The Unmothers: A Novel BY Leslie J. Anderson

“The Unmothers is a triumph of folk horror that will gratify lovers of Midsommar and The Handmaid's Tale.” —Library Journal, starred review

In this raw and lyrical folk horror novel, journalist Marshall is reeling from the recent death of her husband when a devastating accident propels her to the small, insular town of Raeford. Her editor sends her to investigate a bizarre rumor: a horse giving birth to a healthy human baby boy. Skeptical but desperate for a story, Marshall arrives in Raeford, a town that treats its famous horses with more compassion than its own people.

The community's strange dynamics become more disturbing when two mangled bodies—a horse and a human—are found in a field. What initially seems like a fantastical tale starts to unravel with disturbing plausibility. As Marshall delves deeper into the town’s secrets and its guarded inhabitants, she begins to question her own sanity.

The more she investigates, the more she realizes that this grotesque rumor may be connected to a dark secret hidden within the town’s history—a secret tied to the women of Raeford and their deep-seated trauma. The town’s horrifying truth threatens to engulf Marshall, challenging her perceptions and uncovering a narrative of female rage and bodily autonomy.

Unbearably tense and utterly gripping, this atmospheric tale is a masterful exploration of generational trauma and the dark underbelly of a seemingly quaint community, heralding the arrival of a powerful new storyteller.