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The Boatman's Daughter
A "lush nightmare" (Paul Tremblay) of a supernatural thriller about a young woman facing down ancient forces in the depths of the bayou.
Ever since her father was killed when she was just a child, Miranda Crabtree has kept her head down and her eyes up, ferrying contraband for a mad preacher and his declining band of followers to make ends meet and to protect an old witch and a secret child from harm.
But dark forces are at work in the bayou, both human and supernatural, conspiring to disrupt the rhythms of Miranda’s peculiar and precarious life. And when the preacher makes an unthinkable demand, it sets Miranda on a desperate, dangerous path, forcing her to consider what she is willing to sacrifice to keep her loved ones safe.
With the heady mythmaking of Neil Gaiman and the heartrending pacing of Joe Hill, Andy Davidson spins a thrilling tale of love and duty, of loss and discovery. The Boatman's Daughter is a gorgeous, horrifying novel, a journey into the dark corners of human nature, drawing our worst fears and temptations out into the light.
418 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 11, 2020
1025 people are currently reading
24965 people want to read
About the author
Andy Davidson
8 books653 followersAndy Davidson is the Bram Stoker Award nominated author of In the Valley of the Sun and The Boatman's Daughter. The Boatman’s Daughter was listed among NPR's Best Books of 2020, the New York Public Library's Best Adult Books of the Year, and Library Journal's Best Horror of 2020. Born and raised in Arkansas, Andy makes his home in Georgia with his wife and a bunch of cats.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 943 reviews
August 8, 2025
I never would have read this book if it hadn't been on Netgalley. And that would have been a damned shame. This story is everything I dislike in a book. Too damned hot and swampy! Well, by the time I finished this book, I was thinking that living alone in this place would be great for me. Not near as great as someplace with icebergs, a huge picture window and a woodstove, but close! This story had atmosphere. I took it into my dreams at night. I didn't want to, but I'd fall asleep to the light of it on my Kindle, and down we'd go! I loved these people! They were everything I would never want to know. But, here. In this book, they got me! This is one of those books that I will revisit again. Just because I will need to be in their company again. Mr. Davidson did an excellent job on building this tiny section of the world. I'll be reading more! My thanks to the publishers, the author and netgalley.
July 21, 2020
I must say this is utterly compelling. I’ve not read anything like it. Strong voice. Strong characters. But the novel tries to balance dark fairy tale with realism and it doesn’t quite work. Parts are really hard to follow. Still I kind of loved this, too. I recommend it! Very Southern gothic.
June 16, 2020
From the first harrowing scenes all the way until the bittersweet end, this book had me enthralled!
Set along the rivers and bayous of Arkansas, this tale is about Miranda, and how she manages to keep her life afloat. Running drugs for the bad guys to help her support the local "witch" and the special boy the witch hides and cares for. Discarded and left for dead, this boy is very special indeed-and so is Miranda. A bow-hunting woman of the bayou, she is not to be taken lightly.
The drug runners, featuring locals and bikers, a dwarf of a man as their main grower, and a mad preacher man who basically does whatever he wants. Among these men, there is nothing considered taboo, and I mean nothing. Will Miranda, the witch and the boy be able to continue to survive and live life as they have been? You'll have to read this to find out!
In addition to the characters I've already mentioned, I also need to highlight the hot and humid atmosphere. All the bug infested routes throughout the bayou, rivers and streams. The old homes near the river that aren't fully vacated, but are crumbling, prey to the humidity, the mold, and the heat. The old mercantile that Miranda's father once owned, falling prey to dust and disuse after her father died. In my head I pictured all of this perfectly and as such, these locations became characters to me as well.
I remain impressed with Andy Davidson's style of writing and how effortlessly he combines things like small town life, witches, Russian fairy tales and so on. He does it so deftly that I never questioned any of it. It just WAS. Davidson created people I feel for because they feel real. Then he put them all in danger and I found it difficult to pull myself away.
I read his previous book IN THE VALLEY OF THE SUN last year, and I knew I was on to something unique with this author. Now, with THE BOATMAN'S DAUGHTER I'm more sure than ever that Davidson is the real deal and I will sign up for anything he writes from here on out.
Highly Recommended!
Available everywhere tomorrow, but you can pre-order here: https://amzn.to/2ShAxoi
*Thanks go out to the author who saw my desperate plea for an ARC and sent me one in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
Set along the rivers and bayous of Arkansas, this tale is about Miranda, and how she manages to keep her life afloat. Running drugs for the bad guys to help her support the local "witch" and the special boy the witch hides and cares for. Discarded and left for dead, this boy is very special indeed-and so is Miranda. A bow-hunting woman of the bayou, she is not to be taken lightly.
The drug runners, featuring locals and bikers, a dwarf of a man as their main grower, and a mad preacher man who basically does whatever he wants. Among these men, there is nothing considered taboo, and I mean nothing. Will Miranda, the witch and the boy be able to continue to survive and live life as they have been? You'll have to read this to find out!
In addition to the characters I've already mentioned, I also need to highlight the hot and humid atmosphere. All the bug infested routes throughout the bayou, rivers and streams. The old homes near the river that aren't fully vacated, but are crumbling, prey to the humidity, the mold, and the heat. The old mercantile that Miranda's father once owned, falling prey to dust and disuse after her father died. In my head I pictured all of this perfectly and as such, these locations became characters to me as well.
I remain impressed with Andy Davidson's style of writing and how effortlessly he combines things like small town life, witches, Russian fairy tales and so on. He does it so deftly that I never questioned any of it. It just WAS. Davidson created people I feel for because they feel real. Then he put them all in danger and I found it difficult to pull myself away.
I read his previous book IN THE VALLEY OF THE SUN last year, and I knew I was on to something unique with this author. Now, with THE BOATMAN'S DAUGHTER I'm more sure than ever that Davidson is the real deal and I will sign up for anything he writes from here on out.
Highly Recommended!
Available everywhere tomorrow, but you can pre-order here: https://amzn.to/2ShAxoi
*Thanks go out to the author who saw my desperate plea for an ARC and sent me one in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
July 16, 2020
The overall concept was interesting, but I had to will myself to continue reading more than once. I think this might be the basis for a pretty good screenplay, one of the few times that the movie exceeds the book.
March 10, 2020
Originally published at Cemetery Dance Feb. 5th
https://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/...
Last year, if I talked about highly anticipated novels in 2020, The Boatman’s Daughter was at the top of my list. This is Bram Stoker Award finalist Andy Davidson’s second novel. His debut, In the Valley of the Sun (2017) was one of the best books I read last year.
Sometimes when I love a book so much, I worry about the follow-up novel not meeting that high standard set by the predecessor. In the case of Davidson, there was not a doubt in my mind he would write something equally fantastic.
The Boatman’s Daughter is a greasy, magical, Southern Gothic fable. Davidson pens a vivid backdrop for his colorful characters to come alive and draw the reader into an eerie supernatural thriller. The protagonist, twenty-one year old Miranda Crabtree, wins your heart as she navigates the Bayou of the American South. She’s a smuggler, running goods on her ferry for an unstable employer and charismatic preacher named Billy Cotton. Cotton’s backstory reads like a Grimm fairytale; better left unspoken in a review in order to preserve reader discovery.
Miranda encounters a variety of obstacles as she struggles to uphold moral integrity and appease her inner sense of justice in her chaotic environment. I absolutely love her. She is unpredictable and made some interesting choices along the way, but she was also relatable—acting on her emotions and disobeying orders from authority figures.
Davidson’s storytelling voice is bewitching. The story has a magnetic hold on its audience—making it virtually impossible to stop turning the pages. I was amazed at the depth of character Davidson assigns to all the major players in this story. They all have unique voices, motivations and agendas adding a rich complexity to the story that is wildly entertaining.
There is a strong visual imagery to his world building—the reader can “see” every scene play out in full color. Davidson employs descriptions of sight, textures, smells, sounds—anything in order to paint the picture vividly for the reader. It’s an immersive experience I won’t soon forget. Fans of supernatural, southern gothic horror should find this book completely satisfying. Andy Davidson is a master storyteller.
https://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/...
Last year, if I talked about highly anticipated novels in 2020, The Boatman’s Daughter was at the top of my list. This is Bram Stoker Award finalist Andy Davidson’s second novel. His debut, In the Valley of the Sun (2017) was one of the best books I read last year.
Sometimes when I love a book so much, I worry about the follow-up novel not meeting that high standard set by the predecessor. In the case of Davidson, there was not a doubt in my mind he would write something equally fantastic.
The Boatman’s Daughter is a greasy, magical, Southern Gothic fable. Davidson pens a vivid backdrop for his colorful characters to come alive and draw the reader into an eerie supernatural thriller. The protagonist, twenty-one year old Miranda Crabtree, wins your heart as she navigates the Bayou of the American South. She’s a smuggler, running goods on her ferry for an unstable employer and charismatic preacher named Billy Cotton. Cotton’s backstory reads like a Grimm fairytale; better left unspoken in a review in order to preserve reader discovery.
Miranda encounters a variety of obstacles as she struggles to uphold moral integrity and appease her inner sense of justice in her chaotic environment. I absolutely love her. She is unpredictable and made some interesting choices along the way, but she was also relatable—acting on her emotions and disobeying orders from authority figures.
Davidson’s storytelling voice is bewitching. The story has a magnetic hold on its audience—making it virtually impossible to stop turning the pages. I was amazed at the depth of character Davidson assigns to all the major players in this story. They all have unique voices, motivations and agendas adding a rich complexity to the story that is wildly entertaining.
There is a strong visual imagery to his world building—the reader can “see” every scene play out in full color. Davidson employs descriptions of sight, textures, smells, sounds—anything in order to paint the picture vividly for the reader. It’s an immersive experience I won’t soon forget. Fans of supernatural, southern gothic horror should find this book completely satisfying. Andy Davidson is a master storyteller.
August 8, 2025
Are You Ready for the Ritual?
THE BOATMAN'S DAUGHTER
by Andy Davidson
4 stars. Miranda, the boatman's daughter, inherited her father's job running drugs in the bayou along the Prosper river in her Alumacraft johnboat for the crooked one-eyed constable of the bayou's shanty town...
On one such trip...
Miranda carried special contraband... a 12 year old girl who Miranda was to deliver to the equally evil and crazy preacher of the small community...
When Miranda refuses to give over the girl, the constable and preacher join forces to eliminate Miranda and those she loves:
An old witch, a deformed boy who looks like a fish, and the girl...
Suddenly...
There's a crack of tree branches. Something's moving in the woods...
Trees on either side of the bayou sway and bend, dragonflies sitting on lily pads the size of pie plates wait and watch in the hot, oppressive air...
The old witch's cabin sits on stilts in the bayou, one yellow flame burning in the window. The old-timers who frequent the shanty town landing say the witch is teaching Miranda the black arts...
Get ready...
Get ready for what? The ritual: Jar, water, finger, blood. Hurry! And the words. Don't forget the words...
This author expertly takes the reader to the bayou with its flora, fauna, and hot, humid weather. The humid weather is almost another character in the story.
I would classify this novel as a supernatural crime drama for those interested. One star removed for a bit of confusion and some loose ends.
If you haven't read IN THE VALLEY OF THE SUN by this author, you're missing a 5 star novel.
THE BOATMAN'S DAUGHTER
by Andy Davidson
4 stars. Miranda, the boatman's daughter, inherited her father's job running drugs in the bayou along the Prosper river in her Alumacraft johnboat for the crooked one-eyed constable of the bayou's shanty town...
On one such trip...
Miranda carried special contraband... a 12 year old girl who Miranda was to deliver to the equally evil and crazy preacher of the small community...
When Miranda refuses to give over the girl, the constable and preacher join forces to eliminate Miranda and those she loves:
An old witch, a deformed boy who looks like a fish, and the girl...
Suddenly...
There's a crack of tree branches. Something's moving in the woods...
Trees on either side of the bayou sway and bend, dragonflies sitting on lily pads the size of pie plates wait and watch in the hot, oppressive air...
The old witch's cabin sits on stilts in the bayou, one yellow flame burning in the window. The old-timers who frequent the shanty town landing say the witch is teaching Miranda the black arts...
Get ready...
Get ready for what? The ritual: Jar, water, finger, blood. Hurry! And the words. Don't forget the words...
This author expertly takes the reader to the bayou with its flora, fauna, and hot, humid weather. The humid weather is almost another character in the story.
I would classify this novel as a supernatural crime drama for those interested. One star removed for a bit of confusion and some loose ends.
If you haven't read IN THE VALLEY OF THE SUN by this author, you're missing a 5 star novel.
July 13, 2021
Just glad it’s over to be honest.
June 25, 2020
I have mixed feelings about this book. An interesting plot but the black magic/fantasy slant was peculiar. Miranda was a well rounded character but some of the storytelling left me hollow.
February 25, 2020
The novel begins from the perspective of Miranda Crabtree, the eponymous boatman’s daughter, on the night that will alter the course of her life forever. She is only eleven when she accompanies her father and an old witch to the preacher’s house for the birth of his child. What was to be a routine delivery turns unspeakably dark, and her confusion and alarm throughout the rest of the night’s events are palpable. The introduction was appropriately gripping for a novel described as, “a supernatural thriller about a young woman facing down ancient forces in the depths of the bayou.”
The story picks back up more than a decade later, where Miranda is now a young adult, ferrying contraband for the old preacher and his cronies in order to survive and protect those she cares about. We’re told that this job is coming to an end, as she has been promised that she just needs to do a few final runs before they’ll stop asking for her assistance.
To be perfectly honest, the first half of this book is a slog. The book sinks under the weight of its dense prose and what is supposed to be mounting tension doesn’t feel like much of anything when the story is so slow to get rolling. It’s hard to care much about the characters for a while as well, as (aside from one notable exception), none are particularly endearing. They’re tired and worn out from their hard, unforgiving lives, and this weariness gets passed on to the reader.
At about the midpoint, the novel begins to pick up the pace and get more interesting, as the final runs Miranda has been asked to make grow more and more dark. Even then, however, the pacing is nearly glacial and, while I cared more about some of the characters, the increasing sense of, “nothing is going to go right for these people, everything will likely continue to be horrible,” kept me from mustering up enough hope to be eager for the end. I simply felt resigned to it and found myself frequently checking the progress on my Kindle to see how much longer it would drag on.
The slow pacing seemed very deliberate and designed to let the reader marinade in the tension and the humid heat of the bayou, but it just didn’t hit home for me. I can see why so many have praised it highly, but it just ended up not being my cup of tea. I felt that the rich, almost languid descriptions took away from the story and weighted it down heavily rather than drawing me into its world. The characters, while interesting in some ways, never felt fully developed and were hard to appreciate or care about. I would have loved to see more of the supernatural forces that were at play, but the true horror was in what the humans did to themselves and each other. The mythical forces felt tacked-on rather than an integral part of the story.
Overall, I wouldn’t say that the novel was bad, but I was disappointed. I can see where it worked well for others and why so many reviewers loved it, but I just didn’t get the same impression from it. I’d give it a two out of five stars.
The story picks back up more than a decade later, where Miranda is now a young adult, ferrying contraband for the old preacher and his cronies in order to survive and protect those she cares about. We’re told that this job is coming to an end, as she has been promised that she just needs to do a few final runs before they’ll stop asking for her assistance.
To be perfectly honest, the first half of this book is a slog. The book sinks under the weight of its dense prose and what is supposed to be mounting tension doesn’t feel like much of anything when the story is so slow to get rolling. It’s hard to care much about the characters for a while as well, as (aside from one notable exception), none are particularly endearing. They’re tired and worn out from their hard, unforgiving lives, and this weariness gets passed on to the reader.
At about the midpoint, the novel begins to pick up the pace and get more interesting, as the final runs Miranda has been asked to make grow more and more dark. Even then, however, the pacing is nearly glacial and, while I cared more about some of the characters, the increasing sense of, “nothing is going to go right for these people, everything will likely continue to be horrible,” kept me from mustering up enough hope to be eager for the end. I simply felt resigned to it and found myself frequently checking the progress on my Kindle to see how much longer it would drag on.
The slow pacing seemed very deliberate and designed to let the reader marinade in the tension and the humid heat of the bayou, but it just didn’t hit home for me. I can see why so many have praised it highly, but it just ended up not being my cup of tea. I felt that the rich, almost languid descriptions took away from the story and weighted it down heavily rather than drawing me into its world. The characters, while interesting in some ways, never felt fully developed and were hard to appreciate or care about. I would have loved to see more of the supernatural forces that were at play, but the true horror was in what the humans did to themselves and each other. The mythical forces felt tacked-on rather than an integral part of the story.
Overall, I wouldn’t say that the novel was bad, but I was disappointed. I can see where it worked well for others and why so many reviewers loved it, but I just didn’t get the same impression from it. I’d give it a two out of five stars.
January 21, 2022
The Boatman’s Daughter was another recommendation for the library’s . . . .
And was actually a book I had seen out and about on the interwebs before so when there was zero wait list I happily snagged a copy without bothering even getting familiar with the plot.
Despite this being a story where you simply get plunked right into the action without bothering with much (if any) character development/backstory, when said action is drug smuggling – and possibly other forms of trafficking – by a young woman whose daddy did the job previously I was definitely saying . . . .
And I continued feeling that way for about half of the book and then things drug on sort of forever and it all boiled down to your typical good vs. evil with never-ending action scenes and I’ve said plenty of times that that is not my idea of great fun.
I’ll give this one 3 and simply leave it as this is a story that’s probably more fit for someone more inclined to a bit of magic with their mayhem while I’m a simple gal who only is looking for some hick in her lit.
And was actually a book I had seen out and about on the interwebs before so when there was zero wait list I happily snagged a copy without bothering even getting familiar with the plot.
Despite this being a story where you simply get plunked right into the action without bothering with much (if any) character development/backstory, when said action is drug smuggling – and possibly other forms of trafficking – by a young woman whose daddy did the job previously I was definitely saying . . . .
And I continued feeling that way for about half of the book and then things drug on sort of forever and it all boiled down to your typical good vs. evil with never-ending action scenes and I’ve said plenty of times that that is not my idea of great fun.
I’ll give this one 3 and simply leave it as this is a story that’s probably more fit for someone more inclined to a bit of magic with their mayhem while I’m a simple gal who only is looking for some hick in her lit.
April 13, 2020
Rounded up from 3.5
This was one of my most highly anticipated reads for 2020. I love the title, the cover, the description of the book. Sadly it did not live up to the hype that i built for it. I wanted there to be more supernatural and folkloric elements to the story. Most of the horror was very much real world horror. Miranda, our leading lady, was ok but i really wanted to know more about Iska and the things that lived in the swamp and her bath house! The story was ok but it wasn't what i expected. By the 60% mark, i was ready for it to be over. The ending was nice, i felt everything had been tied up.
Even though this one wasn't as great as i had hoped for, i would still read more by this author.
This was one of my most highly anticipated reads for 2020. I love the title, the cover, the description of the book. Sadly it did not live up to the hype that i built for it. I wanted there to be more supernatural and folkloric elements to the story. Most of the horror was very much real world horror. Miranda, our leading lady, was ok but i really wanted to know more about Iska and the things that lived in the swamp and her bath house! The story was ok but it wasn't what i expected. By the 60% mark, i was ready for it to be over. The ending was nice, i felt everything had been tied up.
Even though this one wasn't as great as i had hoped for, i would still read more by this author.
May 14, 2024
After having really liked Davidson's In the Valley of the Sun, I felt a little let down by this one. Here, Davidson gives a go at Southern Gothic infused with some fantasy/Eastern European mythos, creating a rather unsettled foundation to erect this tale that often bled into almost dreamscape. Our main protagonist Miranda, the titular Boatman's Daughter, starts the novel with her father, aged 12 or so, conveying the local witch to midwife the local (crazy) preacher's wife in his boat. The witch lives on an island in the 'bottoms', eg., swampland, and Miranda and her father also live in the bottoms, but on a sluggish river; an old 'mercantile' selling mainly bait and such to locals. While roads do exist in places, most of the characters in the tale utilize boats for just about everything.
Without going into many details, the story starts with a bang of sorts, with the return trip to the witch's isle ending badly and her father dying. Flash forward several years and the story begins in earnest (maybe in the 1980s? all the times feel a little vague here). The deformed baby (covered in scales, webbed feet and hands, etc.) taken from the preacher's house, now called Littlefish, obviously lived, and now resides at the witch's island, and dearly loved by his 'sister' Miranda. Miranda's main cash occupation involves running dope from the Preacher's estate (grown in an old greenhouse) to be picked up by a friend of sorts of hers; the local law knows all about it and definitely gets a cut. Well, things start turning to shit pretty early on. The guy who trades cash to Miranda for weed gets offed by some really strange characters and the Preacher is obviously up to no good either.
To me, the novel just tried to do too much, and the poetic (at times too poetic, with ten dollar words peppering the text as well) prose only added to my growing disenchantment as this progressed. The gothic aspect became overshadowed by the fantasy aspects, but then Davidson never really developed the fantasy in detail. We have witch who tends her house's demon by feeding it dead flies, but what else does she do? Unclear, although she has some connection to a god/demon that also 'lives' on the island. Why the cops suddenly decided to change their business model so to speak also never had any rationale except as a plot device to motivate the story. Too many questions left unanswered for my taste.
All in all, a decent read, but one that dragged on a bit too long. I really wanted to find out what happened to Miranda and friends and that was the only thing keeping me going at times. 3 watery stars!
Without going into many details, the story starts with a bang of sorts, with the return trip to the witch's isle ending badly and her father dying. Flash forward several years and the story begins in earnest (maybe in the 1980s? all the times feel a little vague here). The deformed baby (covered in scales, webbed feet and hands, etc.) taken from the preacher's house, now called Littlefish, obviously lived, and now resides at the witch's island, and dearly loved by his 'sister' Miranda. Miranda's main cash occupation involves running dope from the Preacher's estate (grown in an old greenhouse) to be picked up by a friend of sorts of hers; the local law knows all about it and definitely gets a cut. Well, things start turning to shit pretty early on. The guy who trades cash to Miranda for weed gets offed by some really strange characters and the Preacher is obviously up to no good either.
To me, the novel just tried to do too much, and the poetic (at times too poetic, with ten dollar words peppering the text as well) prose only added to my growing disenchantment as this progressed. The gothic aspect became overshadowed by the fantasy aspects, but then Davidson never really developed the fantasy in detail. We have witch who tends her house's demon by feeding it dead flies, but what else does she do? Unclear, although she has some connection to a god/demon that also 'lives' on the island. Why the cops suddenly decided to change their business model so to speak also never had any rationale except as a plot device to motivate the story. Too many questions left unanswered for my taste.
All in all, a decent read, but one that dragged on a bit too long. I really wanted to find out what happened to Miranda and friends and that was the only thing keeping me going at times. 3 watery stars!
June 2, 2020
The compelling setting, original characters and gorgeous prose of The Boatman's Daughter portend its potential to be one of the great horror novels of the past few years, but on the whole it reads like an early draft that could use a hefty dollop of additional polish. I would like to support the bold risks taken in publishing a book like this, but it was more frustrating than enjoyable.
A dark, swamp-water take on magical realism and Russian fairy tales clashes with rural drug dealers and pimps in the backwoods of Arkansas. Miranda Crabtree loses her father during a storm, ferrying a witch across the bayou with a strange web-footed child in tow. Years later, she is a young woman earning a living by smuggling drugs in her father's boat while helping the witch raise the boy. When she makes her usual drop, instead of being paid with cash, in turn she is ordered to take back a severed head in a styrofoam cooler and then a young girl who has been drugged.
Instead of doing as she's told, she brings the girl to the witch to draw out the poison, setting up a confrontation with the rest of the criminal organization: Charlie Riddle, a sadistic, crooked cop; John Avery, a perpetually stoned dwarf with a biracial newborn baby; a biker gang on the other side of the river; and Billy Cotton, the seemingly insane preacher who runs the entire operation as his church sits in ruins.
This sounds like the setup for a riveting story, particularly with Davidson laying down breathtaking passages with vivid imagery:
Unfortunately some critical problems get in the way of the narrative. These characters have interesting backstories, but they behave oddly, in ways that seem like an author pulling marionette strings to move them toward an arbitrary and unsatisfying climax, rather than people making believable choices. I didn't feel a connection with any of them for the first few chapters, and then when I finally started to care, they made irrational choices that no amount of descriptive imagery could atone for.
There are nuggets of lush poetry in the author's prose, but the relentless, breathless pace is exhausting and distracts from the story at times. As the book progresses, the chapters get shorter and shorter in a frenetic rhythm. This technique worked in Max Porter's Lanny with snippets of dialogue that conveyed characterization, but here we don't linger on any character long enough to care about them. Lots of rambling descriptions of dreamlike visions that establish atmosphere and mood without contributing to the narrative. There is also a great deal of repetition that might work in a poem but makes The Boatman's Daughter feel unpolished.
A dark, swamp-water take on magical realism and Russian fairy tales clashes with rural drug dealers and pimps in the backwoods of Arkansas. Miranda Crabtree loses her father during a storm, ferrying a witch across the bayou with a strange web-footed child in tow. Years later, she is a young woman earning a living by smuggling drugs in her father's boat while helping the witch raise the boy. When she makes her usual drop, instead of being paid with cash, in turn she is ordered to take back a severed head in a styrofoam cooler and then a young girl who has been drugged.
Instead of doing as she's told, she brings the girl to the witch to draw out the poison, setting up a confrontation with the rest of the criminal organization: Charlie Riddle, a sadistic, crooked cop; John Avery, a perpetually stoned dwarf with a biracial newborn baby; a biker gang on the other side of the river; and Billy Cotton, the seemingly insane preacher who runs the entire operation as his church sits in ruins.
This sounds like the setup for a riveting story, particularly with Davidson laying down breathtaking passages with vivid imagery:
Miranda went into the trees at the top of the ridge behind the cabin and came out at the edge of the shallow gorge that cut through the island. Some dozen feet below the tree line, the gray and white striated rock curved above an emerald inlet, where tufts of sweet flag and purple-blooming spiderwort grew along the water’s edge.
Unfortunately some critical problems get in the way of the narrative. These characters have interesting backstories, but they behave oddly, in ways that seem like an author pulling marionette strings to move them toward an arbitrary and unsatisfying climax, rather than people making believable choices. I didn't feel a connection with any of them for the first few chapters, and then when I finally started to care, they made irrational choices that no amount of descriptive imagery could atone for.
There are nuggets of lush poetry in the author's prose, but the relentless, breathless pace is exhausting and distracts from the story at times. As the book progresses, the chapters get shorter and shorter in a frenetic rhythm. This technique worked in Max Porter's Lanny with snippets of dialogue that conveyed characterization, but here we don't linger on any character long enough to care about them. Lots of rambling descriptions of dreamlike visions that establish atmosphere and mood without contributing to the narrative. There is also a great deal of repetition that might work in a poem but makes The Boatman's Daughter feel unpolished.
April 7, 2020
DNF
Wordy descriptions don't make writing good. Very little action, little characterization, and lack of tension left me disinterested. Decided not to force myself to continue.
Wordy descriptions don't make writing good. Very little action, little characterization, and lack of tension left me disinterested. Decided not to force myself to continue.
July 21, 2020
From my review in the March/April edition of Rue Morgue magazine.
Andy Davidson sped onto the horror scene in 2017 with his Stoker nominated debut novel, In the Valley of the Sun. This first book left readers clamoring for more, and three years later, the wait is over. The Boatman’s Daughter is sure to satisfy current fans and ensnare new ones as Davidson continues to explore themes of resilience and regionalism.
Davidson’s beautifully blunt prose is on full display as he crafts an intricate narrative in the heart of the bayou. Enter Miranda Crabtree, the tale’s protagonist, who, after the death of her father, finds herself in the midst of a maelstrom of witches, magic, secrets, and horrible people. Miranda is entrapped by a corrupt preacher and a host of others as she ferries contraband through the swamp. Surrounded by evil, pinpoints of light and love are the only things that propel her through the life she is forced to live.
The author handles other characters just as smoothly, providing depth and creating a full cast to love and revile. Even the swamp itself, full of slinking critters, ancient trees, and muck-covered water, creates a tangible atmosphere. Add in a bit of black magic, corrupt law enforcement, as well as true tests of human nature, and this book successfully re-imagines Southern gothic horror. In the spirit of American regionalism, the bayou becomes a character and a force in its own right.
Horror fans will delight in the supernatural nightmares Davidson conjures throughout, with gore and blood are delivered at all the right moments. The art of marrying this with a compelling story is a skill solidly in this author’s wheelhouse. This world is immersive; it’s easy to get lost in a book like this. Recommended to fans of Michael McDowell’s Blackwater, Cormac McCarthy, and other literary fiction or Southern gothic horror.
Andy Davidson sped onto the horror scene in 2017 with his Stoker nominated debut novel, In the Valley of the Sun. This first book left readers clamoring for more, and three years later, the wait is over. The Boatman’s Daughter is sure to satisfy current fans and ensnare new ones as Davidson continues to explore themes of resilience and regionalism.
Davidson’s beautifully blunt prose is on full display as he crafts an intricate narrative in the heart of the bayou. Enter Miranda Crabtree, the tale’s protagonist, who, after the death of her father, finds herself in the midst of a maelstrom of witches, magic, secrets, and horrible people. Miranda is entrapped by a corrupt preacher and a host of others as she ferries contraband through the swamp. Surrounded by evil, pinpoints of light and love are the only things that propel her through the life she is forced to live.
The author handles other characters just as smoothly, providing depth and creating a full cast to love and revile. Even the swamp itself, full of slinking critters, ancient trees, and muck-covered water, creates a tangible atmosphere. Add in a bit of black magic, corrupt law enforcement, as well as true tests of human nature, and this book successfully re-imagines Southern gothic horror. In the spirit of American regionalism, the bayou becomes a character and a force in its own right.
Horror fans will delight in the supernatural nightmares Davidson conjures throughout, with gore and blood are delivered at all the right moments. The art of marrying this with a compelling story is a skill solidly in this author’s wheelhouse. This world is immersive; it’s easy to get lost in a book like this. Recommended to fans of Michael McDowell’s Blackwater, Cormac McCarthy, and other literary fiction or Southern gothic horror.
July 29, 2024
What an unexpected surprise! I added The Boatman's Daughter to Horror when I shelved it, but it isn't really a supernatural horror novel like I was led to believe from the blurb. Rather, it reminded me a lot of season 1 of True Detective, the one with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. The good season.
When Miranda Crabtree was twelve or so, she lived through a single, terrible night of which she only remembers flashes: her father telling her to stay in the johnboat while he makes a delivery to a congregation. Seeing visions in the trees, flashes of insight that something terrible is going to happen. Following her father to the church. Seeing the preacher at the top of the stairs, arms coated in blood. Seeing the preacher's wife - or is that Miranda's mother? A handsome young man with cornflower blue eyes, winking at her from the foot of the stairs. Miranda flees into the woods, can't find her father. She sees a tree bowed low, branches smothering a newborn baby. She tears the baby free, hears a gun shot - then two. Knows her father is dead. Can't think, have to run, have to save the baby... Miranda makes it to the boat and races home like all the demons of hell are chasing them.
The rest of the novel immerses you in Miranda's world years later; a world of swamp huts and dirt floors. A world where teenaged girls turn tricks for food and drug money, and running dope up and down the river keeps Miranda's family fed. Heading this ring of depravity are former preacher Billy Cotton and Constable Charlie Riddle. Somehow, Cotton has kept his former flock close, some of whom, like Riddle, want to keep the gravy train running. Others like Cook and John Avery desperately wish they could escape from the spiderweb in which they're trapped. Then the swamp starts revealing signs the time is right for a reckoning, to those with eyes to see and the faith to believe. Can Miranda and her "brother," the baby she found all those years ago, stand up to these evil men once and for all?
As I said, not really quite horror. More like good vs. evil of the human variety, with maybe some nature spirits giving a push here, a nudge there. In any case, whatever you call it, this was very, very good. Dark, gritty and atmospheric as hell. Parts of it made me want to bathe with bleach after reading - the scene with Riddle and Daisy, specifically. Andy Davidson wowed me with this one. I'll be watching out for what he writes next.
When Miranda Crabtree was twelve or so, she lived through a single, terrible night of which she only remembers flashes: her father telling her to stay in the johnboat while he makes a delivery to a congregation. Seeing visions in the trees, flashes of insight that something terrible is going to happen. Following her father to the church. Seeing the preacher at the top of the stairs, arms coated in blood. Seeing the preacher's wife - or is that Miranda's mother? A handsome young man with cornflower blue eyes, winking at her from the foot of the stairs. Miranda flees into the woods, can't find her father. She sees a tree bowed low, branches smothering a newborn baby. She tears the baby free, hears a gun shot - then two. Knows her father is dead. Can't think, have to run, have to save the baby... Miranda makes it to the boat and races home like all the demons of hell are chasing them.
The rest of the novel immerses you in Miranda's world years later; a world of swamp huts and dirt floors. A world where teenaged girls turn tricks for food and drug money, and running dope up and down the river keeps Miranda's family fed. Heading this ring of depravity are former preacher Billy Cotton and Constable Charlie Riddle. Somehow, Cotton has kept his former flock close, some of whom, like Riddle, want to keep the gravy train running. Others like Cook and John Avery desperately wish they could escape from the spiderweb in which they're trapped. Then the swamp starts revealing signs the time is right for a reckoning, to those with eyes to see and the faith to believe. Can Miranda and her "brother," the baby she found all those years ago, stand up to these evil men once and for all?
As I said, not really quite horror. More like good vs. evil of the human variety, with maybe some nature spirits giving a push here, a nudge there. In any case, whatever you call it, this was very, very good. Dark, gritty and atmospheric as hell. Parts of it made me want to bathe with bleach after reading - the scene with Riddle and Daisy, specifically. Andy Davidson wowed me with this one. I'll be watching out for what he writes next.
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April 21, 2022I’m not rating this because I’m a quitter. I managed 35% and it’s been a struggle the entire time so I’m calling it quits and marking it read because at 400+ pages, 35% read of this book is more than most novellas.
I think this story about a young woman moving drugs and dealing with wacked out gross men is just not for me and I have too many others here to force myself to finish something that isn’t grabbing me. Lots of people love it so don’t listen to me. If it sounds like your thing give it a read.
I think this story about a young woman moving drugs and dealing with wacked out gross men is just not for me and I have too many others here to force myself to finish something that isn’t grabbing me. Lots of people love it so don’t listen to me. If it sounds like your thing give it a read.
February 19, 2020
Rating: 10/10
Thanks to the publisher and author for an advance reading copy of The Boatman’s Daughter for review consideration. Receiving this ARC did not influence my thoughts or opinions on the novel.
An utterly enthralling southern gothic. When it comes to gorgeous prose, not many hold a candle. This oily black piece of supernatural fiction is going to stay with me.
These are the words I tweeted out upon starting this novel and now hold even truer having finished it. Davidson’s sophomore novel is one of the best pieces of horror fiction I have ever read. Its like ‘The Shape of Water’ meets Robert McCammon’s ‘Gone South’, but oh such much more.
I knew when I put down ‘In The Valley of the Sun’ that Davidson was a special talent. His ability to not only write descriptive world-building, but completely immerse the reader in it is astounding. I could feel the humidity rising off the pages, the insects crawling over my arms, and my legs getting caught in the bog. I saw myself alongside Miranda Crabtree as she navigated the channels in her Jon Boat, cutting through the brush and undergrowth that blocked our paths.
TBD doesn’t lack for characters with a story full of drug runners, an evil old preacher, a corrupt deputy, a witch, a special boy, and of course our bow-hunting girl of the hour. Every bit of the cast is given their own voice and become unique puzzle pieces to the ultimate climax, and with that comes some of the weirdest fiction I have come across that rivals that of Gaiman. Russian fairy tales mixed with the mysteriousness of the bayou is something to behold.
Andy didn’t win a Bram Stoker Award for his debut. He looks like a shoo-in with this one. I cannot recommend The Boatman’s Daughter enough.
Thanks to the publisher and author for an advance reading copy of The Boatman’s Daughter for review consideration. Receiving this ARC did not influence my thoughts or opinions on the novel.
An utterly enthralling southern gothic. When it comes to gorgeous prose, not many hold a candle. This oily black piece of supernatural fiction is going to stay with me.
These are the words I tweeted out upon starting this novel and now hold even truer having finished it. Davidson’s sophomore novel is one of the best pieces of horror fiction I have ever read. Its like ‘The Shape of Water’ meets Robert McCammon’s ‘Gone South’, but oh such much more.
I knew when I put down ‘In The Valley of the Sun’ that Davidson was a special talent. His ability to not only write descriptive world-building, but completely immerse the reader in it is astounding. I could feel the humidity rising off the pages, the insects crawling over my arms, and my legs getting caught in the bog. I saw myself alongside Miranda Crabtree as she navigated the channels in her Jon Boat, cutting through the brush and undergrowth that blocked our paths.
TBD doesn’t lack for characters with a story full of drug runners, an evil old preacher, a corrupt deputy, a witch, a special boy, and of course our bow-hunting girl of the hour. Every bit of the cast is given their own voice and become unique puzzle pieces to the ultimate climax, and with that comes some of the weirdest fiction I have come across that rivals that of Gaiman. Russian fairy tales mixed with the mysteriousness of the bayou is something to behold.
Andy didn’t win a Bram Stoker Award for his debut. He looks like a shoo-in with this one. I cannot recommend The Boatman’s Daughter enough.
January 3, 2022
I could not make sense of this book, literally. I was baffled reading the comments because it seems I am the only one, but I could understand anything happening in the whole book. I didn't understand who the characters were, what they were doing, why there were doing it, what they wanted, or what the plot was about.
And I explain stories for a living. It is my actual job.
Yet, I got through the entire book without any even slight comprehension of anything about it. I can't stress enough how unusual that is. It was like trying to read Shakespeare without any knowledge of the English of the time. I literally have no idea what this book was about. How? I read and explain books for my job constantly. How am I the only one who couldn't make heads or tails of this?
And I explain stories for a living. It is my actual job.
Yet, I got through the entire book without any even slight comprehension of anything about it. I can't stress enough how unusual that is. It was like trying to read Shakespeare without any knowledge of the English of the time. I literally have no idea what this book was about. How? I read and explain books for my job constantly. How am I the only one who couldn't make heads or tails of this?
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October 18, 2025Miranda Crabtree's life has been tough.
Her father disappeared when she was eleven, after going into the bayou with a witch and never returning.
Fast-forward to Miranda ferrying drugs through the bayou for a corrupt preacher and the sheriff he employs. She is raising a young boy (who may not be entirely human) as her brother. They live with the witch. But then her partner on the ferry is killed, and she is tasked with taking a young girl who has been drugged to the preacher. Miranda struggles to get herself and the two children out of the bayou safely. In the process she must confront her past.
A past steeped in murder, mud and magic.
This is a fantastic Southern gothic.
The supernatural elements never take away from the crime story at its core.
Recommended for fans of True Detective: Season 1 and Winter's Bone. -Mike M.
Her father disappeared when she was eleven, after going into the bayou with a witch and never returning.
Fast-forward to Miranda ferrying drugs through the bayou for a corrupt preacher and the sheriff he employs. She is raising a young boy (who may not be entirely human) as her brother. They live with the witch. But then her partner on the ferry is killed, and she is tasked with taking a young girl who has been drugged to the preacher. Miranda struggles to get herself and the two children out of the bayou safely. In the process she must confront her past.
A past steeped in murder, mud and magic.
This is a fantastic Southern gothic.
The supernatural elements never take away from the crime story at its core.
Recommended for fans of True Detective: Season 1 and Winter's Bone. -Mike M.
March 1, 2020
Flowing and beautiful writing. I was swept along on this supernatural tale of Miranda, the extra-special boy she loves like a brother and the witch who took her in when she was young. She continued with the drug running setup that her father was doing,that took place on the Arkansas bayou. Don't underestimate her and the inherit strength she possesses.
As you are swept along you encounter violent, beautiful and vicious characters that set you on edge, leave you in awe. The background and atmosphere become characters that place you in this highly charged, mystical tale in which you can only slowly climb out of.
As you are swept along you encounter violent, beautiful and vicious characters that set you on edge, leave you in awe. The background and atmosphere become characters that place you in this highly charged, mystical tale in which you can only slowly climb out of.
November 9, 2021
The Boatman's Daughter definitely ranks as this year's weirdest story I've read. Andy Davidson must've been smoking the same shit John Avery was growing 😁
But hell, it was quite a ride.
For a good portion of the book, I wasn't quite sure what it was about. What was the story? But even as I was thinking about that, I was enjoying it -- I was loving the characters (and hating Charlie Riddle), and the sensory experience in the wet, murky, mysterious bayou.
Eventually I understood. It was about family. It was about the girl and who her TRUE family is. It's about love and acceptance. Littlefish was a quite a unique (creature) character, and I loved the relationship he had with Miranda.
Overall, this was a beautiful, intense, brutal read. For anyone who considers reading The Boatman's Daughter, I recommend that you just go with the flow, and enjoy the magic and the horror.
But hell, it was quite a ride.
For a good portion of the book, I wasn't quite sure what it was about. What was the story? But even as I was thinking about that, I was enjoying it -- I was loving the characters (and hating Charlie Riddle), and the sensory experience in the wet, murky, mysterious bayou.
Eventually I understood. It was about family. It was about the girl and who her TRUE family is. It's about love and acceptance. Littlefish was a quite a unique (creature) character, and I loved the relationship he had with Miranda.
Overall, this was a beautiful, intense, brutal read. For anyone who considers reading The Boatman's Daughter, I recommend that you just go with the flow, and enjoy the magic and the horror.
November 10, 2021
This book is….umm….strange, intriguing, interesting, odd, maybe a bit like a crazy peyote-induced dream. It held my interest and I enjoyed the weirdness of it but honestly it’s a bit hard to distinguish what actually happened. And maybe it doesn’t matter at all. I am sure many would not enjoy this at all but if you would like to go on a long strange trip, this might be the book for you!!
October 6, 2020
Intriguing premise and setting, but I had to force myself to finish it. Honestly, I skimmed through the last 25%. There’s something melodramatic and even self-reverential about the prose style, which really annoyed me. Descriptions are overabundant and weirdly uneven. Setting and imagery is over-described, yet the plot is so under-described that you somehow are never entirely sure what exactly is going on in the story. Action scenes are paced particularly poorly: explosive, violent action is lost in long, meandering sentences. Also, I was a little personally disappointed that this takes place in a fictional town -- I was excited to read something set in (a real place in) Arkansas because I used to live there and never see any books set there. Anyway, this novel had an interesting, unique concept, lots of good imagery, and I think the (male) author actually did a pretty okay job writing a female main character. This would probably make a much better TV show or movie...that way the author’s smug prose wouldn’t get in the way.
March 6, 2020
In the publisher synopsis it likens this work of Andy Davidson’s to Neil Gaiman and Joe Hill.
Usually when synopsis throws about names all willy-nilly, that is a big red flag of bullshit.
It never even occurred to me that would be even close to accurate. And yet…it kind of was. Maybe. Doesn’t matter, though, because it was pretty darn good all on its own.
It however came dangerously close to getting too fantasy for me here and there and then it would come around and I could settle back in.
Nicely done, Andy Davidson. No comparisons needed.
Usually when synopsis throws about names all willy-nilly, that is a big red flag of bullshit.
It never even occurred to me that would be even close to accurate. And yet…it kind of was. Maybe. Doesn’t matter, though, because it was pretty darn good all on its own.
It however came dangerously close to getting too fantasy for me here and there and then it would come around and I could settle back in.
Nicely done, Andy Davidson. No comparisons needed.
February 10, 2020
Review to follow...
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November 20, 2020Who am I kidding, I’m never going to finish this.
DNF at 15%.
DNF at 15%.
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October 1, 2023The Boatman’s Daughter is a southern gothic horror novel; exactly what you’d imagine the child of Shirley Jackson and Cormac McCarthy to be.
Like the works of those authors, this is an electric piece of prose — poetic, dramatic, sharp, sometimes surreal, and wonderfully tumultuous.
Set in the bayou of Arkansas, The Boatman’s Daughter follows Miranda, a young woman who ferries drugs and contraband up and down the river for a monstrous priest and the corrupt local sheriff.
My full thoughts: https://booksandbao.com/best-horror-n...
Like the works of those authors, this is an electric piece of prose — poetic, dramatic, sharp, sometimes surreal, and wonderfully tumultuous.
Set in the bayou of Arkansas, The Boatman’s Daughter follows Miranda, a young woman who ferries drugs and contraband up and down the river for a monstrous priest and the corrupt local sheriff.
My full thoughts: https://booksandbao.com/best-horror-n...
July 5, 2020
Pain....will show you...the way
Loved this book
This was one of those books where story, characters, setting and writing all came together to create a mesmerizing narrative. Folklore/horror, weird, grit-lit with a splash of crime thrown in for that added bit of flavoring. Talk about hitting all my sweet spots.
All that could have been a disaster but the writing was just fantastic, several notches above the standard fare.
Another scream: the wail of something deep and true torn loose, lost to the dark.
When he stepped out into the late evening dusk, the trees were black against a red sky, and the whole of the land seemed cauled with a membrane of blood. The dirge of the insects rang out from the trees, low, atavistic.
She felt the wisps of orb weavers against her cheeks, webs enshrouding her as they broke against her, as if nature were clothing her in itself, preparing her for some arcane ritual.
Strength amidst trouble, perseverance and ultimately hope and love.
10/10
Oh and the "map of pain"? Brilliant!
Loved this book
This was one of those books where story, characters, setting and writing all came together to create a mesmerizing narrative. Folklore/horror, weird, grit-lit with a splash of crime thrown in for that added bit of flavoring. Talk about hitting all my sweet spots.
All that could have been a disaster but the writing was just fantastic, several notches above the standard fare.
Another scream: the wail of something deep and true torn loose, lost to the dark.
When he stepped out into the late evening dusk, the trees were black against a red sky, and the whole of the land seemed cauled with a membrane of blood. The dirge of the insects rang out from the trees, low, atavistic.
She felt the wisps of orb weavers against her cheeks, webs enshrouding her as they broke against her, as if nature were clothing her in itself, preparing her for some arcane ritual.
Strength amidst trouble, perseverance and ultimately hope and love.
10/10
Oh and the "map of pain"? Brilliant!
February 18, 2020
I had really high hopes for this book but was very disappointed. The writing is overly descriptive and every other sentence is a metaphor. It’s extremely slow moving (I had to listen to it at double speed, occasionally even triple speed). For me this book had an excellent premise with so much promise but was ultimately a complete bore.
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