Alex Gordon’s impressive debut, Gideon, delivers a fast-paced plot that makes you want to finish it in a day, even if you don’t have time. The Midwest town of Gideon is full of witches who guard the living world against demons. An execution gone wrong in 1836 haunts the present-day inhabitants, who are worried about the “thinning” space between the living and the dead. After the sudden death of her father, Lauren Reardon comes to town to find out more about her family history and is troubled to learn that her father wielded great power in Gideon. She must face down the threat of a dead soul ready to rise again and bring most of hell with him. Lauren has the power to stop him, but can she also withstand the grudges and alliances of the townspeople? Gordon’s descriptions of the petty jealousies and insular nature of a small town make this paranormal novel feel scarily realistic. — Washington Post

VERDICT With the pacing of a thriller, this debut supernatural tale does a solid job of portraying the menace of small-town evil. While the demonic figure of Blaine is scary, the petty viciousness of the townsfolk is even more chilling. This will appeal to fans of books such as Katherine Howe’s The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane or Deborah Harkness’s A Discovery of Witches.

The death of her father sets Lauren Reardon on a collision course with a family legacy in this dark blend of fantasy and horror. Finding a strange book with a faded photograph tucked inside, Lauren realizes her father hid his past in a small, isolated Illinois town called Gideon. When she impulsively drives across the country to see Gideon for herself, she encounters hostile locals and the diabolical influence of long-dead Nicholas Blaine, who believes Lauren is the key to winning his way back to this world. — Library Journal, Starred Review

In this impressive dark fantasy debut, witches are anything but cardboard embodiments of good and evil. They are modern, yet plagued by a 200-year-old curse; they are sometimes untrained and unaware, but still have incredible power flowing in their veins. Lauren Reardon thought she was a perfectly normal person, until her father’s death revealed her family connection to the witches from the tiny town of Gideon, Ill., who are tasked with keeping demons from entering this world. After John Reardon’s death, uncanny and frightening events start Lauren on a trip to find her roots, along with the power to combat an evil spirit that has terrorized Gideon since 1836. Crisp and shiveringly disturbing prose, a solid plot, and well-developed characters all make for a deeply satisfying read. — Publishers Weekly

Most writers would kill (or, okay, maybe just maim) for a debut novel as electrifying as Alex Gordon’s Gideon. Anchored by well-crafted prose that features a creepy-as-hell villain, Gideon feels like Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” brilliantly reconceived in a Neil Gaiman-esque universe. Gordon hooks readers from page one, as Gideon’s first few chapters are chilling and thoroughly engaging, making for a book that is impossible to put down. The only thing keeping this from being a Top Pick! is that Lauren, while a believable kickass heroine, doesn’t get to fully team up with her spine-of-steel ancestor, Eliza Blaylock Mullin. But Alex Gordon — who has a truly enviable ability to establish mood — is a writer to watch. — RT Book Reviews, 4 1/2 stars

A seductive work of paranormal horror that will draw readers into its cold and gloomy world.

Generations ago, the people of Gideon burned a witch at the stake, and that decision has haunted the town ever since. Lauren Reardon doesn’t learn that her father was a witch of Gideon until after he dies, but she finds herself drawn, or driven, to go back and dig up his secrets, and some of her own. Her actions propel the present-day plot, but the town itself is the real main character—a small, suspicious community of souls standing guard over the barrier between this world and the next. Debut novelist Gordon’s witches aren’t glamorous, and they deal with plenty of dirt and blood and oozing gore. The twists and turns are entertaining enough, and there are a couple of strong surprises lurking near the end, but it’s the atmosphere that’s the real star here. Everything in Gideon is dark and damp and cold, and everyone is nursing at least one inherited grievance. In the end, the book is as much about life in a small, closed-off community that believes “blood tells” and character can be inferred from a last name as it is about elemental magic and the struggle between good and evil.

This novel will thoroughly satisfy readers looking for suspense, horror and a grisly good time. — Kirkus