How it inspired me: There’s a character in this book called Weeping Mary, who dresses in widow’s weeds and attends funerals where she pretends to be grief-stricken in order to pick the pockets of the mourners. There is simply no way I could narrow down a single lesson I learned from this book What it taught me: Nobody brings a scene to life like McDowell and every time I read him, I come away with a new perspective and a deeper understanding of how it’s done. Seriously … Gird your loins, ya’llįun Facts: Stephen King once described McDowell as “the finest writer of paperback originals in America today.” Not that I put a whole lot of stock into King’s recommendations at this point, but in this case, I agree Standout achievements: More dark crime than horror, this book is not only beautifully written, but it brings into clear and terrifying focus the old adage that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Greatest strengths: While McDowell is a master at placing the reader in any scene he chooses, his descriptions of New York’s poor area, known as the Black Triangle, and his analysis of life there in the 1880s, stand out singularly as some of the best stuff I’ve read. Most memorable scene: When the Stallworth family receives invitations to their own funerals Notable characters: Black Lena Shanks the family matriarch who heads a group of female criminals Judge James Stallworth, her enemy the twins, Ella and Rob, young expert pick-pockets

“I have told you, the lower classes do not take revenge upon the upper.” (P.S. For Calley is no normal little girl.My favorite quote: “You are falling into inanity,” said Judge Stallworth coldly. In the aftermath, Calley and her mother find themselves caught up in inexplicable events that exile them to Pensacola Beach, where in a house that’s a dead ringer for Calley’s late great grandmother’s house a woman awaits their presence. In the spirit of the ghost stories that Michael loved, Tabitha King has taken up where he left off, weaving a Southern gothic fabric of murder, guilt, innocence, corruption, and survival, in the voices of the living and the dead.Ĭalliope ‘Calley’ Dakin is just seven when her beloved father is tortured, murdered, and dismembered by two women with no discernible motivation. Known for his chilling Blackwater series, author Michael McDowell left behind the unfinished manuscript for Candles Burning upon his death in 1999. An extraordinary southern saga begun by Michael McDowell and finished after his death by Tabitha King.

Gilded needles by michael mcdowell