Bittersweet in the Hollow

An empath is thrust into a supernatural murder mystery in this sensory-rich, genre-bending series opener set in the Appalachian Mountains. Every year, the town of Caball Hollow, W.Va., hosts the Moth Festival, a long-standing tradition celebrating a local cryptid called the Moth-Winged Man. A year ago, during the festival, rising high school senior Linden James disappeared into the nearby woods and resurfaced the next morning with no memories of her experience except for flashes of running through a dark forest and feeling overwhelming terror. On the anniversary of her life-altering vanishing, she discovers her former friend Dahlia dead in the same woods; rumors begin to percolate that not only is Dahlia’s murder connected to the Moth-Winged Man, but also to both Linden’s disappearance and a decades-old case of a missing child. Determined to find answers, Linden recruits her diner-owning sisters and their special gifts to uncover the truth. Via intimate first-person narration, debut author Pearsall balances paranormal thrills and the horrors of the central mystery to craft a cottage-core-infused world replete with cozy domestic enchantments, a close-knit female cast, and a captivating romance. Characters default to white. Ages 12–up. (Oct.)