Book Review: Crossroads by Laurel Hightower

This book will be released August 10th, 2020, from Off Limits Press.

There are certain authors I get downright greedy with, and Laurel falls squarely within the genre. From the moment I closed Whispers in the Dark and held it close to bask in its glory, I’ve been anxiously awaiting the next Hightower story. 

Going in, I’d read the barebones synopsis, and it was just enough to tell me this book was going to destroy me. I thought I might get a little time to prepare, even ten pages, but no such luck. Right from the get go, we find out that Chris lost her adult son in a car accident, and is still emotionally reeling from it. She frequently visits the roadside cross where the accident occurred rather than Trey’s grave, and after a drop of blood falls into the dirt, she has an encounter with his ghost.

Laurel pours so much of herself into this book, not to say Laurel is Chris, but it clearly comes from an incredibly personal place. That to say, this couldn’t have been an easy book to write but the emotion of a mother, a parent, bleeding the bond with their child onto the page, is immediately affecting to the reader. For whatever reason, one line that grabbed my attention early on comes from Chris’ first encounter with Trey’s ghost - “...he raised a hand, and waved, with that goofy little finger wiggle he’d perfected when he’d stopped wanting her to kiss him in front of his school, but still wanted to communicate to her that he loved her.” Details like this drive Hightower’s magnificent story into the reader’s heart like a corkscrew.

Cross Roads is a story of grief, sacrifice, and love. It’s a supernatural horror story where, to me anyway, the horror doesn’t come from the supernatural. This book is out through Off Limits Press on August 10th, and I have no issues announcing it as a top book of 2020. I can’t definitively say this book is for everyone, but I can’t imagine a reader out there who wouldn’t be swayed by Laurel Hightower’s gifted storytelling and vibrant prose, both beautiful and devastating. Pre-order Cross Roads today. You won’t regret it.

Purchase Links : Off Limits Press - Amazon - Amazon UK

Review by Brennan LaFaro

Blog: http://brennanlafaro.wordpress.com

Twitter: @whathappensnex5

I received a paperback copy from the publisher for review consideration