Michael McDowell

On a split of land cut off by the Gulf, three Victorian summer houses stand against the encroaching sand. Two of the houses at Beldame are still used. The third house, filling with sand, is empty...except for the vicious horror which is shaping nightmares from the nothingness that hangs in the dank, fetid air. The McCrays and Savages, two fine Mobile families allied by marriage, have been coming to Beldame for years. This summer, with a terrible funeral behind them and a messy divorce coming up, even Luker McCray and little India down from New York are looking forward to being alone at Beldame. But they won't be alone. For something there, something they don't like to think about, is thinking about them...and about all the ways to make them die.

The mysterious saga of the Caskey family concludes in Blackwater VI: Rain. Time heals old wounds and dissipates old illusions as a new generation of Caskeys ascends to power. But even unimaginable wealth can’t protect the Caskey family from the sins of its past or the judgment that is soon coming due. An unexpected union brings joy and tragedy in equal measure … Secrets long forgotten bubble to the surface of the dark river, and scrabble at the door of an abandoned room … And a tragic encounter in the swamp conjures a storm the likes of which Perdido hasn’t seen since the great flood of 1919 …

Elinor Caskey uses her strange occult powers to control the citizens of the small town of Perdido and destroy those who oppose her will

The mysterious saga of the Caskey family continues in Blackwater V: The Fortune. Already the most powerful family in Perdido, the Caskeys will soon experience success beyond their wildest imaginings. But prosperity comes with a price, and in the end even the Caskeys must pay. One woman will risk everything to rid herself of the dreams she once begged for … Another will make herself brutal in business and even more unyielding with the family that loves her ... And a third will finally confront her mysterious and terrible otherness as she faces marriage and motherhood and the relentless pleading call of the dark river …

La guerre est finie, vive la guerre! Une nouvelle ère s’ouvre pour le clan Caskey : les années d’acharnement d’Elinor vont enfin porter leurs fruits; les ennemies d’hier sont sur le point de devenir les amies de demain; et des changements surgissent d’où personne ne les attendait. Le conflit en Europe a fait affluer du sang neuf jusqu’à Perdido. Désormais les hommes vont et viennent comme des marionnettes sur la propriété des Caskey, sans se douter que, peut-être, leur vie ne tient qu’à un fil.

A Dead Woman's Legacy and an Awsome Blood-Curdling Dismemberment.

The mysterious saga of the Caskey family begins in Blackwater I: The Flood, as a devastating flood brings a strange and beautiful visitor to the small, sleepy lumber town of Perdido, Alabama. Elinor Dammert's arrival will forever change the town and the wealthy and powerful Caskey family. James, who dotes on Elinor like a second daughter... Sister, who pines for Elinor’s strength and independence... Oscar, who loves Elinor and determines to build a life with her... And matriarch Mary-Love, perhaps the only person in Perdido with an inkling of Elinor’s true power and purpose. For Elinor is more than she appears, and she brings to Perdido—and to the Caskeys—a deadly, inexplicable otherness from which no one can ever be safe.

Terror grows in Babylon, a typical sleepy Southern town with its throbbing sun and fog-shrouded swamps. Margaret Larkin has been robbed of her innocence -- and her life. Her killer is rich and powerful, beyond the grasp of earthly law. Now, in the murky depths of the local river, a shifting, almost human shape slowly takes form. Night after night it will pursue the murderer. It will watch him from the trees. And in the chill waters of the river, it will claim him in the ultimate embrace. The cold moon rises, the awful squishing sounds begin...

German Black Lena was queen of The Black Triangle, Manhattan's decadent empire of opium dens, gambling casinos, drunken sailors, gaudy hookers, and back room abortions. With her daughters and grandchildren, Black Lena led a ring of consummate female criminals - women skilled in the art of cruelty. Only a few blocks away, amidst the elegant mansions and lily-white reputations of Gramercy Park and Washington Square lived Judge James Stallworth. He was determined to crush Lena's evil crew, and with icy indifference he ordered three deaths in her family. Then, one Sunday, all the Stallworths receive individual invitations - invitations to their own funerals. Black Lena has vowed a reign of revenge. Can even the Stallworth fortune and awesome power save them from her diabolical lust for revenge?