Grave Birds

My first taste of Southern gothic and the nectar left a bouquet that was semi-sweet. Elmendorf created a tale of intrigue, requisite romance and dances with spirit animals that held my attention.
The protagonist is Hollis Sutherland. She is a woman with a pedestrian history and big dreams.
The tale includes a family fit for the Ozarks and the ballrooms of the old South. The chapters marked with stamped iconic birds in profile fly by with a hint of the otherworldly nature of dreams. There is the haze of wonder and nimble wordplay that carries the reader along to new corners of Hawthorne, South Carolina.
I winced more than once at the inclusion of the sticky sweetness of romance a la chapter 11 p. 115:
"In a stich he stood before me. Steel eyes grazed over my skin with a careful scrape of a blade's edge. It made me burn like a sip of smooth whiskey. He stepped closer to me. He smelled of ash and amber and wickedness."
The settling of accounts is managed with villains arising from every corner. Life does rise again and at times, life takes flight, with those numerous birds.
I recommend this book as solid Spring and Summer fare. Enjoy!