The Boatman's Daughter

If you asked me where this book takes place, I would tell you quite simply: the underbelly.

The setting of this book is an unnamed bayou where men traffic in women and children as easily as they traffic in drugs. It's dark, a bit supernatural, haunting and lyrical. Mostly, though, it's DARK.

I thought of the series Ozark as soon as I began reading this book, so immediately our protagonist Miranda took the form of Ruth Langmore from the Netflix series. Even Ruth would be disturbed by what takes place here; if you watch the series, you know that's saying something.

The story begins on a terrible night when the boatman and his daughter transport a witch, carrying what is presumed to be a dead baby into the woods. The mystery comes at you fast, as if you opened a hot oven and stuck your head right inside. You never get a breath after that. There is no lightness as the boatman's daughter Miranda navigates this world of drug dealers and pimps and corrupt police officers that control her life. At the center of it all is that baby - who wasn't dead after all, but is something of a mutant with fish scales and webbed hands and feet.

This sounds weird, I get it. But, the writing is beautiful and clear enough that you accept this reality and all the magic that goes along with it as Miranda uncovers secrets deep in the woods that lead her to places darker than most of our nightmares. 

Did I mention there's a lot of graphic details about eyeballs in here?

Look, it's dark. It's strange. It's mysterious. It's also incredibly well-written. But, it just needed a little light somewhere - a little hope? - to make me consider it a book worth recommending.