Why couldn't she have found happiness, or another lover? Why are all our lesbians sad and their partners dead?
I think if it weren't for the faults in these social matters I could have enjoyed this one immensely. Despite the two dimensional characters. The horror elements were nicely written and thought out and very creepy. I wanted to love it as the first one, I really did.
September 5, 2016
While I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the first, it still made a very good selection for a plane trip. The story moved a bit slowly, taking its time to build up. The switching between point of view characters was handled very well (in sharp contrast to the Sherlock Holmes And The Servants Of Hell that I read a few weeks back). Priest uses this book as a way to explore themes of bigotry and racism, tying the Ku Klux Klan directly to the cult that is attempting to contact the eldritch horrors across the cosmos. The horror is of the subtle, creeping type rather than overt, and Priest builds a nice atmosphere but never quite reaches the heights of oppressive dread that the best in this genre reach. The interaction between Lizzie Borden and Simon Wolf was enjoyable, and the fact that Borden is now in her 60s, but still a central character is refreshing. I like that Priest ends the book such that there isn't room for another sequel. It's nice to have some series wrap up cleanly instead of having a series go on for too long.
January 6, 2016
I'm really digging these books. Priest is an amazing writer and she really puts the time and effort to make the journal entries in these book seem authentic. Everything from sayings, to grammar, respectfulness, and politeness are covered. Oh and obviously the book it self is good. Can we expect any less? It follows along a similar vein as maplecroft with a few changes. I really liked the ending of this book and I can't wait to see how the series turns out!
December 27, 2023
What an ending! Ok, Cherie. I get it. LOL.
Truly, the first Borden Dispatch was a bit of a surprise hit for me. Part of me was a bit disappointed that it was a duology and not a longer series but hen upon reading Chapelwood, I think it's perfect.
To start, Lizbeth is MUCH older. It's been about 30 years since the events of the first book. It also felt like a continuity of the original plot. Very nicely done. Thankfully, really not gory or as disturbing as I remember the first one being. More psychological. Excellent characterizations.
It's been a great into to Cherie Priest and I look forward to reading more from her.
Truly, the first Borden Dispatch was a bit of a surprise hit for me. Part of me was a bit disappointed that it was a duology and not a longer series but hen upon reading Chapelwood, I think it's perfect.
To start, Lizbeth is MUCH older. It's been about 30 years since the events of the first book. It also felt like a continuity of the original plot. Very nicely done. Thankfully, really not gory or as disturbing as I remember the first one being. More psychological. Excellent characterizations.
It's been a great into to Cherie Priest and I look forward to reading more from her.
June 12, 2019
Priest is an excellent writer, and this, in terms of plotting and characterization, is light years ahead of most horror fiction. The part about a place being taken over by people devoted to evil and their corruption sinking into every aspect of life resonated uncomfortably in post-2016 America, and, as before, Lizzie is awesome and Wolf is awesome.
Only four stars probably only in comparison to Maplecroft, which was jaw-droppingly awesome, while this is only excellent.
Only four stars probably only in comparison to Maplecroft, which was jaw-droppingly awesome, while this is only excellent.
May 2, 2019
Listened to both Maplecroft and this via Audible. Much slower than reading but enjoyable in its own way.
In the realm of delightfully spooky reads, Cherie Priest is undeniably the master. I appreciate the care she takes with the history of the setting, doubly so in this one as I'm Birmingham born and raised.
In the realm of delightfully spooky reads, Cherie Priest is undeniably the master. I appreciate the care she takes with the history of the setting, doubly so in this one as I'm Birmingham born and raised.
February 22, 2016
Chapelwood by Cherie Priest Note: While this is Book 2 in the series, it reads just fine as a stand alone.
Set roughly 30 years after the events that take place in Book 1 (Maplecroft), Lisbeth Borden is finding retirement lonely and boring. She orders books and papers, adopts feral cats, and keeps up an on going letter to her now dead sister Emma. Then the odd and gruesome events of Birmingham, Alabama catch her eye. Then an Inspector Wolf contacts her and asks her to join him on his investigation into the hatchet murders as he suspects that there is more to it, and also that Lisbeth has had some previous dealings with this particular evil.
While I enjoyed Book 1 more than this book, it was still worthy. Book 1 had all the mystique of the Lizzie Borden historical case tied to it even before I cracked open the cover. This book didn’t come with that mystique, so the story in and of itself had to build the anticipation and it did a great job of it! It’s early 1920s and Prohibition is still firmly in place. In Alabama, we have the True Americans group, which is trying to look a bit more respectable than the Ku Klux Clan and yet still trying to push politics and civil rights in the same direction. Unwed daughters, despite their age, don’t have the legal right to go against their father’s wishes on where to live or work. Essentially, it’s a hotbed of angry, dissatisfied people. Perfect for the summoning of Cthulu monsters.
Inspector Simon Wolf played a very small part in Book 1 but he is front and center here in Book 2. A dear friend of his, a Catholic priest, asks for his aid and he arrives too late to do much for his friend. But he does his best to assist the young lady (Ruth Stevenson) who befriended the priest. He often portrays himself as attached to a police office, but he’s not. No, his office investigates the unusual. Here in Alabama he’s still referred to as the Yank and he has to learn the niceties of Southern hospitality to get along with folks. Wolf is an interesting character being a gentleman, a man who enjoys a good meal, and the owner of a peculiar sense of humor.
Ruth is in her early 20s and is determined to get away from her parents. On the surface, her father is the typical abusive domineering patriarch of the family while Ruth’s mom is this submissive servant of her husband’s orders. She’s tried running away multiple times, but she’s always dragged home. Legally, she can’t go against this because she isn’t married. Her Catholic priest friend helps solve that by finding her a kind (if older) husband. However, Catholics are not accepted by the mainstream Protestant Alabama society. Her father doesn’t approve of Ruth’s elopement to a Catholic Puerto Rican. But what’s more, he joined the Chapelwood church and Ruth was suppose to join too. She’s key to the church’s sinister endeavors. She’s no fainting lily. Betimes she’s scared but she acknowledges that and then pushes on. She also has a strong sense of her personal rights and that makes it ever so much harder for those who want to continue on with their human sacrifices.
As you can see, we have an awesome setting. It’s a slow burn as all the people and aspects get into place. There’s plenty here to intrigue you so I was never bored with the book. Once we have everything in place, the pace picks up. Some of the characters already knew of the human-like monsters, while others have to be brought around to the idea. We even get to spend some time in the head of a former Chapelwood church member who feels the only way to hold off the tide of evil is to take out the designated Chapelwood sacrifices before Chapelwood can sacrifice them appropriately. Yeah. Totally chilling logic. It’s done very well and, as odd as it sounds, I saw why this character did what they did.
This story is a great mix of historical fiction and slow-burn horror. The historical basis made the story that much richer. You can tell the author put quite a bit of research into what was going on in early 1920s Alabama and into understanding how those events and politics and social norms came to be. The horror aspect is not all gore and violence. It’s about things so beyond our understanding that it can push the limits of one’s sanity. It’s not done in some big dramatic way. This isn’t a slasher flick. There’s sound logic and deep thoughts that go into why our characters do what they do, for ultimate good or evil. These characters are complicated and that makes me love or hate them all the more.
Plus the imagery of a 60 year old spinster taking up an axe to save the world is just too awesome!
The Narration: Both our narrators did a great job with regional accents. It required quite a bit of subtlety at times and it made the listening experience worthy. James Patrick Cronin even varied the speeds of his dialogue based on the regional dialect he was employing. Julie McKay’s performance of Ruth was excellent with that Southern sass going on.
Set roughly 30 years after the events that take place in Book 1 (Maplecroft), Lisbeth Borden is finding retirement lonely and boring. She orders books and papers, adopts feral cats, and keeps up an on going letter to her now dead sister Emma. Then the odd and gruesome events of Birmingham, Alabama catch her eye. Then an Inspector Wolf contacts her and asks her to join him on his investigation into the hatchet murders as he suspects that there is more to it, and also that Lisbeth has had some previous dealings with this particular evil.
While I enjoyed Book 1 more than this book, it was still worthy. Book 1 had all the mystique of the Lizzie Borden historical case tied to it even before I cracked open the cover. This book didn’t come with that mystique, so the story in and of itself had to build the anticipation and it did a great job of it! It’s early 1920s and Prohibition is still firmly in place. In Alabama, we have the True Americans group, which is trying to look a bit more respectable than the Ku Klux Clan and yet still trying to push politics and civil rights in the same direction. Unwed daughters, despite their age, don’t have the legal right to go against their father’s wishes on where to live or work. Essentially, it’s a hotbed of angry, dissatisfied people. Perfect for the summoning of Cthulu monsters.
Inspector Simon Wolf played a very small part in Book 1 but he is front and center here in Book 2. A dear friend of his, a Catholic priest, asks for his aid and he arrives too late to do much for his friend. But he does his best to assist the young lady (Ruth Stevenson) who befriended the priest. He often portrays himself as attached to a police office, but he’s not. No, his office investigates the unusual. Here in Alabama he’s still referred to as the Yank and he has to learn the niceties of Southern hospitality to get along with folks. Wolf is an interesting character being a gentleman, a man who enjoys a good meal, and the owner of a peculiar sense of humor.
Ruth is in her early 20s and is determined to get away from her parents. On the surface, her father is the typical abusive domineering patriarch of the family while Ruth’s mom is this submissive servant of her husband’s orders. She’s tried running away multiple times, but she’s always dragged home. Legally, she can’t go against this because she isn’t married. Her Catholic priest friend helps solve that by finding her a kind (if older) husband. However, Catholics are not accepted by the mainstream Protestant Alabama society. Her father doesn’t approve of Ruth’s elopement to a Catholic Puerto Rican. But what’s more, he joined the Chapelwood church and Ruth was suppose to join too. She’s key to the church’s sinister endeavors. She’s no fainting lily. Betimes she’s scared but she acknowledges that and then pushes on. She also has a strong sense of her personal rights and that makes it ever so much harder for those who want to continue on with their human sacrifices.
As you can see, we have an awesome setting. It’s a slow burn as all the people and aspects get into place. There’s plenty here to intrigue you so I was never bored with the book. Once we have everything in place, the pace picks up. Some of the characters already knew of the human-like monsters, while others have to be brought around to the idea. We even get to spend some time in the head of a former Chapelwood church member who feels the only way to hold off the tide of evil is to take out the designated Chapelwood sacrifices before Chapelwood can sacrifice them appropriately. Yeah. Totally chilling logic. It’s done very well and, as odd as it sounds, I saw why this character did what they did.
This story is a great mix of historical fiction and slow-burn horror. The historical basis made the story that much richer. You can tell the author put quite a bit of research into what was going on in early 1920s Alabama and into understanding how those events and politics and social norms came to be. The horror aspect is not all gore and violence. It’s about things so beyond our understanding that it can push the limits of one’s sanity. It’s not done in some big dramatic way. This isn’t a slasher flick. There’s sound logic and deep thoughts that go into why our characters do what they do, for ultimate good or evil. These characters are complicated and that makes me love or hate them all the more.
Plus the imagery of a 60 year old spinster taking up an axe to save the world is just too awesome!
The Narration: Both our narrators did a great job with regional accents. It required quite a bit of subtlety at times and it made the listening experience worthy. James Patrick Cronin even varied the speeds of his dialogue based on the regional dialect he was employing. Julie McKay’s performance of Ruth was excellent with that Southern sass going on.
June 15, 2018
I was a little worried about Chapelwood, thinking perhaps it would suffer as many 2nd in a series stories do. Instead, I think that it was the better written of the two, and is the story that the author actually wanted to tell, but she was obliged to tell the first in order to set up characters.
September 7, 2015
Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
I hadn’t intended to review Chapelwood for Smart Bitches, but as soon as I told my fellow Bitches that I was reading a book in which Lizzie Borden fights Lovecraftian monsters with an axe, something really alarming happened. Their eyes got really big and they started drooling and tentacles sprang forth and reached out towards the book that was inconveniently located in my hands, and they gibbered, “GIMMIEGIMMIEGIMMIE.” So clearly there’s some overlap between people who like to read books about true love and happy endings and people who like to read books about New England women slicing the heads off eldritch horrors of the night. If you fall into the overlap category than this review is for you.
I liked Chapelwood, but not as much as Maplecroft. It should work as a stand-alone but you’ll understand Lizzie’s arc better if you read Mapelcroft first. I think my biggest problem was that Lizzie is very much a sidekick in this book up until the end when she takes a more central role. I loved having her around as an older woman, but she spends most of the book either away from the main action or assisting Wolf with his investigation. When she finally picks up an axe, it’s awesome, but it’s late in the game. That’s unfortunate, because Lizzie is the most compelling character in a story in which most people more representations of ideas than they are fully realized characters (Ruth is the biggest exception here).
It took me a while to decide how I felt about the ending of this story, but I’ve settled on a guarded ‘inspiring’. In any Lovecraft-style story, the hero cannot achieve total victory. There can’t be a happy ever after. But there can be a happy-for-now, and a victory-for-now. It was nice to see the value of small, temporary victories celebrated. With it’s all too timely message of fighting forces of ignorance and intolerance and hatred, Chapelwood may not have been the book I wanted, but I think it was the book I needed. And, as Inspector Wolf says, “Can one really ever get enough of axes?”
- Carrie S.
I hadn’t intended to review Chapelwood for Smart Bitches, but as soon as I told my fellow Bitches that I was reading a book in which Lizzie Borden fights Lovecraftian monsters with an axe, something really alarming happened. Their eyes got really big and they started drooling and tentacles sprang forth and reached out towards the book that was inconveniently located in my hands, and they gibbered, “GIMMIEGIMMIEGIMMIE.” So clearly there’s some overlap between people who like to read books about true love and happy endings and people who like to read books about New England women slicing the heads off eldritch horrors of the night. If you fall into the overlap category than this review is for you.
I liked Chapelwood, but not as much as Maplecroft. It should work as a stand-alone but you’ll understand Lizzie’s arc better if you read Mapelcroft first. I think my biggest problem was that Lizzie is very much a sidekick in this book up until the end when she takes a more central role. I loved having her around as an older woman, but she spends most of the book either away from the main action or assisting Wolf with his investigation. When she finally picks up an axe, it’s awesome, but it’s late in the game. That’s unfortunate, because Lizzie is the most compelling character in a story in which most people more representations of ideas than they are fully realized characters (Ruth is the biggest exception here).
It took me a while to decide how I felt about the ending of this story, but I’ve settled on a guarded ‘inspiring’. In any Lovecraft-style story, the hero cannot achieve total victory. There can’t be a happy ever after. But there can be a happy-for-now, and a victory-for-now. It was nice to see the value of small, temporary victories celebrated. With it’s all too timely message of fighting forces of ignorance and intolerance and hatred, Chapelwood may not have been the book I wanted, but I think it was the book I needed. And, as Inspector Wolf says, “Can one really ever get enough of axes?”
- Carrie S.
November 23, 2015
Originally posted at http://kimheniadis.com
Another great book in The Borden Dispatches series. For me, this one had even more tension than the first one.
Detective Wolf has aged as well, settling even more into his large body, which does not do well in the southern heat. He ends up in Alabama because his long time friend, who happens to be a priest, is killed on the front steps of his church in the middle of the day. Det. Wolf feels that it is somehow connected to the supernatural elements that he became aware of many years before, so he goes down to investigate.
Thirty years has passed since the previous book, Maplecroft, and Lizzie Borden has lost her sister and almost sole companion. Lizzie is still watching the newspapers for strange going-ons, so she is not surprised when Det. Wolf calls her up in regards to a strange case down in Alabama.
Lizzie is excited for another adventure, even if it does leaving the cats that she has started taking care of. (But she does have people from the animal rescue to come in and look after them.)
There are many similarities to the first book in regards to the story, but as I mentioned before this one was even more intense. Cherie Priest does a great job in slowly building up to climactic moments. She is also a master at writing in various points of view. Each character whose voice she writes in feels unique, and I was engaged with each character.
This book also introduces us to new characters. Ruth is the daughter of the man who shot Father Coyle. She is a very strong and intelligent woman, who wants to see justice done even though she is battle strange forces and the KKK.
I do wish Priest spent a little more time on Leonard. I think it would be a fascinating read in regards to him slowly going crazy. And Priest could have included more scenes in regards to his killings. Written well I think they could have enhanced the character and his descent into madness.
Priest ended the book in such a way that the adventures with the supernatural and Lovecraftian themes will be able to continue, and I am really looking forward to them.
*I did receive an ARC from Ace/Roc Publishing. I did not receive any money or other incentives for an honest review
Another great book in The Borden Dispatches series. For me, this one had even more tension than the first one.
Detective Wolf has aged as well, settling even more into his large body, which does not do well in the southern heat. He ends up in Alabama because his long time friend, who happens to be a priest, is killed on the front steps of his church in the middle of the day. Det. Wolf feels that it is somehow connected to the supernatural elements that he became aware of many years before, so he goes down to investigate.
Thirty years has passed since the previous book, Maplecroft, and Lizzie Borden has lost her sister and almost sole companion. Lizzie is still watching the newspapers for strange going-ons, so she is not surprised when Det. Wolf calls her up in regards to a strange case down in Alabama.
Lizzie is excited for another adventure, even if it does leaving the cats that she has started taking care of. (But she does have people from the animal rescue to come in and look after them.)
There are many similarities to the first book in regards to the story, but as I mentioned before this one was even more intense. Cherie Priest does a great job in slowly building up to climactic moments. She is also a master at writing in various points of view. Each character whose voice she writes in feels unique, and I was engaged with each character.
This book also introduces us to new characters. Ruth is the daughter of the man who shot Father Coyle. She is a very strong and intelligent woman, who wants to see justice done even though she is battle strange forces and the KKK.
I do wish Priest spent a little more time on Leonard. I think it would be a fascinating read in regards to him slowly going crazy. And Priest could have included more scenes in regards to his killings. Written well I think they could have enhanced the character and his descent into madness.
Priest ended the book in such a way that the adventures with the supernatural and Lovecraftian themes will be able to continue, and I am really looking forward to them.
*I did receive an ARC from Ace/Roc Publishing. I did not receive any money or other incentives for an honest review
October 14, 2015
I am a huge fan of Priest's writing, and this was an excellent, creepy novel that kept me turning the pages!
It's 30 years after the events in Maplecroft, and Lizbeth Andrews (Borden) has mostly retired from the world... except for her research, including reading newspapers from various other areas. And now, events in Birmingham, Alabama, start sounding a bit too familiar...
I think it is safe to say that the menace is Lovecraftian, and that the Elder Ones seem to be revealing their will via math. This leads to a dryly funny situation in which the only guy able to understand and interpret breaks off and starts doing his own thing to prevent the gates opening (to borrow terms from "Lonesome October", and no one else has the math chops to effectively replace him. This is not played for laughs, but I found it understated humor.
As usual for Priest, the various character's voices are very distinctive- one can open the book at random and within a few paragraphs identify who is the POV character there. Very rare, and high praise!
The plot was a very creepy mix of mundane and supernatural horrors and menaces, including not only creatures from the Dungeon Dimensions but more mundane threats like the Ku Klux Klan and its control over the legal system... not to mention the risk that wealth can buy the government. While the more practical issues are not resolved- as they were not historically- they make an effective context for the events in the novel.
I always try to read a few creepy novels during October, and I feel very lucky that this one came out just in time! Highly recommended for the plot, characterization, and setting.
It's 30 years after the events in Maplecroft, and Lizbeth Andrews (Borden) has mostly retired from the world... except for her research, including reading newspapers from various other areas. And now, events in Birmingham, Alabama, start sounding a bit too familiar...
I think it is safe to say that the menace is Lovecraftian, and that the Elder Ones seem to be revealing their will via math. This leads to a dryly funny situation in which the only guy able to understand and interpret breaks off and starts doing his own thing to prevent the gates opening (to borrow terms from "Lonesome October", and no one else has the math chops to effectively replace him. This is not played for laughs, but I found it understated humor.
As usual for Priest, the various character's voices are very distinctive- one can open the book at random and within a few paragraphs identify who is the POV character there. Very rare, and high praise!
The plot was a very creepy mix of mundane and supernatural horrors and menaces, including not only creatures from the Dungeon Dimensions but more mundane threats like the Ku Klux Klan and its control over the legal system... not to mention the risk that wealth can buy the government. While the more practical issues are not resolved- as they were not historically- they make an effective context for the events in the novel.
I always try to read a few creepy novels during October, and I feel very lucky that this one came out just in time! Highly recommended for the plot, characterization, and setting.
January 25, 2017
I need to stop reading her books. All her books have the subjects I want to read, with such promise, and great ideas but with no execution.
The whole True Americans, as cult and klan members (more or less each), taking over the local government read so much like Trump taking the presidency so as to be deeply disturbing. Problem is, it was the most cthonic and disturbing part of the story!
2 stars. It was okay, as many of her books are o-kay. If you itemed out what actually takes place in Chapel wood you'd come up with a short list and a shorter book. So much is just repetition of things that have already happened, treading over the same ground again and again. This is a Novella of material, as was Maplecroft, and didn't need to be draw out like it was. The investigator would have been a fine 'frame' to both stories, he could have represented material as pertinent from all the letters in a kind of report.
As it is, by the end, just has it's starting to pick up pace... I'm done, I'm just trying to finish it.
Plus the (over?) 25 year shift from the first book to the next was just weird.
So I'm done. Thank you.
The whole True Americans, as cult and klan members (more or less each), taking over the local government read so much like Trump taking the presidency so as to be deeply disturbing. Problem is, it was the most cthonic and disturbing part of the story!
2 stars. It was okay, as many of her books are o-kay. If you itemed out what actually takes place in Chapel wood you'd come up with a short list and a shorter book. So much is just repetition of things that have already happened, treading over the same ground again and again. This is a Novella of material, as was Maplecroft, and didn't need to be draw out like it was. The investigator would have been a fine 'frame' to both stories, he could have represented material as pertinent from all the letters in a kind of report.
As it is, by the end, just has it's starting to pick up pace... I'm done, I'm just trying to finish it.
Plus the (over?) 25 year shift from the first book to the next was just weird.
So I'm done. Thank you.
September 24, 2015
5 stars for sheer fun - from a reader who is somewhat more than average fond of Lovecraftian things (much more so than of anything actually authored by Lovecraft).
This story takes place 30 years after the events of Maplecroft, and thus the cast and the world have changed a little bit. Some might find this disappointing - I thought it worked well. Lizbeth Borden is a tough old lady (who seems to be acquiring many cats, as time passes).
(I didn't really care for Cherie Priest's steampunky Boneshaker, and thus I have avoided the rest of her authorship until this series of "Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave the cephalopod-thing forty whacks" came around. Not sure how her other books would compare to these.)
This story takes place 30 years after the events of Maplecroft, and thus the cast and the world have changed a little bit. Some might find this disappointing - I thought it worked well. Lizbeth Borden is a tough old lady (who seems to be acquiring many cats, as time passes).
(I didn't really care for Cherie Priest's steampunky Boneshaker, and thus I have avoided the rest of her authorship until this series of "Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave the cephalopod-thing forty whacks" came around. Not sure how her other books would compare to these.)
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November 8, 2015A satisfying, if slightly less compelling, sequel to Maplecroft, Chapelwood takes place in the 1920s in Birmingham, Alabama, where Lizbeth Andrew's presence is requested by her old friend Inspector Wolf after a string of murders that hint toward the supernatural. I loved what Priest was doing with her setting here, and there were several new characters with whom I wished we had gotten better acquainted -- principally our final girl, Ruth Gussman, whose grit and will to survive resonates with Lizbeth's in a manner that could have used more "screen time." Both my wife and I are disappointed that (so we hear) there will be no further installments in this series, since Ruth is a character whose career we would both be very interested in following.
December 1, 2015
Wonderfully creepy, very slow reveal, new characters not in Maplecroft, it is 30 years later after all and folks have died. This story is told with alternating POV per chapter written either as first person letters or journal entries. This type of style usually feels extra removed from the action, but it works well here. But it is a little slow reveal and Lizzie is fairly removed from a lot of it. Someone mentioned she is more a side character and I have to agree.
This won't be for everyone, but if you can be patient, it really is well done, has some frightening ideas, dark humor and is a wild ride.
This won't be for everyone, but if you can be patient, it really is well done, has some frightening ideas, dark humor and is a wild ride.
January 4, 2016
Lizzie Borden is back! Thirty years after the events of "Maplecroft", Lizzie is called back to action by inspector Simon Wolf to look at a rash of axe murders in Alabama that seem to relate to a mysterious church in the woods.
This volume is still thoroughly enjoyable - but not as exciting as "Maplecroft." The action takes a looong time to get going. The florid writing style is still in effect, possibly even more so than the last book. And it's still kind of irritating. You don't get to see many sixty-year-old ladies and overweight men kicking butt in horror fiction, so that's a plus. Very readable, but it could have been a tighter, shorter story.
This volume is still thoroughly enjoyable - but not as exciting as "Maplecroft." The action takes a looong time to get going. The florid writing style is still in effect, possibly even more so than the last book. And it's still kind of irritating. You don't get to see many sixty-year-old ladies and overweight men kicking butt in horror fiction, so that's a plus. Very readable, but it could have been a tighter, shorter story.
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