Something stirs in the swirling waters of the River Styx...This tale of human evil and supernatural vengence is a perfectly paced blend of mystery and horror, flavored with McDowell's signature Southern Gothic style....the literary equivalent of a fine bourbon....rich, dark and powerful.Highly recommended.

Cold Moon Over Babylon by Michael McDowell is a 2015 by Valancourt Books publication. (Originally published in 1980 A Classic old-school ghost story!! The Larkins, owners of a blueberry plantation, have been struggling to stay afloat for years. But their bad luck has turned to tragedy, when fourteen- year old Margaret disappears. Margaret’s grandmother is convinced that a rich, powerful local family has murdered her granddaughter. But the local sheriff is not convinced. Meanwhile, the Larkins ar...

A classic! Family business at its worst. What a deranged murderer (I don't want to spoil anything here). The author really knows how to tell a thrilling story.

“As if expressing wonder at sudden death, she gaped sightless through the black cold waters of the Styx to the moon overhead.”My first five star of the year! I simply loved this book from start to finish. The pacing, the atmosphere, the writing, the small town vibes, the creepy and unsettling imagery, all of it worked perfectly. ALL OF ITHere’s the set-up: set in a typical sleepy Southern town where the sun shines hot and the swamps are shrouded in fog, young Margaret Larkin is brutally murdered...

4.5 stars!Last year, I was finally able to get my hands on some Michael McDowell books and I loved them. A good friend of mine,( Tressa, that would be you!), had been recommending them for years, but they were all out of print and difficult to find. I was very excited when I discovered that Valancourt Books was bringing some of these novels back. And, BONUS! My excitement was well founded because this book, (and the others) was a blast!Evil in a small town is one of my favorite themes, and if it...

Well now I need to watch the creepy movie!!

4.5 stars, rounded up.Another incredible read from author Michael McDowell! A small town horror story that is truly horrific both in terms of what happens, and in the form that the vengeance takes...The Larkin family has had a rough life from the day young Margaret and older brother, Jerry, lose their parents in a fishing "accident". They are then raised by their loving Grandmother, Evelyn, who struggles financially to make ends meet with their meager blueberry crop. Further tragedy strikes when...

What must be said about the late Michael McDowell is he had a pitch-perfect sense of pacing: his plotting is almost mechanical, built to achieve the greatest result. Cold Moon Over Babylon is a slow burn — my favorite kind of horror! — with hard, memorable scares thrown in.What must also be said about McDowell is his sense of locale. Being from Alabama (and being quite familiar with the Florida-Alabama line, where this novel takes place), I can say the characters and the settings feel authentic;...

Very good haunting read.

4.5/5. Another excellent read from Michael McDowell - true throwback slow-burn horror. At this point, I'm going to say his writing is easily superior to King. Review will be up next week!

Babylon, a small community in the Florida panhandle near the Styx River, is the setting of this superb example of Gothic horror. Evelyn Larkin lost her son and daughter-in-law several years ago to the Styx when the two ran their fishing boat into a nest of poisonous snakes leaving her alone to raise her two grandchildren, Jerry and Margaret. When Margaret goes missing, her body is later found stabbed and chained to her bicycle at the bottom of the Styx. Evelyn accuses a local banker, whom she ha...

Ghoulish happenings in the Florida PanhandleVery good ghost story by McDowell, Cold Moon Over Babylon is a cautionary tale for psychopaths. Beware the revenge of a loving Southern family if you know what's good for you. Sweet Margaret Larson is a fourteen year old girl who meets a human devil. The description of their encounter is one of the most disturbing things you'll ever read.This is the second book by McDowell that I have read. The first was The Elementals which I loved. He can spin a good...

Southern Gothic at it's absolute best. Excellent characterization and non-stop intrigue and suspense. I wish I'd heard of this author sooner, and I look forward to reading more of his work.

在黑暗中綻放最病態的美麗，在迷醉中浸淫最殘忍的傷害to bloom the most morbid beauty in the dark, to immerse the cruelest mayhem with enchantmentmy fav mcdowell'swhat's the name of the booktype that you read it on puter screen?the strongest feel this book gives me is like the one when i was reading wuthering heights, it's weird and indescribable and i like it that way, i implore itwell, as for the paperback is quite pricy and remote, the version i have has 30 several pages in all, each page per screen, means thousands of w...

There's a killer on the loose in the small town of Babylon, Florida. He likes to use the Styx River to wash away his evidence. But the Styx River is the source of a supernatural force. And the more horrors committed by this killer, the stronger the supernatural becomes. The innocent have been murdered ... the river wants atonement. Michael McDowell has a story to tell ... lend him your ear. . Cold Moon trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdLEC...Looks like a B grade movie to me but a couple...

4.5*He imagined that he had been hypnotized by the moon, thrown into one of those trances that were common enough at night, on lonely stretches of road, to solitary drivers. “That’s it,” he whispered to himself, “I was led astray by the moon. But now the moon’s brought me home safe again . . .”Holy moonlit blueberry bush! What a ride! Cold Moon over Babylon is a horror story at its finest ... and at its most horrible. It is difficult to tell how much of what happens in the novel can be explained...

An excellent Southern Gothic tale! 4/4.5 stars!Cold Moon Over Babylon has tragedy, evil and revenge pouring out of its southern heart. Michael McDowell has a great way of writing horror, especially located deep down in the southern part of the United States.In this case, Cold Moon Over Babylon is located in the panhandle of Florida.Humidity, slow talking, easy living and being part of a small community is the backdrop for tragedy and a killers’ evil deeds and sinister motives.The Larkin family h...

After their parents die, Jerry and Margaret Larkin grow up with their grandma Evelyn Larkin on the Larkin blueberry farm. When tragedy strikes, can Jerry and Evelyn unearth the culprit and bring him to justice?I've been a Michael McDowell fan since reading Blackwater a few years ago. I bought this some time in the dim past and finally had time to focus on it.This is some great shit, not to put too fine a point on it. Michael McDowell's southern horror tales do not disappoint and this is no excep...

Mystery/ghost story that is nicely set in old, rural northwestern Florida's panhandle - a place I know personally and well. There really is a river named Styx, but it is farther west in Alabama. As for the fictional town named Babylon, my guess is that Bagdad, FL was the inspiration. I do not remember if there were any old wooden suspension bridges over the Blackwater River where Bagdad is located, but it would not surprise me. Babylon and Styx go together nicely, at any case.The diction and lan...

Just finished Cold Moon Over Babylon here during a Cold Blizzard over New Jersey. It was a short and sweet horror, and the best ghost story I've yet read (tho I haven't read many ghost stories). Michael McDowell is 3 for 3 so far, as I've only read this, Katie and Blackwater Saga. McDowell can craft some very interesting characters and some very horrible human beings. I mean, the type that you don't feel a shred of sympathy for, whenever the worst comes and bites them in the ass. Each time I f