Another Fine Mess bookcover

Another Fine Mess

A Novel

Lindy Ryan 

(Author)
4.9/5.0
21,000+ Reviews
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Description

From Lindy Ryan, "one of the most electrifying voices in the horror genre” (Gwendolyn Kiste), Another Fine Mess brings the Evans women back around in this unputdownable, crackling, rollicking mystery of humor, heart, and horror.

Making sure dead things stay buried is the family business...

For over a hundred years, the Evans women have kept the undead in their strange southeast Texas town from rising. But sometimes the dead rise too quick–and that’s what left Lenore Evans, and her granddaughter Luna, burying Luna’s mother, Grace, and Lenore’s mother, Ducey. Now the only two women left in the Evans family, Luna and Lenore are left rudderless in the wake of the most Godawful Mess to date.

But when the full moon finds another victim, it’s clear their trouble is far from over. Now Lenore, Luna, and the new sheriff—their biggest ally—must dig deep down into family lore to uncover what threatens everything they love most. The body count ticks up, the most unexpected dead will rise–forcing Lenore and Luna to face the possibility that the undead aren’t the only monsters preying on their small town.

Product Details

PublisherMinotaur Books
Publish DateApril 15, 2025
Pages304
LanguageEnglish
TypeBook iconHardback
EAN/UPC9781250324238
Dimensions9.6 X 6.5 X 0.9 inches | 1.0 pounds

About the Author

Lindy Ryan is an award-winning author, anthologist, and short-film director whose books and anthologies have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist and Library Journal. Several of her projects have been adapted for screen. Ryan is the current author-in-residence at Rue Morgue. Declared a “champion for women’s voices in horror” by Shelf Awareness, Ryan was named a Publishers Weekly Star Watch Honoree in 2020, and in 2022, was named one of horror's most masterful anthology curators.​ Born and raised in Southeast Texas, Ryan currently resides on the East Coast.​​​ She is a professor at Rutgers University.

Reviews

Praise for Another Fine Mess:

"Vampire fans will enjoy this spine-chilling tale." —Kirkus

"Sometimes the dead can ruin your life. Lindy Ryan’s Another Fine Mess is a rich and captivating story about family legacy, history, lore, and of course murder. Delightfully alluring and richly suspenseful." —Cynthia Pelayo, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Vanishing Daughters

"If you ever thought Supernatural should have starred the Golden Girls, have I got the series for you. Smart, at times devastating, and just as funny as it is dark, Another Fine Mess is Lindy Ryan's unputdownable follow-up to Bless Your Heart. Balancing grief and duty, monsters and men, the Evans women are characters to sink your teeth into." —Katrina Monroe, author of Through the Midnight Door

"Another Fine Mess is a fast and witty sequel, and together with its predecessor makes for an entertaining and unique entry in the urban fantasy horror genre. With the second book, considered me sold on the quirky family drama and gallows humor of this series. I would love to see the Evans women return for more stories in this darkly charming Southern setting, and if that happens, I’ll definitely be back." —Bibliosanctum

"The story builds with a creeping sense of horror that lingers long after the final page... With Bless Your Heart and Another Fine Mess, Lindy Ryan delivers an unsettling, deeply human tale of legacy and loss." —Booktrib

"Overall, this is a dark, clever, and unsettling novel that was a fast read. Readers looking for a horror novel with shocking and disturbing details plus excellent characterization, secrets, and the supernatural will likely enjoy this novel." —Mystery and Suspense Magazine

"[An] entertaining and utterly charming horror story following a family of women who take care of their town by stopping the undead, no matter the cost." —The Library Ladies

Praise for Bless Your Heart:

"Ryan melds mystery, horror, and family drama in her sharp solo debut... This has bite." —Publishers Weekly

"Incorporating just the right amount of Southern sass, this gruesomely descriptive yet heartrendingly poignant tale will leave horror fans hungry for the next installment." —Booklist (starred review)

“Such a brilliant blend of banter and dread. Authored with the confidence of a storyteller who knows every inch, cadence, and beat of their tale. Instantly cinematic. And if you’re anything like me, you’re going to wish you were part of the Evans family, working at the Evans Funeral Home, just so you can spend more time with these people. Lindy Ryan is on fire with this book.” —Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and Daphne

"The Evans women have arrived and these southern belle slayers are carving out a spot in our undead hearts. Lindy Ryan has harnessed the charm and horror of a Romero-helmed Steel Magnolias, equal parts Carson McCullers and Bram Stoker. Bless her heart." —Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Ghost Eaters

"Lindy Ryan is among the most electrifying voices in the horror genre today. Her writing is devastating, beautiful, and horrifying in all the best ways. With her new novel, she's created a group of characters you won't ever forget set in a world that's sure to get under your skin. Bless Your Heart is everything you could want in a horror novel and more. Highly recommended." —Gwendolyn Kiste, Three-time Bram Stoker Awards®-winning author of The Rust Maidens and Reluctant Immortals

"A flesh-ripping, heartfelt good time. Lindy Ryan has crafted a matriarchal line in keeping with Practical Magic but with the added gory fun of Dead Until Dark. I was utterly charmed and can only hope I haven’t seen the end of the Evans women." —Kristi DeMeester, author of Such a Pretty Smile

"If you don't think a horror novel can somehow feel like Steel Magnolias meets Buffy with a dab of Straub's Ghost Story, well . . . Bless Your Heart. Lindy Ryan's debut novel is a bloodsoaked blast, packed with delightful characters and shockingly gruesome mayhem. And its ending seems to imply further adventures involving the Evans women, something I would welcome like a glass of sweet tea on a hot summer day." —Nat Cassidy, author of Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings

"A gloriously gruesome, compulsively readable debut that is as grizzly as it is clever and heartfelt, offering an inventive, poignant, and thoroughly entertaining exploration of legacy. Absolutely brilliant." —Rachel Harrison, national bestselling author of Cackle and Such Sharp Teeth

“Lindy Ryan’s debut, Bless Your Heart, is a delight! Small-town, multi-generational horror about a family of monster-hunting women who make sure the dead can rest, it’s a creepy romp that begs for sequels. Check it out!” —Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Road of Bones and All Hallows

“Gory, spine-chilling, and deeply Southern, Bless Your Heart is a women-led fight against the rising dead. An absolute must-read for anyone who likes their horror with bite.” —Darcy Coates, USA Today best-selling author of THE HAUNTING OF ASHBURN HOUSE and GALLOWS HILL

"Sparkling with magic and Southern charm, Bless Your Heart is a witty and compulsively readable story about family, duty, and the power to protect the ones we love the most. I was delightfully charmed by the women of the Evans family!" —Maureen Kilmer, author of Suburban Hell and Hex Education

"Ryan’s compelling horror/mystery hybrid is bursting with serious scares, humor, and Southern charm. Fans of Grady Hendrix and Rachel Harrison will appreciate." —Library Journal

"A tale of sacrifices, danger, and above all, love, Bless Your Heart...effortlessly stole my heart. If there’s any complaint to be had, it is that I have not spent nearly enough time with the Evans women." —FanFiAddict

"Let Ryan pour some sunshine into your TBR...charming, as this novel has plenty of local color and turns of phrase. However, what elevates Bless Your Heart beyond pastiche is Ryan’s willingness to revel in full-on gore and to follow through on some genuine, last-minute emotional stakes." —Esquire, Best Horror of 2024

"A bloody, blistering, bracing and bold foray." —Booktrib

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