October Focus on Horror: Del Sandeen
Created by Bob Helmbrecht, collection development librarian
Our Focus on Horror Month author for today is Del Sandeen.
Sandeen’s debut novel, “This Cursed House,” was just published this month. Set in the 1960s, it is an excellent Southern Gothic novel with a lot of depth and atmosphere. From the publisher’s description: ” In the fall of 1962, twenty-seven-year-old Jemma Barker is desperate to escape her life in Chicago-and the spirits she has always been able to see. When she receives an unexpected job offer from the Duchon family in New Orleans, she accepts, thinking it is her chance to start over. But Jemma discovers that the Duchon family isn’t what it seems…”
Even though it’s just come out, it has already received many great reviews, including those in “Booklist,” “Publishers Weekly,” and “Library Journal.” Author Alma Katsu said of the book: “In this haunting and chilling story, an inglorious remnant of American history is handled so deftly that you won’t believe it’s Del Sandeen’s first novel. It’s hard to say which is more disturbing: the otherworldly goings-on in the Duchon mansion or the racism of the South in the 1960s.”
You can find a few samples of the author’s writing on Sandeen’s website. Give it a read, then check out “This Cursed House” today!