Things Get Weird in Whistlestop

by Julie Carpenter

A murderous cat, a talking snake and a portal to hell that opens in the church basement. The town of Whistlestop is not your average small town. Or is it?
If you can imagine William Faulkner penning an episode of The Twilight Zone , you'll have an inkling of what Julie Carpenter has created in Whistlestop - a town that reflects modern America in a funhouse mirror of disorienting familiarity. From subtly crafted ghost stories to allegorical magical realism, the folks of Whistlestop will welcome you in for tea and cookies and a hefty dose of small town weirdness that is society today.

272 pages, Paperback

Published November 12, 2019

Reviews

[Margo Littell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories in this creepy, quirky collection are deceiving. Each, at first, suggests a world steeped not in the supernatural or inexplicable but in the highest level of bland ordinariness. A church basement, a new mattress, a choir, a rose bed, an antiques stores--these are typical, inconsequential small-town trappings, but in Whistlestop they’re anything but familiar. A portal to hell opens up in the church; a morning of garden work results in an encounter with a troublesome fairy; a mesmerizing serpent lurks beneath the zinnias. Filled with subtle humor and sharp attention to the details that make up the quietest of lives, these stories rest uneasily alongside reality, a little too close for comfort, suggesting that an ordinary day is never guaranteed.

[Naomi Ulsted]

Creepy, magical and often hilarious, I loved reading these Gothic all-American fairy tales that have lingered with me. Carpenter’s stories each stand on their own, but weave together to create a larger story of the town of Whistlestop and all its quirky characters, both human and supernatural. Sometimes the magic in these stories dances lightly, but other times pulls the reader into murkier territory where you suddenly realize you’re dealing something both real and terrifying. Fans of Neil Gaimon will love Julie Carpenter and I can’t wait for her next release.