Praise for In the Hour of Crows
“In the Hour of Crows has everything I love in a good southern gothic—family drama, earthy magic married with religion, and a sense of coiling, visceral dread. Elmendorf’s small Georgia town is both stifling and sensual, filled with characters so realistic you’ll swear you’ve met them before. Enchanting, gritty, and impossible to put down.”
—Paulette Kennedy, bestselling author of The Witch of Tin Mountain
“Beautiful, dark, and vulnerable, In the Hour of Crows is a love letter to Appalachia that just might steal your soul. Elmendorf’s authentic Southern voice is lyrical yet haunting, and the page-turning mystery makes this an absolute must-read.”
—Evelyn Skye, New York Times bestselling author of The Hundred Loves of Juliet
“Utterly unforgettable. In the Hour of Crows is a gorgeous feast for the senses, a Southern midnight wrapped in folk magic and stolen kisses, tenderness and grit. I savored every page, whether it was breaking my heart or taking away my breath. With this book, Dana Elmendorf offers a stunning debut that will leave readers craving more of her deliciously eerie worlds.”
—Heather Demetrios, author of Little Universes
Dana Elmendorf is a YA author making her adult debut. A native Tennessean, she lives in Southern California with her family.
In the Hour of Crows
Dana Elmendorf
To my daddy and all our mornings of porch sitting
Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
