It’s 1907, and a terrible snow storm rages across the Midwest, burying a rural community but also revealing its citizens’ closely guarded secrets. Two farm families — the Johnsons and the Fryes — struggle while their women fight to give birth during the storm. The only midwife in the county must decide which mother and which baby to help, if she is able to make it through the deepening snow at all. The difficult and dangerous births force a host of people to risk going out in the storm, which has turned the familiar countryside into a strange and confusing landscape. Meanwhile, the snow storm has emboldened a band of coyotes that normally stays close to the mysterious and forbidding Hollis Woods, where thirty years before the Hollis children disappeared one by one without a trace. Their ghosts haunt the woods still, say locals. But it turns out everyone has a past that haunts them, and the relentless storm provides the perfect canvas for painting memories and images best left forgotten. The Strophes of Job is a prequel to the multi-award-winning Crowsong for the Stricken, a Kirkus Reviews Best Indie Book of 2017 (“strange and beautiful,” starred review).

Available from Amazon in hardcover and Kindle. Also check your favorite independent bookstore’s website.

I know the hardcover edition is pricey. I’d be happy to send you a signed copy at a much reduced price. Email me at jtedmorrissey@gmail.com if interested.

Reviews

“It’s a Southern gothic novel transplanted to the Midwest, a Victorian horror story in early 20th century America, and a sweeping magical realist family saga. Morrissey’s Faulkneresque stream-of-consciousness style is hypnotic, and his characters seem to live beyond the page . . . It’s a serious literary achievement . . . a notable work from a singular talent.” — BlueInk Review

“Evoking Greek odes, Ted Morrissey’s terrifying and uncanny novel The Strophes of Job follows two desperate families through a frozen landscape as creatures of death move in the darkness … built up by immaculate, visceral descriptions of the freezing world around the families … The Strophes of Job is a haunting novel in which imperiled families fight for survival against secrets and a deadly storm.” — Ben Linder, Foreword Reviews

“The book weaves marital infidelity, crime, and supernatural phenomena together to give a final jaw-dropping story. . . . [T]he character development is top-notch. . . . Vengeance . . . wonderfully drives the plot. . . .This is one of those books you just want to reread.” — Joule Mwendwa, Online Book Club, 5/5 stars

Here’s a book launch video for the novel:

It’s also available as Bonus Episode 2 of the podcast “A Lesson before Writing” on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. The strophe that I read is available here, published by Twelve Winters Journal.