Not really my thing. I guess I was hoping for a little more character. There are a lot of people, but I never really felt as though I got to know any of them, including Eden. I enjoyed her as a child with a dark edge, but all too soon she was a college graduate who was incredibly fatphobic, childishly rude, and for some reason taunts people who want to hurt her. And I never felt as though all the gaps in the story got filled in, though this may have just been because of some complicated genetics.

Spoilers ahoy.

Eden Moore has been raised by her beloved aunt and uncle since her mother died in childbirth. She's always been a bit odd, with memories of places she's never been, a bloody intolerance for people who know more about her past than she does (quite a few, since her aunt Lulu won't tell her anything), and an ability to see the ghosts of three women. I think she sees them quite a bit, but the only time we really know about them is when they help her escape God-crazy killer Malachi, who thinks she's the reincarnation of an African sorcerer. There's a cool interlude at a camp, when Eden makes a friend who can see monsters in mirrors, but unfortunately friend and monsters disappear never to return.

Eden's aunt Lulu doesn't talk her sister (Eden's mother)...or her other sister, or her grandmother. When Malachi accidentally kills someone who looks vaguely like her (that's where the fat-shaming came in), Eden has to research her own past by visiting the library, the creepy and haunted mid-demolition ruins of the mental health hospital where her mother gave birth, and then tracking people down further and further south: the ward nurse who cared for her aunt, her preternaturally old half-aunt who hates the whole Moore family but for some reason paid for Eden's mom's hospital stay, a random mind body spirit guy, and a brotherhood of priests dedicated to stopping the resurrection of that African sorcerer (less murderously than Malachi wants to). There's a lot of cool stuff in here, but none of it left a deep impression on me, but I think that probably has more to do with me than with the story.

Eden slowly unravels a very complicated story: During the Civil War, an enslaved woman risks her life to care for a dying soldier and ends up having a son with him. The soldier is married, and when his wife and their children find out about this illegitimate half-family, they are disgusted and furious. One of the children from the married side is Ethel, the angry aunt still alive to despise Eden; on the unmarried side is Avery, who somehow becomes an African sorcerer (I can't remember when or why that happened). He ends up staying with three sisters (who might all be his lovers?) and kills them all for a immortality spell; his daughter by one of them drowns trying to escape him. To keep his power, Avery has to keep killing off his descendants, and Lulu is next--she has to die soon so he can live forever. I don't know how Lulu is his descendant when he killed all three of those sisters and his daughter. He's also somehow Eden's father, and Eden is a reincarnation of that girl who drowned. Oh, and he's Malachi's father, too, which makes Malachi her half-brother (I forget the reason why he looks totally white). After a showdown in a hut in a Florida swamp where Avery is trying to finalize his immortality potion, that connection is enough for Eden to want Malachi to live without going back to jail, despite his two attempts to kill her.

I won't lie, I got seriously turned around on the relationships in this one, and I'm usually pretty good at sorting this kind of thing out in my mind. I also had the weird sense that the book was both slow and fast-paced: the language sometimes slowed down with description and annoying interruptions in the middle of conversations, but the movement to different scenes clipped along nicely. I didn't understand how Eden got such a tart, rude attitude when she grew up with her loving aunt and uncle. I believed that she loved her uncle David, but I only ever saw her at odds with her aunt Lulu, even though I thought that Eden had said they'd gotten along well.


Overall, I think my lack of enthusiasm on this one is a definite case of, "It's not the story, it's me." ( )

This is a wonderful Southern ghost story. The paranormal elements creep in so slowly, they seem perfectly normal; until you realize just how weird things have gotten.

The writing, the plot, and the characters drew me in, holding me to the last page. I was up late last night reading the end :) I'm definitely looking for more from this author. ( )

Southern gothic mystery, with swamps, ghosts, abandoned hospitals, family secrets, etc. Entertaining enough, but extremely lightweight--not YA really, but I felt like this would have appealed more to a younger reader. The family secrets plot is very convoluted and doesn't quite hang together. There is an excellent scene near the beginning that takes place in a bathroom at a summer camp, but it never connects to anything, unfortunately. ( )

Four and Twenty Blackbirds introduces Eden Moore. Eden sees ghosts, and has done since she was a small child. There are more than one kind of ghosts, however, and it is people from real life who send Eden hunting in the past. Her life and the life of her sister depend on her success.

This first novel by Cherie Priest is one part horror, one part detective story, one part literary fiction. Something for everyone no matter what your favorite genre.
The prose is quite good, and I read it fairly compulsively. Eden is a very vibrant character and the author develops her nicely. It was too bad that some of the other promising characters couldn't have been extended, like the little girl that shared her ability and went to camp with her when she was a child.

In any case, I really enjoyed the book. It kept me reading and I will diffidently continue with this author. ( )

3.5***

Eden Moore has always been special. Her mother died giving birth to her and she has been raised by her Aunt Lulu. From an early age she has been able to see and hear ghosts. In kindergarten she drew a picture of a swamp scene totally different from the wooded mountain area she lives in. At ten a deranged man tries to kill her, and the resulting media attention brings up references she doesn’t understand. As she begins asking questions, she learns a little of her complicated family tree.

This is a dark fantasy and a Southern gothic mystery. Totally not my usual reading fare, but I have to say I was captivated by the story and it held my attention. Some of the plot twists seemed too far-fetched (I am not a fan of paranormal mysteries, so I’m sure that’s part of it). Some of the supporting characters could have used more definition. Eliza was too mysterious and her fate is hinted at but never explicitly explained. Malachi’s quasi-transformation was not believable. I did like that for the most part Eden gets herself out of any jam she gets into. She’s strong, intelligent, resourceful, courageous and determined. She is also compassionate and loving.

For a genre of which I am not a fan, this was a pretty good read.
( )