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BLESS YOUR HEARTMinotaur Books (US) | April 9, 2024
Solaris Books (UK) | July 18, 2024 making sure dead things stay buried is the family businessA late-90s Southern horror/mystery about four generations of women who run a funeral parlor.
For generations, the Evans women have taken care of laying the residents of their Southeast Texas town to rest at Evans Funeral Parlor. Occasionally, one of the quiet rural community’s dead become restless, and it’s the Evanses’ job to put them back in their grave. But this summer has been especially hot, and the dead have begun to rise, ripping the peace—and the throats—out of the town. As four generations of Evans women fight to keep the dead in their graves, long-buried family secrets are forced into the light, and they must confront the truth that the biggest monster may in fact be one of their own. A dead woman’s tongue, a missing dog, and a strange newcomer are law enforcement’s only clues to sort out the hell recently unleashed on their small town—even when all tracks lead back to the Evans women. A story about monstrous secrets and the power of motherly love, BLESS YOUR HEART is a multi-generational story told from multiple POVS of a diverse cast of characters who fight to save their town from the Strigoi—the original vampire. |
PRAISE FOR Bless Your Heart
"One hell of a horror novel. Monsters, family, and down-home horror—Lindy has masterfully crafted this story from beginning to end.” --Director/Producer George C. Romero, son of the late George A. Romero, creator of Night of the Living Dead
“Such a brilliant blend of banter and dread. Authored with the confidence of a storyteller who knows every inch, cadence, and beat of their tale. Instantly cinematic. And if you’re anything like me, you’re going to wish you were part of the Evans family, working at the Evans Funeral Home, just so you can spend more time with these people. Lindy Ryan is on fire with this book.” --Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and Daphne
"A flesh-ripping, heartfelt good time. Lindy Ryan has crafted a matriarchal line in keeping with Practical Magic but with the added gory fun of Dead Until Dark. I was utterly charmed and can only hope I haven’t seen the end of the Evans women." —Kristi DeMeester, author of Such a Pretty Smile
“Lindy Ryan’s debut, BLESS YOUR HEART, is a delight! Small-town, multi-generational horror about a family of monster-hunting women who make sure the dead can rest, it’s a creepy romp that begs for sequels. Check it out!” —Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Road of Bones and All Hallows
"So long, Sookie Stackhouse. Buh-bye, Buffy. The Evans women have arrived and these southern belle slayers are carving out a spot in our undead hearts. Lindy Ryan has harnessed the charm and horror of a Romero-helmed Steel Magnolias, equal parts Carson McCullers and Bram Stoker. Bless her heart. —Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Ghost Eaters
"Lindy Ryan is among the most electrifying voices in the horror genre today. Her writing is devastating, beautiful, and horrifying in all the best ways. With her new novel, she's created a group of characters you won't ever forget set in a world that's sure to get under your skin. Bless Your Heart is everything you could want in a horror novel and more. Highly recommended." --Gwendolyn Kiste, Three-time Bram Stoker Awards®-winning author of The Rust Maidens and Reluctant Immortals
"If you don't think a horror novel can somehow feel like STEEL MAGNOLIAS meets BUFFY with a dab of Straub's GHOST STORY, well . . . BLESS YOUR HEART. Lindy Ryan's debut novel is a bloodsoaked blast, packed with delightful characters and shockingly gruesome mayhem. And its ending seems to imply further adventures involving the Evans women, something I would welcome like a glass of sweet tea on a hot summer day." --Nat Cassidy, author of Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings
"A gloriously gruesome, compulsively readable debut that is as grizzly as it is clever and heartfelt, offering an inventive, poignant, and thoroughly entertaining exploration of legacy. Absolutely brilliant." --Rachel Harrison, national bestselling author of Cackle and Such Sharp Teeth
“Gory, spine-chilling, and deeply Southern, Bless Your Heart is a women-led fight against the rising dead. An absolute must-read for anyone who likes their horror with bite.” --Darcy Coates, USA Today best-selling author of The Haunting of Ashburn House and Gallows Hill
"Sparkling with magic and Southern charm, Bless Your Heart is a witty and compulsively readable story about family, duty, and the power to protect the ones we love the most. I was delightfully charmed by the women of the Evans family!" --Maureen Kilmer, author of Suburban Hell and Hex Education
“Such a brilliant blend of banter and dread. Authored with the confidence of a storyteller who knows every inch, cadence, and beat of their tale. Instantly cinematic. And if you’re anything like me, you’re going to wish you were part of the Evans family, working at the Evans Funeral Home, just so you can spend more time with these people. Lindy Ryan is on fire with this book.” --Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and Daphne
"A flesh-ripping, heartfelt good time. Lindy Ryan has crafted a matriarchal line in keeping with Practical Magic but with the added gory fun of Dead Until Dark. I was utterly charmed and can only hope I haven’t seen the end of the Evans women." —Kristi DeMeester, author of Such a Pretty Smile
“Lindy Ryan’s debut, BLESS YOUR HEART, is a delight! Small-town, multi-generational horror about a family of monster-hunting women who make sure the dead can rest, it’s a creepy romp that begs for sequels. Check it out!” —Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Road of Bones and All Hallows
"So long, Sookie Stackhouse. Buh-bye, Buffy. The Evans women have arrived and these southern belle slayers are carving out a spot in our undead hearts. Lindy Ryan has harnessed the charm and horror of a Romero-helmed Steel Magnolias, equal parts Carson McCullers and Bram Stoker. Bless her heart. —Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Ghost Eaters
"Lindy Ryan is among the most electrifying voices in the horror genre today. Her writing is devastating, beautiful, and horrifying in all the best ways. With her new novel, she's created a group of characters you won't ever forget set in a world that's sure to get under your skin. Bless Your Heart is everything you could want in a horror novel and more. Highly recommended." --Gwendolyn Kiste, Three-time Bram Stoker Awards®-winning author of The Rust Maidens and Reluctant Immortals
"If you don't think a horror novel can somehow feel like STEEL MAGNOLIAS meets BUFFY with a dab of Straub's GHOST STORY, well . . . BLESS YOUR HEART. Lindy Ryan's debut novel is a bloodsoaked blast, packed with delightful characters and shockingly gruesome mayhem. And its ending seems to imply further adventures involving the Evans women, something I would welcome like a glass of sweet tea on a hot summer day." --Nat Cassidy, author of Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings
"A gloriously gruesome, compulsively readable debut that is as grizzly as it is clever and heartfelt, offering an inventive, poignant, and thoroughly entertaining exploration of legacy. Absolutely brilliant." --Rachel Harrison, national bestselling author of Cackle and Such Sharp Teeth
“Gory, spine-chilling, and deeply Southern, Bless Your Heart is a women-led fight against the rising dead. An absolute must-read for anyone who likes their horror with bite.” --Darcy Coates, USA Today best-selling author of The Haunting of Ashburn House and Gallows Hill
"Sparkling with magic and Southern charm, Bless Your Heart is a witty and compulsively readable story about family, duty, and the power to protect the ones we love the most. I was delightfully charmed by the women of the Evans family!" --Maureen Kilmer, author of Suburban Hell and Hex Education