May contain mild spoilers...
This was a surprising and twisted little story. Paul Hoover inherits a house from an uncle he has almost never heard of. At first shocked by the revelation that his uncle was accused of being a sadistic serial killer, Paul and his family nevertheless move into the beautiful new home. But what starts almost perfectly, turns weird with every passing day. Paul meets with Deacon Malphrus, who claims to have held his uncle captive in his cellar to perform some kind of exorcism. The deacon claims Paul's uncle was possessed by a demon forcing him to commit those brutal crimes. But while I was a bit suspicious of the unusually helpful deacon, in no way would I have guessed the real extent of his motivations.
There are several very explicit scenes in this book, and I liked the clever way the author included them in separate chapters showing flashback glimpses of the past. At the beginning they brought a harsh contrast to the (yet) friendly present, which soon turned into something very disturbing and ugly...
The story was very well-written, with a good eye for, but not too much lingering on detail, which made the descriptions very graphic and easily conceivable, while at the same time keeping up a steady pace.
If you enjoy reading twisted horror stories seasoned with a good dose of gory scenes, Sweetgum Ridge is the place to visit.
(I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)