When Devils Sing

By Xan Kaur

Book Overview

This deluxe edition is printed with gorgeous stenciled edges

An Instant New York Times and Indie Bestseller. A Goodreads Most Anticipated Horror Novel. A Locus Award finalist

"A true blood-soaked Southern Gothic for the modern age." --Andrew Joseph White, New York Times-bestselling author of Hell Followed With Us and The Spirit Bears its Teeth

Four unlikely allies in a small town investigate a local teen's disappearance, and what they discover festering at the core of their community is far more sinister and ancient than they could've ever imagined. For fans of True Detective, Mexican Gothic, and Midsommar.

When Dawson Sumter goes missing, all he leaves behind is a smattering of blood in room 4 of the debt-ridden motel owned by Neera Singh's family. Disappearances like this aren't uncommon in the rural Georgia town of Carrion, especially every thirteen years when a periodical cicada brood returns from underground, shrieking their deafening screams.

For Neera, Dawson is another reminder that in this corner of the South, the rich only get richer, and the poor--well, nothing good comes their way.

Neera sets out to investigate Dawson's whereabouts--if he even still lives--along with three other teens: Isaiah, son of a prominent judge and clandestine true crime podcaster; Reid, son of the wealthiest man in the region; and Sam, estranged daughter of the local hitman. As they find themselves entangled in a messy web of secrets and lies, they discover the riches of the adjacent Lake Clearwater community may have a terrifying source of power dating back to the town's founding and an ancient urban legend about three devils, each more sinister than the next. How deep does the rot go, and can they find a way to escape its reach?

Perfect for readers who love:
● Southern Gothic
● Eat the Rich Vibes
● True Crime
● Stories that Keep You Up at Night (in the best way)
● Ninth House, But Make It Horror

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250463653
• ISBN13: 9781250463654
• Release Date: April 2027
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 14 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 9 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Dark times in Carrion!

Welp, I am definitely going to see cicadas in a very different light as they show up this summer and start screaming! I don't want to accidentally make a deal and owe my soul or some lives to that loud insect though I would say maybe that the book title should be When Devils Scream. :) I really got hooked into the story right at the beginning when Sam bargains with her own devil to save her brother. That one action leads to an unforgettable thirteenth year cicada festival that the rich and powerful throw for more power and mysteriously people disappear. You get a lot about class distinction in this book, though the main characters are a good mix of all walks of life. And luckily the skills they are good at can be used to blow open this awful tradition created many years ago at the crossroads of Carrion. The characters are definitely not perfect, they make mistakes, have their own problems that sometimes get in the way of looking for the missing people, but it makes them interesting and I was invested in the story as the narrators did a great job in bringing them and the town of Carrion and Clear Water to life. I like the added touch of the drowned town too (those are fascinating to me). And it is interesting to see that the devils in this book are actually not the worst, that humans can be the cruelest of all to their fellow humans. So yeah, it is a dark tale with murders, animal cruelty, abuse, and of course deals with devils. It is a good Southern gothic horror that kept me interested the whole time (though the ending kinda was a bit abrupt). I think it is a good debut and I look forward to seeing what this author can create next! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this captivating horror story!