Gothictown by Emily Carpenter

Sometimes, you see articles about small towns in Italy or Scotland offering homes for small fees. They want to build their communities and perhaps increase tourism income. They all seem too good to be true. Gothictown by Emily Carpenter is a cautionary tale about one of those too-good-to-be-true offers.

Billie Hope is struggling. During the pandemic in New York City, she closed her acclaimed restaurant, Billie's. Her mother has joined a cult and moved to Maine. One day, she receives an email offering the opportunity to join an initiative in Georgia. The town of Juliana is offering homes for $100 and all the support to build businesses there. Billie and her husband, Peter, find this too good of an offer to pass up, pack up their lives, and move south.

Juliana is an ideal small town. Everyone knows everyone. There's always a helping hand and an offer to barter for favors. Billie opens a new restaurant and it's received with much excitement. It's almost TOO easy. No permit or license hold-ups, no construction delays, no staffing issues. Billie is back in her happy place at the restaurant.

Peter, however, is not happy. He's sleeping during the day and is increasingly angry. The family cat has also started acting feral.

As Billie learns more about Juliana and gets to know the residents, she finds that the town's old guard has more than a few secrets.
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Emily Carpenter has written a modern Gothic thriller with Gothictown. Full of small-town drama and secrets, Juliana is a nightmare of a town.

While I did find some issues with Billie, as a person, she was still someone that I rooted for. Did the end wrap up a LITTLE too nicely? Yes, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy reading the story of Billie Hope trying to find herself and to find a home.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.