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In the Valley of the Sun
In the Valley of the Sun | Andy Davidson
15 posts | 17 read | 32 to read
For readers of Joe Hill, Cormac McCarthy, and classic Anne Rice, a chilling tale of suspense and horror set deep in the Texas desert. Travis Stillwell has been wandering the back roads of Texas for too long now, spending his nights searching out women in honky-tonk bars. What he does with them doesnt make him proud--it just quiets the demons for a little while. But when his path crosses that of a pale-skinned girl in red boots, his night takes a terrifying turn. Come the morning, he wakes wounded and alone in his cab-over camper, with no sign of the girl and no memory of the night before. When Annabelle Gaskin, a young widow, spies the pickup and camper parked behind her motel, she offers the disheveled cowboy a few odd jobs to pay his board. By day, Travis works to restore the rundown motel, insinuating himself into the lives of Annabelle and her ten-year-old son. By night, in the cave of his cab-over, he fights a horrible transformation. Before long, Annabelle and her boy begin to realize that this strange, quiet man theyve taken in is not at all what he seems. Deftly written and utterly compelling, this is an atmospheric literary fiction debut perfect for fans of horror, psychological suspense, and Western fiction.
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DrasticallyJill
In the Valley of the Sun | Andy Davidson
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Pickpick

Takes a slow start until building momentum in this Texas blood burn. Isolated but crowded, the vampiric trope is just a small part, a compulsive killer now killing as compelled. A woman and son who are trapped in his mind as prey or pardoned. A Texas Ranger and an older evil. Davidson is a talent, and this book is a masterpiece of the southern gothic tradition.

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Readergrrl
In the Valley of the Sun | Andy Davidson
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Pickpick

If Cormac McCarthy met Anne Rice at a West Texas honky-tonk, danced a slow two-step while polishing off a bottle of tequila, they might dream up this novel. I felt like I was reading No Country for Old Men but with the tortured vampire souls born of Rice‘s imagination. While the plot might be seen as slow at times, I was fully invested in exploring the backstories and growth of each of the characters. I just love a morally grey villain! 4/5⭐️

Ruthiella Great review! 👍 11mo
Bookzombie I agree! Great review! 11mo
Readergrrl It‘s so funny, I avoid book reviews until after I read a book by an author I like (sometimes reviewers of multivolumeauthors aren‘t so kind). I read the book blurb on this after I posted here and my feelings on McCarthy and Rice were echoed there too! It makes me wonder if the author was heavily influenced by M and R and actually had them in mind as writing. The comparisons were very strong, evidently since many people clearly felt the same as me! (edited) 11mo
Readergrrl I also felt like The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt was an influence too; very similar introspection. 11mo
Reggie I loved this book a lot. Great review! 11mo
50 likes5 comments
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Reggie
In the Valley of the Sun | Andy Davidson
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How many books about a vampire can one read before one has enough? Who knows, because I really enjoyed Davidson‘s 1980‘s Texas tale of a mother and her young son, a serial killer, and a vampire all getting together to figure out the emptiness of their hearts. Which makes it sound flowery, but it wasn‘t. It was brutal, dark, and gritty.... and red with blood! It was just what I needed right before Halloween!!!

paper.reveries SWEEET!! 4y
kyraleseberg I loved this one!! 4y
ohbookishstuff Adding to my to-read list. Thanks for sharing! 🎃 4y
See All 6 Comments
Reggie @daisyheadmaesie @ohbookishstuff If ya‘ll get to it I hope you like it! 4y
Reggie @kyraleseberg me too! I coulda finished it the night before last but I didn‘t want to know who was gonna die just yet. I just didn‘t want it to end. 4y
vivastory Looks like my local library branch has a copy. Guess I'll be stopping by on my way home today bc you sold the hell out of this one! 4y
67 likes8 stack adds6 comments
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Reggie
In the Valley of the Sun | Andy Davidson
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I think it was Anton Chekhov who said that if you introduce 2 fluffy bunnies in the first act of a vampire book, they must be eaten in the last act. Lol, I KNEW, I knew, once the main boy had pet rabbits we weren‘t gonna be reading “the bunnies frolicked happily ever after,” sentences. Ughhhh poor bunnies. Page 125, here‘s the new chapter title. Here we go.

LeahBergen Nooooo! 🐇 4y
Redwritinghood Poor bunnies! 4y
Cathythoughts Oh no 🤦🏼‍♀️ no no 4y
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vivastory It was definitely Chekhov 4y
Reggie @vivastory I was just about to type about how Kavanaugh wrote an opinion today that is definitely starting to set up what the Trump picks were designed to do if the election gets contested on your post but I erased it cause we‘ve already been through a lot today. And Lololol to your reply. 4y
GatheringBooks Love it!!! How are you, handsome???? Miss seeing your posts and will catch up soonest!!! 4y
66 likes7 comments
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HeathHof
In the Valley of the Sun | Andy Davidson
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Pickpick

I have to agree that every page does indeed have teeth on this one! Holy horror some of the scenes in here were a punch in the gut. Very dark and very suspenseful. I loved the West Texas setting and the author did an excellent job creating an absolutely genuine ominous atmosphere that did not feel cheesy or overdone. If you like reading about vampires and can handle gore, I definitely recommend this one!

38 likes2 stack adds
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HeathHof
In the Valley of the Sun | Andy Davidson
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This one has been hard to put down! I haven't read a horror book this horrifying in awhile. Getting in some early, before work reading this morning with my 'tudie tortie.
#catsoflitsy #tortitude

Pageturner1 love the cat 🐱 is she a little two-faced? LOL very unordinary. love the different patterns cats have. 4y
OrangeMooseReads That looks like an interesting book. And that is one pretty kitty 😻 4y
HeathHof @pageturner1 Yes she is two faced and also has personalities to match each side.lol & Thank you @OrangeMooseReads she is ALOT of cat. The picture doesn't really do her justice on size. 4y
53 likes1 stack add3 comments
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HeathHof
In the Valley of the Sun | Andy Davidson
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Started this one for #readyoursign last night. Behold this somewhat awkward photo of the blanket fort that I created to read in for #summerfunchallenge !!
@Meaw_catlady @clwojick
@4thhouseontheleft @StayCurious

Clwojick I love your reading fort! ❤️ 4y
HeathHof @Clwojick Thank you! 4y
45 likes2 comments
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uwak
In the Valley of the Sun | Andy Davidson
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Pickpick

finished my first book for my upcoming book club meeting ☀️ I was a bit hesitant on this based on the premise but it's a solid horror read. Davidson excels at developing an unsettling atmosphere in the isolated areas of Texas and his take on vampires is delightfully creepy and monstrous. I did feel the attempts at procedural crime fiction are interesting but could be in a different, separate book.

#horror #vampires #western #librarybooks

GrilledCheeseSamurai Welcome to Litsy. 👋 5y
LitsyWelcomeWagon Welcome to Litsy! Here are links to #Litsytips: http://bit.ly/litsytips and #LitsyHowTo videos: goo.gl/UrCpoU. There‘s lots of fun things to do: book exchanges, buddy reads, photo challenges and more! @litsywelcomewagon 5y
Eggs Welcome to Litsy 🤗 5y
Nute Welcome to Litsy! It‘s a warm and friendly community. I know that you will enjoy yourself here. I‘m looking forward to getting to know you!🙂 5y
7 likes5 comments
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amywithbooks
In the Valley of the Sun | Andy Davidson
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Next up. Excited for what sounds like some good old fashioned horror! 💀😈☠

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theandydavidson
In the Valley of the Sun | Andy Davidson
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Don‘t typically post stuff about my own book here, but the new paperback is hitting shelves March 5, and it‘s got this amazing cover I just wanted to share.

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Squidapus
In the Valley of the Sun | Andy Davidson
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Pickpick

Squidapus finds the best kind of horror to be the looming dread of horrific events building and building without you knowing when things will finally break. This book works so well at making you uncomfortable by keeping it's scope almost claustrophobic as the majority of it's time follows three or four people at one location. What's impressive is how drawn in you can feel by the story of a serial killer fighting to not become...well, a monster

Reggie We miss you Squidapus! Also I just finished this and really liked it. 4y
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BlackcladBibliothecary
In the Valley of the Sun | Andy Davidson
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Mehso-so

Making my way through the 2017 #bramstokerawards This one is nominated for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. For a 1st novel, it‘s good. I would like to see what else the author comes up with. It‘s one of those stories where there‘s no definitive ending really, it just sort of ends. A lot of great ideas but I felt it wasn‘t as satisfying as it could‘ve been.

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Bookzombie
In the Valley of the Sun | Andy Davidson
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*Earlier today* Sometimes I wish for the dentist to be behind schedule so I have more time to read. Why aren‘t there dental emojis?

Suet624 😜😜😜 7y
67 likes1 comment
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Emilyrjones22
In the Valley of the Sun | Andy Davidson
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Pickpick

Southern gothic horror meets Cormac McCarthy with one of the most sympathetic villains I've ever read. This book was the best kind of slow burn with plenty of creepy action sprinkled in. Read this book now!!

LauraJ Sounds perfect 7y
6 likes1 stack add1 comment
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SGJ
In the Valley of the Sun | Andy Davidson
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Verymuch digging this one. Will be blurbing. I have zero time to read it, a stack of stuff I NEED to be getting to, but, man, this one reeled me all the way in. It knows Texas. It knows my Texas. Feels like home. And so many of the lines, and the phrasings, and the scenes, and the characters, and the developments, they're just plain old killer. I'm a better writer for reading this book. Hell or High Water meets Near Dark. With teeth on every page.

vivastory Can't wait to read it. 8y
LindaGrace812 This sounds fantastic! 8y
57 likes9 stack adds3 comments