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Ghost Gun
A multiracial family from New York returns, again and again, to Mobile, Alabama — drawn back by family ties to a place where a decades-old lynching still shapes the present. Their eighteen-year-old son has already begun to uncover what happened.
They arrive from the North with distance, money, and the quiet protections of privilege. In Mobile, those protections begin to thin. The past feels closer here — less abstract, more lived — and the divisions it produced remain visible in ways they cannot ignore. The family itself carries its own fault lines: a white father, a Black mother, and children who move between worlds, read differently depending on where they are.
At the center is eighteen-year-old Elijah, navigating the contradictions of identity, inheritance, and rage. As he pushes deeper into his family's past, what begins as a search for understanding starts to slip beyond his control, threatening consequences he cannot foresee.
Around him, each member of the family confronts their own fracture. His father retreats into systems of control, preparing for a future he believes is already collapsing. His mother resists a life shaped by fear and distance. His sister watches, reads, and searches for meaning in what remains unsaid.
Told through shifting interior voices, Ghost Gun explores the uneasy boundary between reckoning and destruction.
They arrive from the North with distance, money, and the quiet protections of privilege. In Mobile, those protections begin to thin. The past feels closer here — less abstract, more lived — and the divisions it produced remain visible in ways they cannot ignore. The family itself carries its own fault lines: a white father, a Black mother, and children who move between worlds, read differently depending on where they are.
At the center is eighteen-year-old Elijah, navigating the contradictions of identity, inheritance, and rage. As he pushes deeper into his family's past, what begins as a search for understanding starts to slip beyond his control, threatening consequences he cannot foresee.
Around him, each member of the family confronts their own fracture. His father retreats into systems of control, preparing for a future he believes is already collapsing. His mother resists a life shaped by fear and distance. His sister watches, reads, and searches for meaning in what remains unsaid.
Told through shifting interior voices, Ghost Gun explores the uneasy boundary between reckoning and destruction.
268 pages, Paperback
First published May 10, 2026
About the author
cc ECK
1 book16 followerscc ECK writes literary fiction exploring family, race, memory, and the ways history continues to shape the present.
Ghost Gun, a debut novel, follows a multiracial family confronting the legacy of a long-buried act of racial violence. Told through four distinct voices, it explores inheritance, privilege, historical injustice, mental illness, and the stories families pass from one generation to the next.
While Ghost Gun is a work of fiction, the themes explored are shaped by the author's experience in an interracial family, and by years of reflection on how families carry history — through memory, silence, and the stories they choose to tell.
ECK is currently at work on a second novel.
Ghost Gun, a debut novel, follows a multiracial family confronting the legacy of a long-buried act of racial violence. Told through four distinct voices, it explores inheritance, privilege, historical injustice, mental illness, and the stories families pass from one generation to the next.
While Ghost Gun is a work of fiction, the themes explored are shaped by the author's experience in an interracial family, and by years of reflection on how families carry history — through memory, silence, and the stories they choose to tell.
ECK is currently at work on a second novel.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 15, 2026
I’m gonna try and do my best to describe Ghost Gun by @cc_eck_author, which happens to be one of my favorite reads of the year. First, I absolutely loved it. Second, this is a multi-narrative story about family, race and wealth that has stayed with me long after I read it. Moving from NYC to Alabama and back I don’t think I’ll read a better book that talks about pain and privilege in equal measures. Big 👍
June 14, 2026
Ghost Gun surprised me with how deeply it resonated. As a multigenerational story exploring race, identity, class, and the systems that shape American life, it felt far more personal than I anticipated. As someone with ties to Alabama and North Carolina and as a biracial reader who has lost a sibling to violence, I recognized pieces of my own family and experiences woven throughout the narrative. That emotional connection made the story especially powerful. My one critique is stylistic: the heavy use of em dashes, combined with the author’s choice to remain anonymous, occasionally pulled me out of the reading experience and even made me briefly question whether the work was AI-generated.
That aside, this is a powerful, emotional, and beautifully written novel that will spark meaningful conversation long after the last page.
That aside, this is a powerful, emotional, and beautifully written novel that will spark meaningful conversation long after the last page.
September 9, 2026
The premise of this book really enticed me. A multi-generational story about an interracial family that explores the ramifications of racism and generational trauma. The book is told from the perspective of multiple characters. The book begins with the family going back and forth from their home to Alabama as the mother, Zora's, father is dying. Perspectives include Zora, her son Elijah, the father Neil, the daughter Natasha, and then a great aunt and her imprisoned son. The many perspectives was hard just because I felt like three of the characters didn't have distinct voice and so it was hard for me to see where the perspective had changed. I found Zora's chapters a bit more interesting and I wished we would have dived into her backstory and perspective a bit more. This book had a lot going on, what felt at times like a little too much. I wanted a bit more to focus on. I also found Elijah and Neil both very unlikeable characters and while that isn't a deal breaker for me, because their voices dominated the book it made it harder for me to enjoy myself. Overall an interesting concept, I just wanted more character development.
I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
August 27, 2026
I found the book really original, but I wasn't sure what to make of it at the end. cc ECK has given us a multiracial American family - the mother, Zora, is mixed-race, with enslaved ancestors in the South; the father Neil is a wealthy white billionaire, and their two children, Natasha and Elijah, are white-passing. There's quite a lot going on: their Black grandfather (Zora's father) is dying; one cousin is in prison; an uncle was lynched in the 1980s. Elijah is researching his family history and grappling with his mixed identity as he prepares to attend Yale, his father's college. Neil spends his billions planning for the collapse of society, tracking data to calculate when the end might be and finalising the preparations in his luxury bunker (accessible by helicopter only!) where he plans to take his family (and staff and mistress), while cheating on his wife with a younger model from Venezuela. We also hear from their elderly aunt in Mobile, and her visits to her grandson in prison.
There's a lot of (fairly graphic, a bit gross I thought) sex in the book - the dad and his mistress, the son and his girlfriend -, there's the wealthy prepper storyline, there's the Black side of the family and their story of losses and injustice; there's ghosts (the uncle, then another character) haunting the main characters - appearing while they drive, while they get dressed, while they try to study.
I think the novel had a lot of potential but cc ECK tried to add too many elements, and too many voices - some of them (the father and the son, really) particularly unpleasant and difficult to get through. I would have liked to read more about Zora, who became a model and escaped a life of poverty, violence and racism to marry a billionaire and build a business; and I would have liked less of the really unlikeable characters.
Free ARC sent by Netgalley.
There's a lot of (fairly graphic, a bit gross I thought) sex in the book - the dad and his mistress, the son and his girlfriend -, there's the wealthy prepper storyline, there's the Black side of the family and their story of losses and injustice; there's ghosts (the uncle, then another character) haunting the main characters - appearing while they drive, while they get dressed, while they try to study.
I think the novel had a lot of potential but cc ECK tried to add too many elements, and too many voices - some of them (the father and the son, really) particularly unpleasant and difficult to get through. I would have liked to read more about Zora, who became a model and escaped a life of poverty, violence and racism to marry a billionaire and build a business; and I would have liked less of the really unlikeable characters.
Free ARC sent by Netgalley.
September 14, 2026
Thank you netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 rounded up
Wow. A really awesome debut book for cc ECK! A story of intergenerational racial trauma, Ghost Gun successfully weaves the individual stories of a family into one really great novel. I really loved the writing style of this author and how they handled the heavy themes.
Where they lost me a bit was the ending. I feel like there were some unnecessary twists that actually weakened it for me. Like Gavin just randomly killing Neil? Seemed a bit unnecessary, especially with how quickly it happened. Also kind of strange that Flor was not scared at all of this man she just met who has now murdered another person she’s known for a while. I also found the therapy/psychotic aspects at the end a little far fetched as a therapist. I think if the author had actually left things a little less tied up, a little less twisting things around to try and surprise us, it would have made for a five star for me.
The book also had a fair amount of sexually explicit scenes, something I wasn’t expecting from the description. It did make sense within the plot but could’ve done without how graphic it was
Regardless, this is a really excellent debut novel and I definitely would read (will read!) their next !
4.5 rounded up
Wow. A really awesome debut book for cc ECK! A story of intergenerational racial trauma, Ghost Gun successfully weaves the individual stories of a family into one really great novel. I really loved the writing style of this author and how they handled the heavy themes.
Where they lost me a bit was the ending. I feel like there were some unnecessary twists that actually weakened it for me. Like Gavin just randomly killing Neil? Seemed a bit unnecessary, especially with how quickly it happened. Also kind of strange that Flor was not scared at all of this man she just met who has now murdered another person she’s known for a while. I also found the therapy/psychotic aspects at the end a little far fetched as a therapist. I think if the author had actually left things a little less tied up, a little less twisting things around to try and surprise us, it would have made for a five star for me.
The book also had a fair amount of sexually explicit scenes, something I wasn’t expecting from the description. It did make sense within the plot but could’ve done without how graphic it was
Regardless, this is a really excellent debut novel and I definitely would read (will read!) their next !
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2026
I happened upon this book because it was sent to me by the author as an ARC. I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised and very much enjoyed it.
Ghost Gun is a multi POV book that explores the generational trauma caused by slavery and deep rooted racism in the South. The book gives us insight into the lives of a range of members of a family who had been struck by tragedy decades ago when one of their own was targeted as victim of vicious hate crime. While the premise is centered around this event, the book delves into the impact on the characters mundane lives and the differences and disparities experienced due to various external intersectional factors. I liked how each character had a very distinct personality and individual storyline which at times intersected with the other characters but was for the most part quite standalone and really isolated their experiences from the others. I also think this really helped to blindside me for the ending which made it much more impactful and really brought it all together.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I’m happy I read it! I would say the vibe of it reminded me of Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” and might be of interest for those who enjoyed that.
Ghost Gun is a multi POV book that explores the generational trauma caused by slavery and deep rooted racism in the South. The book gives us insight into the lives of a range of members of a family who had been struck by tragedy decades ago when one of their own was targeted as victim of vicious hate crime. While the premise is centered around this event, the book delves into the impact on the characters mundane lives and the differences and disparities experienced due to various external intersectional factors. I liked how each character had a very distinct personality and individual storyline which at times intersected with the other characters but was for the most part quite standalone and really isolated their experiences from the others. I also think this really helped to blindside me for the ending which made it much more impactful and really brought it all together.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I’m happy I read it! I would say the vibe of it reminded me of Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” and might be of interest for those who enjoyed that.
May 30, 2026
Ghost Gun by C.C. Eck is a gripping, multi-narrative story that masterfully unpacks family secrets, legacy, and generational trauma. Eck does an incredible job weaving together themes of privilege, race, power, class, and mental health in ways that feel both raw and deeply human.
The layered storytelling kept me fully engaged, with each perspective adding depth and emotional weight to the larger narrative. What stood out most to me was how the novel challenges systems of power while also exploring the intimate wounds families carry across generations.
Reading Ghost Gun put me in the mindset of Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward,both novels carry a haunting emotional intensity and a profound sense of history, pain, and survival.
An engaging, thought-provoking read that lingers long after the final page.
The layered storytelling kept me fully engaged, with each perspective adding depth and emotional weight to the larger narrative. What stood out most to me was how the novel challenges systems of power while also exploring the intimate wounds families carry across generations.
Reading Ghost Gun put me in the mindset of Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward,both novels carry a haunting emotional intensity and a profound sense of history, pain, and survival.
An engaging, thought-provoking read that lingers long after the final page.
October 20, 2026
Ghost Gun by CC Eck is an ambitious, provocative novel about the legacy of racial violence, the burden of inherited trauma, and the dangerous temptation to answer historical injustice with personal revenge. Moving between generations, family members, and sharply contrasting social worlds, the novel examines how the past continues to shape the present—and how the desire to correct old wrongs can create new ones.
At its center is a wealthy biracial family whose comfortable life in the North stands in stark contrast to the painful history of its Black relatives in Alabama. When the family travels South to visit an ailing grandfather, long-buried memories and unresolved questions surrounding a relative's murder begin to surface. What initially appears to be a family story gradually develops into a disturbing exploration of grief, anger, privilege, and the psychological consequences of historical violence.
A story told through multiple voices
One of the novel's greatest strengths is its shifting narrative perspective. Eck gives readers access to several members of the family, allowing their competing interpretations of the same history to emerge.
Elijah Thomas-Engel, the privileged teenage son, is intelligent, observant, sarcastic, and increasingly troubled by the contradictions of his upbringing. He enjoys advantages that many of his Southern relatives could never imagine, yet he feels the weight of a history he is only beginning to understand.
His mother, Zora Thomas, is a former fashion model who has married into extraordinary wealth. Her struggles with identity, marriage, aging, and her relationship with her Black heritage reveal the emotional cost of a life that appears enviable from the outside.
Neil Engel, Elijah's father, is a wealthy financial executive obsessed with risk analysis, wealth preservation, and the possibility of societal collapse. His rational, data-driven worldview offers a fascinating portrait of how intelligence and success can coexist with paranoia and a desire for control.
The novel also introduces readers to Willamita Patterson, an elderly Southern relative whose family has endured generations of deprivation and racial violence. Her grandson LaVonn is serving a life sentence, while the memory of a murdered family member continues to haunt her.
These characters create a rich tapestry of perspectives on race, money, family loyalty, and the ways people cope with suffering.
The central conflict: justice versus revenge
The novel's most disturbing development comes when Elijah becomes consumed by the story of his family's historical victimization. He begins to see the murder of his ancestor as an injustice that remains unresolved, and he eventually commits a violent act that he believes will restore some measure of balance.
The title Ghost Gun operates on several levels. It refers to an untraceable firearm, but it also evokes the ghosts of history: the people who were murdered, the trauma that survives them, and the unresolved grievances that continue to influence their descendants.
Eck refuses to make the moral questions easy. The novel recognizes the reality of historical oppression while challenging the notion that retaliatory violence can produce meaningful closure. Elijah's actions become a tragic example of how a desire for justice can be distorted into a personal justification for murder.
The later chapters deepen the psychological dimension of the story. Elijah's mental state deteriorates, and a trusted psychologist attempts to help him while confronting the seriousness of what he has disclosed. The ending leaves readers with difficult questions about responsibility, mental illness, family influence, and the possibility of recovery.
What makes the novel compelling
Psychological depth. The characters are not simply representatives of opposing political or social positions. They have contradictions, blind spots, resentments, and competing needs.
A complex treatment of race and privilege. The novel contrasts enormous inherited and accumulated wealth with the continuing consequences of racial injustice in the South.
An unusual narrative structure. The shifting viewpoints allow the same family history to be reconsidered from different angles.
A provocative moral dilemma. Readers are invited to understand the emotional origins of Elijah's rage without necessarily accepting the conclusions he draws from it.
A memorable central metaphor. The idea of ghosts—historical, psychological, and familial—connects the book's many narrative threads.
Where some readers may struggle
The novel is intellectually ambitious, and that ambition occasionally comes at the expense of narrative economy. Some passages contain extended reflections on race, wealth, politics, identity, and social inequality. Readers who prefer a fast-moving thriller may find these sections slow the momentum.
The characters' voices are often forceful and profane, and the violence is graphic. These choices reinforce the novel's intensity, but they may limit its appeal for readers who prefer restrained prose or less disturbing subject matter.
The large cast and frequent changes in viewpoint also require attention. The structure is purposeful, but readers must keep track of several generations of family history and multiple storylines.
Final verdict
Ghost Gun is a challenging and thought-provoking novel that combines family drama, social commentary, and psychological suspense. CC Eck tackles difficult questions about racial injustice, inherited trauma, privilege, and the human desire to make suffering mean something.
The novel's greatest achievement is its refusal to treat history as something safely confined to the past. Its characters inherit not only wealth, names, and family stories, but also unresolved pain that can shape their choices in destructive ways.
Although its dense reflections and graphic violence will not appeal to everyone, the book offers substantial material for readers who appreciate morally complex fiction that engages directly with contemporary American life.
Recommended for readers who enjoy literary fiction, psychologically complex characters, multigenerational family stories, and novels that confront difficult questions about race, justice, and personal responsibility.
Ghost Gun is not a comfortable read, but it is a memorable one—and its central question lingers after the final page: Can we confront the wrongs of the past without allowing them to dictate the violence of the future?
At its center is a wealthy biracial family whose comfortable life in the North stands in stark contrast to the painful history of its Black relatives in Alabama. When the family travels South to visit an ailing grandfather, long-buried memories and unresolved questions surrounding a relative's murder begin to surface. What initially appears to be a family story gradually develops into a disturbing exploration of grief, anger, privilege, and the psychological consequences of historical violence.
A story told through multiple voices
One of the novel's greatest strengths is its shifting narrative perspective. Eck gives readers access to several members of the family, allowing their competing interpretations of the same history to emerge.
Elijah Thomas-Engel, the privileged teenage son, is intelligent, observant, sarcastic, and increasingly troubled by the contradictions of his upbringing. He enjoys advantages that many of his Southern relatives could never imagine, yet he feels the weight of a history he is only beginning to understand.
His mother, Zora Thomas, is a former fashion model who has married into extraordinary wealth. Her struggles with identity, marriage, aging, and her relationship with her Black heritage reveal the emotional cost of a life that appears enviable from the outside.
Neil Engel, Elijah's father, is a wealthy financial executive obsessed with risk analysis, wealth preservation, and the possibility of societal collapse. His rational, data-driven worldview offers a fascinating portrait of how intelligence and success can coexist with paranoia and a desire for control.
The novel also introduces readers to Willamita Patterson, an elderly Southern relative whose family has endured generations of deprivation and racial violence. Her grandson LaVonn is serving a life sentence, while the memory of a murdered family member continues to haunt her.
These characters create a rich tapestry of perspectives on race, money, family loyalty, and the ways people cope with suffering.
The central conflict: justice versus revenge
The novel's most disturbing development comes when Elijah becomes consumed by the story of his family's historical victimization. He begins to see the murder of his ancestor as an injustice that remains unresolved, and he eventually commits a violent act that he believes will restore some measure of balance.
The title Ghost Gun operates on several levels. It refers to an untraceable firearm, but it also evokes the ghosts of history: the people who were murdered, the trauma that survives them, and the unresolved grievances that continue to influence their descendants.
Eck refuses to make the moral questions easy. The novel recognizes the reality of historical oppression while challenging the notion that retaliatory violence can produce meaningful closure. Elijah's actions become a tragic example of how a desire for justice can be distorted into a personal justification for murder.
The later chapters deepen the psychological dimension of the story. Elijah's mental state deteriorates, and a trusted psychologist attempts to help him while confronting the seriousness of what he has disclosed. The ending leaves readers with difficult questions about responsibility, mental illness, family influence, and the possibility of recovery.
What makes the novel compelling
Psychological depth. The characters are not simply representatives of opposing political or social positions. They have contradictions, blind spots, resentments, and competing needs.
A complex treatment of race and privilege. The novel contrasts enormous inherited and accumulated wealth with the continuing consequences of racial injustice in the South.
An unusual narrative structure. The shifting viewpoints allow the same family history to be reconsidered from different angles.
A provocative moral dilemma. Readers are invited to understand the emotional origins of Elijah's rage without necessarily accepting the conclusions he draws from it.
A memorable central metaphor. The idea of ghosts—historical, psychological, and familial—connects the book's many narrative threads.
Where some readers may struggle
The novel is intellectually ambitious, and that ambition occasionally comes at the expense of narrative economy. Some passages contain extended reflections on race, wealth, politics, identity, and social inequality. Readers who prefer a fast-moving thriller may find these sections slow the momentum.
The characters' voices are often forceful and profane, and the violence is graphic. These choices reinforce the novel's intensity, but they may limit its appeal for readers who prefer restrained prose or less disturbing subject matter.
The large cast and frequent changes in viewpoint also require attention. The structure is purposeful, but readers must keep track of several generations of family history and multiple storylines.
Final verdict
Ghost Gun is a challenging and thought-provoking novel that combines family drama, social commentary, and psychological suspense. CC Eck tackles difficult questions about racial injustice, inherited trauma, privilege, and the human desire to make suffering mean something.
The novel's greatest achievement is its refusal to treat history as something safely confined to the past. Its characters inherit not only wealth, names, and family stories, but also unresolved pain that can shape their choices in destructive ways.
Although its dense reflections and graphic violence will not appeal to everyone, the book offers substantial material for readers who appreciate morally complex fiction that engages directly with contemporary American life.
Recommended for readers who enjoy literary fiction, psychologically complex characters, multigenerational family stories, and novels that confront difficult questions about race, justice, and personal responsibility.
Ghost Gun is not a comfortable read, but it is a memorable one—and its central question lingers after the final page: Can we confront the wrongs of the past without allowing them to dictate the violence of the future?
June 25, 2026
⚠️ TW: racism, generational trauma, references to lynching, mental health struggles, grief, family conflict, and historical violence.
•••••
Ghost Gun is a quiet but powerful read that explores family, identity, and the lasting impact of generational trauma. The story follows a family returning to Alabama, where old secrets and painful history begin to resurface. It really highlights how the past can continue to shape the present, even when people try their best to leave it behind.
•••••
What stood out to me most was the theme of silence and how the things families don’t talk about can still affect generations down the line. It had me thinking about the stories that get passed down, the ones that don’t, and the people who end up carrying the weight of it all. While this isn’t a fast-paced or plot-driven read, it’s incredibly thought-provoking and emotionally layered. It’s the kind of book that gives you a lot to reflect on after you’ve finished the last page.
•••••
If you enjoy character-driven stories that tackle difficult topics and leave you with something to think about, I’d recommend adding this one to your TBR.
•••••
Thank you to cc ECK for the ARC. This is definitely one of those stories that will stay on my mind for a while.
•••••
Ghost Gun is a quiet but powerful read that explores family, identity, and the lasting impact of generational trauma. The story follows a family returning to Alabama, where old secrets and painful history begin to resurface. It really highlights how the past can continue to shape the present, even when people try their best to leave it behind.
•••••
What stood out to me most was the theme of silence and how the things families don’t talk about can still affect generations down the line. It had me thinking about the stories that get passed down, the ones that don’t, and the people who end up carrying the weight of it all. While this isn’t a fast-paced or plot-driven read, it’s incredibly thought-provoking and emotionally layered. It’s the kind of book that gives you a lot to reflect on after you’ve finished the last page.
•••••
If you enjoy character-driven stories that tackle difficult topics and leave you with something to think about, I’d recommend adding this one to your TBR.
•••••
Thank you to cc ECK for the ARC. This is definitely one of those stories that will stay on my mind for a while.
October 29, 2026
🥃 ARC Review: Ghost Gun
One family, one lynching, one bunker, and a whole lot of Celexa
Author: cc ECK
Genre: Literary Fiction + Family Saga, Psychological Drama, Southern Gothic
Themes: Generational trauma, wealth and complicity, biracial identity, haunting (literal and otherwise), doomsday prepping, the unreliable narrator
Format: ARC
Series: Standalone (debut)
Drink Pairing: The Mobile Reckoning
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️ (Medium)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.75/5) — A Smoky, Uneasy Pour That Lingers
The Pour
Picture a rich family flying first class to Mobile, Alabama, for Grandpa's deathbed. Then picture a ghost riding in the back seat of their rented Escalade. That's Ghost Gun, and it's a whole lot darker than its first-class boarding pass suggests.
cc ECK hands the mic to everyone in the Thomas-Engel family, plus a few people they'd rather not think about, and lets them talk till the truth slips out. It's a 47-chapter group chat where nobody tells anybody anything, and somehow you're the only one who's read the whole thread.
The Tasting Notes
Zora Thomas is the center of this barrel: a former runway model turned lifestyle-brand mogul whose chapters are just lists of reasons she's on Celexa, and her climbing dosage tells you how she's doing before she does. Then there's Great-Aunt Willamita, blind and sharp as a tack, roasting pecans and arguing with the ghost of her son Elijah Patterson, lynched in the 1980s, who sits on her couch with his legs stretched out like he pays rent. The men are a lot. Neil is a hedge-fund husband with a predictive model for the apocalypse, a bunker upstate, and a paid "companion" named Flor. Their son Elijah is a Yale freshman who carries his murdered namesake's name and does something unforgivable with a 3D-printed gun. Or maybe he doesn't. What makes this book different is that the haunting is real enough to scare you and slippery enough to make you doubt every narrator, right up to the clinical report at the end.
What I Savored 🥃
WILLAMITA IS TOP-SHELF — Every time this woman quoted scripture at a dead man who'd heard it a thousand times, I wanted to pull up a chair and pass her the pecans.
THE CELEXA CHAPTERS — Zora's "Because..." lists hit harder in a page and a half than most whole novels manage, and "Because it bothers me that that bothers me" moved straight into my soul.
THE GHOST AS GREEK CHORUS — Watching Elijah's guilt take the shape of Troy, a chatty, heartbroken ghost who won't stop talking about his prom date Keesha, was eerie, funny, and devastating all at once.
What I Side-Eyed 🥃
NEIL'S CHAPTERS NEEDED LESS TIME IN THE BARREL — I get that he's meant to be insufferable, but his escort spreadsheets and doomsday asset allocations went down like lukewarm rail liquor long after I'd gotten the point.
THE ENDING SCATTERS LIKE A POOL BREAK — Flor's jungle walk, Natasha on Milton's doorstep, and the psych report all land at once, so the final sip is more open question than satisfying smoky finish.
The Finish
Ghost Gun is a full-bodied, uncomfortable debut about what money can buy and what it can't bury, and Willamita alone is worth the pour. It's not a cozy read and it isn't trying to be, but cc ECK writes grief, guilt, and privilege with a voice this sharp that I'm already watching for whatever they pour next. Sip it slow, then sit with it a while afterward.
🍸 Drink Pairing: The Mobile Reckoning
A dark, smoky, Southern Old Fashioned that's sweet up front and bitter underneath, just like this family.
Recipe:
- 2 oz Buffalo Trace bourbon — Southern roots that no amount of money can rinse out
- ½ oz toasted pecan syrup — Willamita's kitchen and her eighty years of steady hands
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters — the inheritance nobody wants to talk about
- 1 dash smoked salt tincture — the ghost riding in the back seat
- Garnish: orange peel and a Lazzaroni Amaretto cherry — Natasha's hope, still sweet at the bottom of the glass
Stir over a large cube and strain into a rocks glass. Drink with the TV off. You'll want to hear who's talking.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
If you enjoy: ✨ multi-POV family sagas ✨ Southern Gothic hauntings ✨ unreliable narrators ✨ books that ask who pays for history...this will scratch that itch.
#GhostGun #ccECK #ARCReview #DebutNovel #LiteraryFiction #BourbonSippingBibliophile #BookReview
One family, one lynching, one bunker, and a whole lot of Celexa
Author: cc ECK
Genre: Literary Fiction + Family Saga, Psychological Drama, Southern Gothic
Themes: Generational trauma, wealth and complicity, biracial identity, haunting (literal and otherwise), doomsday prepping, the unreliable narrator
Format: ARC
Series: Standalone (debut)
Drink Pairing: The Mobile Reckoning
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️ (Medium)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.75/5) — A Smoky, Uneasy Pour That Lingers
The Pour
Picture a rich family flying first class to Mobile, Alabama, for Grandpa's deathbed. Then picture a ghost riding in the back seat of their rented Escalade. That's Ghost Gun, and it's a whole lot darker than its first-class boarding pass suggests.
cc ECK hands the mic to everyone in the Thomas-Engel family, plus a few people they'd rather not think about, and lets them talk till the truth slips out. It's a 47-chapter group chat where nobody tells anybody anything, and somehow you're the only one who's read the whole thread.
The Tasting Notes
Zora Thomas is the center of this barrel: a former runway model turned lifestyle-brand mogul whose chapters are just lists of reasons she's on Celexa, and her climbing dosage tells you how she's doing before she does. Then there's Great-Aunt Willamita, blind and sharp as a tack, roasting pecans and arguing with the ghost of her son Elijah Patterson, lynched in the 1980s, who sits on her couch with his legs stretched out like he pays rent. The men are a lot. Neil is a hedge-fund husband with a predictive model for the apocalypse, a bunker upstate, and a paid "companion" named Flor. Their son Elijah is a Yale freshman who carries his murdered namesake's name and does something unforgivable with a 3D-printed gun. Or maybe he doesn't. What makes this book different is that the haunting is real enough to scare you and slippery enough to make you doubt every narrator, right up to the clinical report at the end.
What I Savored 🥃
WILLAMITA IS TOP-SHELF — Every time this woman quoted scripture at a dead man who'd heard it a thousand times, I wanted to pull up a chair and pass her the pecans.
THE CELEXA CHAPTERS — Zora's "Because..." lists hit harder in a page and a half than most whole novels manage, and "Because it bothers me that that bothers me" moved straight into my soul.
THE GHOST AS GREEK CHORUS — Watching Elijah's guilt take the shape of Troy, a chatty, heartbroken ghost who won't stop talking about his prom date Keesha, was eerie, funny, and devastating all at once.
What I Side-Eyed 🥃
NEIL'S CHAPTERS NEEDED LESS TIME IN THE BARREL — I get that he's meant to be insufferable, but his escort spreadsheets and doomsday asset allocations went down like lukewarm rail liquor long after I'd gotten the point.
THE ENDING SCATTERS LIKE A POOL BREAK — Flor's jungle walk, Natasha on Milton's doorstep, and the psych report all land at once, so the final sip is more open question than satisfying smoky finish.
The Finish
Ghost Gun is a full-bodied, uncomfortable debut about what money can buy and what it can't bury, and Willamita alone is worth the pour. It's not a cozy read and it isn't trying to be, but cc ECK writes grief, guilt, and privilege with a voice this sharp that I'm already watching for whatever they pour next. Sip it slow, then sit with it a while afterward.
🍸 Drink Pairing: The Mobile Reckoning
A dark, smoky, Southern Old Fashioned that's sweet up front and bitter underneath, just like this family.
Recipe:
- 2 oz Buffalo Trace bourbon — Southern roots that no amount of money can rinse out
- ½ oz toasted pecan syrup — Willamita's kitchen and her eighty years of steady hands
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters — the inheritance nobody wants to talk about
- 1 dash smoked salt tincture — the ghost riding in the back seat
- Garnish: orange peel and a Lazzaroni Amaretto cherry — Natasha's hope, still sweet at the bottom of the glass
Stir over a large cube and strain into a rocks glass. Drink with the TV off. You'll want to hear who's talking.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
If you enjoy: ✨ multi-POV family sagas ✨ Southern Gothic hauntings ✨ unreliable narrators ✨ books that ask who pays for history...this will scratch that itch.
#GhostGun #ccECK #ARCReview #DebutNovel #LiteraryFiction #BourbonSippingBibliophile #BookReview
July 14, 2026
Huge thank you to the author for my gifted copy!
This incredible family saga follows the Thomas-Engel family as they reckon with their violent past, generational trauma, and the ways that racism continues to impact each of them. They are a biracial family with a White father and a Black mother and two teenagers who are trying to figure out their place in the world.
The novel addresses the interconnected issues of racism, generational trauma, justice, social class, mental illness, and mass incarceration through the perspective of multiple family members. In addition to addressing these complex issues in a realistic and thoughtful way, the novel also includes some surprising twists that kept me guessing all the way to the end.
I loved the multiple POV and complicated characters and the ending left me questioning where each of them will end up next. I also loved that it was not all tied up neatly in the end. I highly recommend this fantastic debut and I can’t wait to read more from Eck in the future!
Huge thank you to the author for my gifted copy!
This incredible family saga follows the Thomas-Engel family as they reckon with their violent past, generational trauma, and the ways that racism continues to impact each of them. They are a biracial family with a White father and a Black mother and two teenagers who are trying to figure out their place in the world.
The novel addresses the interconnected issues of racism, generational trauma, justice, social class, mental illness, and mass incarceration through the perspective of multiple family members. In addition to addressing these complex issues in a realistic and thoughtful way, the novel also includes some surprising twists that kept me guessing all the way to the end.
I loved the multiple POV and complicated characters and the ending left me questioning where each of them will end up next. I also loved that it was not all tied up neatly in the end. I highly recommend this fantastic debut and I can’t wait to read more from Eck in the future!
This incredible family saga follows the Thomas-Engel family as they reckon with their violent past, generational trauma, and the ways that racism continues to impact each of them. They are a biracial family with a White father and a Black mother and two teenagers who are trying to figure out their place in the world.
The novel addresses the interconnected issues of racism, generational trauma, justice, social class, mental illness, and mass incarceration through the perspective of multiple family members. In addition to addressing these complex issues in a realistic and thoughtful way, the novel also includes some surprising twists that kept me guessing all the way to the end.
I loved the multiple POV and complicated characters and the ending left me questioning where each of them will end up next. I also loved that it was not all tied up neatly in the end. I highly recommend this fantastic debut and I can’t wait to read more from Eck in the future!
Huge thank you to the author for my gifted copy!
This incredible family saga follows the Thomas-Engel family as they reckon with their violent past, generational trauma, and the ways that racism continues to impact each of them. They are a biracial family with a White father and a Black mother and two teenagers who are trying to figure out their place in the world.
The novel addresses the interconnected issues of racism, generational trauma, justice, social class, mental illness, and mass incarceration through the perspective of multiple family members. In addition to addressing these complex issues in a realistic and thoughtful way, the novel also includes some surprising twists that kept me guessing all the way to the end.
I loved the multiple POV and complicated characters and the ending left me questioning where each of them will end up next. I also loved that it was not all tied up neatly in the end. I highly recommend this fantastic debut and I can’t wait to read more from Eck in the future!
September 26, 2026
First of all, thank you so much to Victory Editing for this ARC from the author, cc ECK, through NetGalley.
I’ll also be sharing a post on my Instagram (@bookishlunn) with more details and my honest thoughts.
Ghost Gun follows a family of four who are more than enough to keep you hooked. We get multiple points of view throughout the book, which makes the story even more engaging because we’re constantly getting a glimpse into this family’s deepest thoughts.
I really enjoyed this book because it touches on topics that many people don’t usually talk about. And while some of these experiences are not things I can personally relate to, the author gives us a glimpse into that side of life.
This book had me feeling confused about the father, worried about the mother, and genuinely anxious for the two teenagers. And even with all those emotions, I had such a great time reading it. (I appreciate when authors put me through the emotional wringer like this.)
I also think this book would be perfect for a book club because of all the topics it brings up, so definitely keep that in mind!
Congratulations on the debut!
I’ll also be sharing a post on my Instagram (@bookishlunn) with more details and my honest thoughts.
Ghost Gun follows a family of four who are more than enough to keep you hooked. We get multiple points of view throughout the book, which makes the story even more engaging because we’re constantly getting a glimpse into this family’s deepest thoughts.
I really enjoyed this book because it touches on topics that many people don’t usually talk about. And while some of these experiences are not things I can personally relate to, the author gives us a glimpse into that side of life.
This book had me feeling confused about the father, worried about the mother, and genuinely anxious for the two teenagers. And even with all those emotions, I had such a great time reading it. (I appreciate when authors put me through the emotional wringer like this.)
I also think this book would be perfect for a book club because of all the topics it brings up, so definitely keep that in mind!
Congratulations on the debut!
October 11, 2026
Ghost Gun by CC Eck ★★★★★
I really enjoyed this novel and learnt so much from reading it. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been given the opportunity to read this book.
The tension is gripping, but what makes this novel particularly profound is its insight into the biracial experience in America and, dare I say, the wider complexities of Black history and identity.
What struck me most was the true understanding of duality seen in these people. There is something deeply moving about the way these characters navigate their identities, carrying the weight of different worlds, histories and expectations. The novel captures the complexity of existing between identities and the experience of reconciling different parts of oneself in a world that does not always make room for that complexity.
This is a book that offers more than a story. It offers perspective, understanding and an invitation to think more deeply about identity, belonging and the histories that shape us.
A genuinely thought-provoking read that I am grateful to have encountered.
I really enjoyed this novel and learnt so much from reading it. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been given the opportunity to read this book.
The tension is gripping, but what makes this novel particularly profound is its insight into the biracial experience in America and, dare I say, the wider complexities of Black history and identity.
What struck me most was the true understanding of duality seen in these people. There is something deeply moving about the way these characters navigate their identities, carrying the weight of different worlds, histories and expectations. The novel captures the complexity of existing between identities and the experience of reconciling different parts of oneself in a world that does not always make room for that complexity.
This is a book that offers more than a story. It offers perspective, understanding and an invitation to think more deeply about identity, belonging and the histories that shape us.
A genuinely thought-provoking read that I am grateful to have encountered.
October 1, 2026
Ghost Gun by cc ECK is a Literary Fiction (LitFic) debut novel that explores injustice faced in the viewpoint of color. Thank you Netgalley and Victory Editing for the ARC, since I requested it long after it's release date on May 12th, 2026. It weaves together stories of all different types of genetic background comprised in one family, so that was interesting to see the close-knit bond of blood ties while also having completely different stories and viewpoints being shared. I couldn't fully connect with any of the characters however, because I haven't faced their struggles in life. But I could feel FOR them. 3.5 ⭐
July 3, 2026
Ghost Gun is a very impactful read. It covers topics that need to be spoken about loudly, but this book does so in a way that compounds over time allowing the pace to build as the reader learns more about the characters over the chapters. By the end, as the readers are invested, the stories is fully covering topics that are heavy and traumatic, leaving the reader resonating on everything that they have just read.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
July 8, 2026
“Ghost Gun” is a debut that tackles so many themes: race, mental health, psyche, family, trauma, culture, gender, class, education and more. Following a biracial family and their navigation from and through generational trauma, this story is told in parts by each character and their perspective. The only critique I have is there are so many sentences throughout that are way too long (I read this book aloud and ran out of breath sometimes lol) but besides that, really good story.
June 30, 2026
A great debut novel! Elijah is boarding-school bound for Yale when a trip to Mobile to see his dying grandfather cracks open the thing his family never said out loud: he was named for a relative who was lynched, and the descendant of the man who did it lives fifteen minutes away. What follows is a slow, devastating reckoning with what a bloodline passes down.
I love a family trauma novel told through multiple POVs. And the voices in Ghost Gun are unique. Elijah talks to you like he's sliding into the passenger seat, all slang and blazing intelligence, and he's the living soul of this book. Natasha, his book-devouring sister, reads Anna Karenina for the fourth time and aches for a love she hasn't lived yet, and I have never felt so seen by a fictional teenager. Their mother confesses in litanies. Their father narrates like a spreadsheet with a pulse. And blind great-aunt Willamita, cracking pecans and talking to a ghost, nearly walks away with the whole thing.
As someone with an interracial family, I appreciate this story. So much fiction puts a mixed family on the page and then declines to deal with race, or flattens one partner into a type. This book does neither. It's about the cost of the silence a family keeps, and what that silence does to a child who inherits a history nobody will name. ECK does not flinch. The title says it all: trauma as an untraceable weapon, no serial number, handed down, going off in hands that never asked for it. The ending pulled the floor out from under me.
A gentle heads up that this one moves through heavy terrain, including racism, lynching, mental illness, and suicidal ideation.
🎶 Pairing: "Hope She'll Be Happier" by Bill Withers (Zora sings it in the book, and it's perfect). I built a whole soundtrack for this story too, seven songs sequenced to the book. You'll find it, and my full book review, over on my Substack, The B-Side.
Always on the B-Side, Melissa ❤️
I love a family trauma novel told through multiple POVs. And the voices in Ghost Gun are unique. Elijah talks to you like he's sliding into the passenger seat, all slang and blazing intelligence, and he's the living soul of this book. Natasha, his book-devouring sister, reads Anna Karenina for the fourth time and aches for a love she hasn't lived yet, and I have never felt so seen by a fictional teenager. Their mother confesses in litanies. Their father narrates like a spreadsheet with a pulse. And blind great-aunt Willamita, cracking pecans and talking to a ghost, nearly walks away with the whole thing.
As someone with an interracial family, I appreciate this story. So much fiction puts a mixed family on the page and then declines to deal with race, or flattens one partner into a type. This book does neither. It's about the cost of the silence a family keeps, and what that silence does to a child who inherits a history nobody will name. ECK does not flinch. The title says it all: trauma as an untraceable weapon, no serial number, handed down, going off in hands that never asked for it. The ending pulled the floor out from under me.
A gentle heads up that this one moves through heavy terrain, including racism, lynching, mental illness, and suicidal ideation.
🎶 Pairing: "Hope She'll Be Happier" by Bill Withers (Zora sings it in the book, and it's perfect). I built a whole soundtrack for this story too, seven songs sequenced to the book. You'll find it, and my full book review, over on my Substack, The B-Side.
Always on the B-Side, Melissa ❤️
June 28, 2026
“It’s a combination of earned wealth and inherited wealth that keeps compounding, building momentum, accumulating prestige and legitimacy the farther it’s removed from its original sin.” This poignant line from cc ECK’s novel, Ghost Gun, captures the central tension of the novel. Through the eyes of the central young narrator, ECK delivers an ambitious story that forces readers to look at how wealth can shield a family from their own history until it suddenly can't. As a biracial family journeys through the South, shifting perspectives reveal how history shapes identity and family relationships. The novel balances intimate family moments with broader reflections on society, making Ghost Gun both an engaging family story and a thoughtful examination of the legacies people inherit.
I received an advance complimentary copy and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
I received an advance complimentary copy and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
June 14, 2026
This book is all about legacv...genetic, financial, educational racial. cultural. It is about what we inherit and the reverberating impacts of that across generations--wealth vs poverty, mental health vs mental illness, light skin vs dark skin education vs illiteracy, justice vs injustice, freedom vs incarceration/slavery. Each character in the family has chapters from their own point-of-view, and their vastly different takes on these issues is fascinating and thought-provoking. The ending felt a bit abrupt and forced me to recalibrate my view of some of the characters, but overall, I really liked how much this book made me THINK about these issues.
October 4, 2026
2,5* rounded up to 3*.
Whereas the blurb sounded very interesting, I found the novel rather flat. I disliked most characters (particularly the father) and could not relate to them. I had real problems getting into the novel and long wondered the point of it.
More depth would have been welcome.
This novel just did not work for me.
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I have voluntarily written an honest review.
Whereas the blurb sounded very interesting, I found the novel rather flat. I disliked most characters (particularly the father) and could not relate to them. I had real problems getting into the novel and long wondered the point of it.
More depth would have been welcome.
This novel just did not work for me.
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I have voluntarily written an honest review.
October 12, 2026
I finished *Ghost Gun* wanting to talk about almost everything in it.
It follows a multiracial family living with the consequences of a racial violence in their past. They share a history but understand it very differently, and the distance between what they think and what they actually say is painfully convincing. We know things about them that they cannot tell one another.
The bookish, perceptive daughter was my favourite. Her wealthy doomsday-prepper father was easily my least favourite person, but I loved reading about him. Elijah’s determination to pursue justice raises difficult questions, particularly as his mental health becomes increasingly significant.
Race, privilege, wealth and inherited trauma give this novel plenty to discuss. What upset me most, though, was how lonely these people could be within their own family. I repeatedly wanted to put the kettle on and make them talk.
Five stars. I’d happily press this into someone else’s hands just so we could discuss it.
Thank you to the author for the review copy.
It follows a multiracial family living with the consequences of a racial violence in their past. They share a history but understand it very differently, and the distance between what they think and what they actually say is painfully convincing. We know things about them that they cannot tell one another.
The bookish, perceptive daughter was my favourite. Her wealthy doomsday-prepper father was easily my least favourite person, but I loved reading about him. Elijah’s determination to pursue justice raises difficult questions, particularly as his mental health becomes increasingly significant.
Race, privilege, wealth and inherited trauma give this novel plenty to discuss. What upset me most, though, was how lonely these people could be within their own family. I repeatedly wanted to put the kettle on and make them talk.
Five stars. I’d happily press this into someone else’s hands just so we could discuss it.
Thank you to the author for the review copy.
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