Jess Lourey takes readers back to Lilydale, Minnesota, the setting of Unspeakable Things in Bloodline, a creepy novel that reminded me of a combination of The Stepford Wives and Rosemary’s Baby. Horror fans might want to pick up this one.

When reporter Joan Harken fails to get a promotion, and is subsequently mugged at knifepoint, her fiance, Deck Schmidt, suggests they move to his hometown of Lilydale where he can avoid the Vietnam draft. He assures her she’ll feel safer there, especially because she’s pregnant. But, Joan has never lived anyplace for a long time. Her late mother moved them from town to town, reminding Joan to always remember the good times and not to dwell on the past.

The close-knit nature of the residents of Mill Street in Lilydale makes Joan uncomfortable. While Deck falls comfortably into working for his father’s insurance company, it takes a while for Joan to get a job at the small-town newspaper. And, the neighbors always seem to be watching. They know every move she makes, and Deck hears about it from them.

It’s only when she begins to research an old story, that of a child who went missing twenty-some years earlier, that Joan realizes how strange the town is. In fact, a newspaper account from that time period quotes the previous sheriff. “We know there is something off in the village of Lilydale.” When Joan discovers that the child disappeared on September 5, her due date, she’s even more uncomfortable. The history of the town, along with the strange cult-like group of Fathers and Mothers on Mill Street, does nothing to reassure her. She feels paranoid, but begins to question her own sanity when her college roommate rebuffs her, reminding her she makes up stories.

Bloodline is a creepy story, made all the more tense with the short sections in which Joan is isolated and fearful following the birth of her baby. It’s a disturbing, dark story. It’s hard to understand why anyone would move to a small town in Minnesota after reading this book, especially if they already read Lourey’s outstanding novel Unspeakable Things.

Jess Lourey’s website is www.jesslourey.com

Bloodline by Jess Lourey. Thomas & Mercer, 2021. ISBN 9781542016315 (paperback), 348p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I read a .PDF for a journal.