The Cherry Robbers

Erudite and Chilling, the perfect summer read. This is a thriller gothic historical that commences of approximately the 1950's, amongst six sisters in the south. What I undeniably fancied right away was how posthastedly I could relate to Iris Chase a.k.a Sylvia Wren. I too have had formerly thoughts of being able to restablished living a normal life by simply changing my name. Along with being able to relate to Sylvia. I soon found that I could sympathizable with Sylvia and her sisters for how horrendously relatable I found the family dynamic to be. I felt such an eerie relatablness to that of my own patriarchal based familyhood life. With which it was as if the author had lifted the folds of the patriarchal dirtiness that I'd try to keep in the dark for how frightened I was to see it in the light for how it was truly, ugly and damaging. If my relatabiltiy to these few things didn't shock you the ending definitely will. Also, I love the cover of the book. The eye-catching pink flowers clashing well with the gun. They absolutely go together very well. I've never seen any cover like it before, so it's definitely aesthetically unique.

In a Nutshell: Great premise, could have had better execution, disappointing ending, slow! Unlike what many reviews tell you, this isn’t a Gothic horror. More like a historical atmospheric suspense. Story: New Mexico, 2017. Sylvia Wren is a well-known but reclusive artist. She stays on the outskirts w......more

Let me tell you about one of my favorite books of 2022: “Sarai Walker, the acclaimed author of the cult-hit novel Dietland, building off the Gothic tradition of Shirley Jackson, brings to life this riveting, deliciously twisted feminist tale, a gorgeous and provocative page-turner about the legacy o......more

I was so excited at the idea of a gothic by Sarai Walker, who wrote the weird and wonderful novel DIETLAND. But this ended up being just fine, which was a real disappointment given how much I was hoping for. It's got several gothic elements--big old unusual house, possibly ghosts, the shadow of deat......more

Calling out all the fans of Shirley Jackson, this book will quench your thirst for a creepy gothic thriller with an emphasis on loneliness and what grief can do to us, similar to Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Walker's writing is seductive and would claw at your inner calmness, creatin......more

I loved this dread-filled and dreamlike historical fiction fairy tale, stuffed with vivid character sketches and gorgeous evocations of nature and girlhood and Gothic-tinged spaces in midcentury New York.......more