#BookReview The Gates of Evangeline by Hester Young @HesterAuthor @PutnamBooks

The Gates of Evangeline by Hester Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From a unique new talent comes a fast-paced debut, introducing a heroine whose dark visions bring to light secrets that will heal or destroy those around her . . .

When New York journalist and recently bereaved mother Charlotte “Charlie” Cates begins to experience vivid dreams about children she’s sure that she’s lost her mind. Yet these are not the nightmares of a grieving parent, she soon realizes. They are messages and warnings that will help Charlie and the children she sees, if only she can make sense of them.

After a little boy in a boat appears in Charlie’s dreams asking for her help, Charlie finds herself entangled in a thirty-year-old missing-child case that has never ceased to haunt Louisiana’s prestigious Deveau family. Armed with an invitation to Evangeline, the family’s sprawling estate, Charlie heads south, where new friendships and an unlikely romance bring healing. But as she uncovers long-buried secrets of love, money, betrayal, and murder, the facts begin to implicate those she most wants to trust—and her visions reveal an evil closer than she could’ve imagined.A Southern Gothic mystery debut that combines literary suspense and romance with a mystical twist, The Gates of Evangeline is a story that readers of Gillian Flynn, Kate Atkinson, and Alice Sebold won't be able to put down.

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The Gates of Evangeline is an absolutely wonderful book. I love reading books with a setting in the American South, especially with a mystery in the heart of the story, like this one. Charlotte “Charlie” Cates has, after losing her son, started to have vivid dreams about children in danger. And, they seem to come true. So, when a little boy shows up in her dream begging for help as she at the same time is approached about writing a book about a little boy that disappeared around thirty years ago can't she help but feel that the dreams are connected with the mystery. But, when she arrives at the Evangeline estate is she faced with not only people that seem to have things to hide but also real danger...

The Gates of Evangeline is a book that was truly engaging and intriguing. I loved that the story of the book took place in Louisiana. It was one thing that really appealed to me since Southern Gotic stories are "my thing". I was intrigued right from the start, and I especially enjoyed the fact that Charlie has psychic visions. Southern Gotic + paranormal vibes. Yeah, I love this book. Unfortunately, there is just one problem with the story, it's a bit predictable. Sure, the ending is good, but the BIG mystery, about the missing boy. It was easy to figure that one out. And, that was a bummer. Otherwise, I quite liked the book. I mean even liked the romantic side story. Now I need to get my hands on the next book in this series.