Overview

Set in 1980s rural Appalachia, Smothermoss follows sisters Sheila and Angie, whose lives in a mountain-bound community are turned upside-down when two female hikers are murdered nearby. As the region’s folklore and nature collide with their troubled reality, supernatural threads entwine with the grit of their everyday struggles.

Writing & Voice

Alering’s prose is lush, atmospheric and unafraid of disquiet. The mountain landscape becomes a character in its own right: wild ferns, hidden roads, an unseen rope around Sheila’s neck—all evoke a world between the real and the uncanny. The tone moves between quiet dread and wild wonder.

Characters

Sheila carries burdens of care and expectation; bullied and needing escape, she quietly endures. Angie, younger and wilder, creates tarot-like cards and lives in her own imaginative world. Their relationship—fractured, protective, complicated—is the emotional anchor as the mysterious forces of the mountain press in.

Themes

This novel explores the weight of familial obligation, nature’s hidden power and the thin line between survival and surrender. It wrestles with identity, belonging and how trauma, both human and elemental, shapes the self. The mountain doesn’t just watch—it remembers.

What Worked

• Evocative setting – The Appalachian mountain terrain is vividly realised and haunting.
• Complex sister relationship – The dynamic between Sheila and Angie is raw, compelling and authentic.
• Genre-blending originality – Gothic horror, magical realism and coming-of-age merge seamlessly.

Minor Quibbles

• The narrative leaves some threads unresolved and embraces ambiguity, which may frustrate readers seeking tidy closure.
• At times the blend of supernatural and real-world threats feels disjointed, hinting at more than it fully explores.

Final Thoughts

Smothermoss is a distinct and unsettling debut that lingers long after the final page—a story of sisterhood, mountain memory and the half-heard whisper of something ancient.

Rating: ★★★★☆ / 5