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.
NPR’S BEST BOOKS OF 2020
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY’S BEST BOOKS FOR ADULTS 2020
2020’S TOP HORROR NOVELS - GOODREADS
BEST HORROR OF 2020 - LIBRARY JOURNAL
Praise for The boatman’s daughter
"What if I told you there was a gorgeously written novel that mixed Flannery O'Connor, backwoods noir, and the mythic imagination of Clive Barker? Go read Andy Davidson's lush nightmare, The Boatman's Daughter. It put an arrow through my head and heart."
— Paul Tremblay
Bestselling author of The Cabin at the End of the World
"The Boatman’s Daughter is a beautifully written Gothic chiller that will draw you in and hold you tight. Wild and wonderful – a sentence-by-sentence delight.”
— Michael Koryta
New York Times bestselling author of If She Wakes
“Davidson’s captivating horror fable combines the visceral violence of Cormac McCarthy with his own wholly original craftsmanship, weaving rich, folkloric magic with the best elements of a gritty Southern thriller. The book’s lightning-fast pace doesn’t come at the expense of fully realized, flawed, and achingly human characters…. A stunning supernatural Southern Gothic.”
— Kirkus
Starred Review
“…You can almost smell the flora in the marsh, feel the planks of the rough-built structures under your bare feet. The Boatman’s Daughter is a supernatural cousin to Daniel Woodrell’s gritty Ozark thrillers; a sensual wetlands fable rich in sensory detail and replete with Slavic folklore.”
— Christopher Buehlman
author of The Suicide Motor Club
“An amazing and lyrical book – roiling with love and horror and loss. I can’t recommend this novel enough. Andy Davidson is an author to watch out for.”
— John Hornor Jacobs
author of A Lush and Seething Hell
"…A slow burn that explodes at the novel’s midpoint, making room for the plot to breathe and unravel toward the satisfying conclusion. This horror novel can claim its rightful place alongside new Southern Gothics like Jesmyn Ward's Sing, Unburied, Sing (2017), Daniel Woodrell's Winter’s Bone (2006), and Wiley Cash's A Land More Kind Than Home (2012)."
— Booklist
Starred Review
“…With fluid prose and nimble worldbuilding, Davidson brings his eerie swamps to life. Fans of the supernatural will savor the slow-burning tension of this heady, atmospheric Southern gothic.”
— Publishers Weekly
"The Boatman’s Daughter – a beautiful and brutal Southern Gothic which enchants and horrifies and hits like a wrecking ball from its opening pages – is fantastic in every sense of the word. Fans of Lansdale, Piccirilli, and McCarthy will dig this wholeheartedly, though the alchemy and magic here are Davidson’s own and mark him as a major voice in modern dark fiction.”
— Jeremy Robert Johnson
author of Entropy in Bloom and Skullcrack City
“Davidson’s bone-cracking Southern Gothic is a noir thriller dipped in the dark mud of the bayou, packed with witches, demons, and gods. I was entangled in the dense roots of the story and the rich, aromatic prose from page one. A riveting, powerful, bloody ride you’ll never want to leave, despite the dangers within.”
— Philip Fracassi
author of Behold the Void
