Synopsis
The swamp doesn't give gifts; only trades.
Like the swamp that surrounds it, the once prosperous town of Festus holds many secrets.
A pole dancer, Crystal, takes care of her granny as best she can and tries to keep a promise to her dead mother: to wait for her brother to come home. Seven years ago someone took the boy, and the case remains unsolved.
The officer assigned to that case died, leaving his widow, Athena, to do her best to raise their young son. When seven-year-old Early goes missing, she has to reopen old wounds and old case files to try to find him.
Gravedigger brothers Grant and Tick Bittergreen were always warned by their gatorwitch mother not to accepts gifts from the swamp. But the swamp has given up a skull, and it’s not long before its appetite claims a human victim, and it demands a new body.
As the novel builds to its extravagant, bloody conclusion, the twisted secrets of Festus’s past are revealed. To save themselves, the gravediggers, the stripper and the grieving mother must confront their cursed blood and the horror that the swamp has birthed
Details
Reviews
“Propelled by swamp-magic and spilled blood and the darkest of dark humor, this book’s a rare one - deft, ambitious, its people and sense of place entirely assured”Keith Rosson, author of Coffin Moon
“Swallerjaw is a southern gothic grimoire, a bog novel belched directly out from the depths of hell, and Tif Robinette sure is akin to a succubus Carson McCullers, imbuing the book with enough bewitching imagery to summon the humidity straight off the page”Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Mr. Lonelyhearts
“Swallerjaw is a pure-dee treasure trove, lush with vivid characters, mystery, magic, strangeness, dark humor (think, a Carl Hiaasen True Detective), and prose that’s as gulpable as sweet tea on a hot day. I guarantee you won’t predict where this gonzo macabre tale is going, but you’ll have a blast getting there.”Nat Cassidy, author of When the Wolf Comes Home
“Swallerjaw is a Southern-fried hell of a ride! It's as fun to say as it is fun to read. This sun-bleached, modern Southern gothic has immaculately crafted characters, whipsmart prose, and tactile atmosphere that initiate you into the world of the Green Hell. The Florida swamp comes alive like a swarm of mosquitoes and gets deep under your skin.”Allison Mick, author of Humbolt Cut
