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Laurel Hightower

Crossroads Paperback – August 9, 2020

by Laurel Hightower (Author)

4.2 423 ratings

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How far would you go to bring back someone you love? When Chris's son dies in a tragic car crash, her world is devastated. The walls of grief close in on Chris's life until, one day, a small cut on her finger changes everything. A drop of blood falls from Chris's hand onto her son's roadside memorial and, later that night, Chris thinks she sees his ghost outside her window. Only, is it really her son's ghost, or is it something else—something evil? Soon Chris is playing a dangerous game with forces beyond her control in a bid to see her son, Trey, alive once again.

"There's a single note that plays through all of Laurel Hightower's Crossroads, and in that note you can hear a mother's justified devastation, a lover's acceptance, and the haunting displacement of a ghost. Refreshingly nuanced character, down to earth in the rightest of ways, Crossroads will sincerely move you. There is a big mind, and an even bigger heart, behind this book." -- Josh Malerman, New York Times best-selling author of Bird Box and Malorie

Print length

124 pages
Language

English
Publication date

August 9, 2020
Dimensions

5 x 0.31 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

0578723565
ISBN-13

978-0578723563
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About the Author

Laurel Hightower grew up in Kentucky, attending college in California and Tennessee before returning home to horse country, where she lives with her husband, son, and two rescue animals. She works as a paralegal in a mid-size firm, wrangling litigators by day and writing at night. A bourbon and beer girl, she's a fan of horror movies and true-life ghost stories. Her debut novel, Whispers in the Dark, was published in 2018.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Off Limits Press LLC (August 9, 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 124 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0578723565
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0578723563
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.31 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #83,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #689 in Occult Fiction
- #4,598 in Literary Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.2 423 ratings

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Laurel Hightower

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Laurel Hightower grew up in Kentucky, attending college in California and Tennessee before returning home to horse country, where she lives with her husband, son, and two rescue animals. She works as a paralegal in a mid-sized firm, wrangling litigators by day and writing at night. A bourbon and beer girl, she's a fan of horror movies and true life ghost stories. Whispers in the Dark is her first novel.

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Caleb

Beautifully Written Grief

Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2023

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I found this to be one of the more profound horror novels centered around grief and trauma that I've read. The writing has a poetic quality, and I certainly don't me that in the frilly, soft way. There is a sharp edged beauty to Laurel Hightower's words. Definitely a difficult read as a parent. There is no worse thing I could imagine in life then something happening to my child. What the parent does in this story, while horrifying, is entirely understandable. Would I do it? Hard to say, as I've never been in this position. Questions like these, though, are one of the chief delights of the reading life, and Crossroads does an excellent job of putting the reader in that mind space - a horrifying but thoughtful place to be.

Helpful

Relentlessly bleak

Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2023

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Crossroads is a short book. The sort you can read in a single sitting, which you'll assuredly do, because once you start reading, its heartbreaking relentlessness will have you turning the pages until the end. And then it'll continue to haunt you for quite a while after you finish. Not since Stephen King's Pet Sematary have I seen a book that more accurately captures the horror behind the loss of a child or other loved one, and the sense that one would do anything, no matter the cost, to somehow bring that person back.

But though the book invokes similar themes as King's work, it's a decidedly different book, so don't think this is just a knockoff. It shares some themes, and its similarly dark, but Laurel Hightower has created something not quite like any other book I've read. For such a short work, coming in at just over 100 pages, it starts off strong and yet somehow manages to continually raise the tension throughout, building to an Aristotelian "shocking yet inevitable" ending.

The only flaw, if it can even be called a flaw, is that certain actions by certain characters raise a couple questions of believability (though never crossing the line into severely distracting the reader from the story). I struggle to elucidate further because that would involve some major spoilers, but suffice it to say that a couple scenes raised some questions the book's short length couldn't answer, but that this did not detract from my enjoyment of the book (if, indeed, enjoyment is the right word for such a bleak book).

This one won't take much time to read, and it's worth every minute. It may not be for the faint of heart, but if you're looking for something on the heavy and emotional side, you're going to love Crossroads.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2021

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This book has been around for quite a few months now, but I admit, I was afraid to read it. I gathered from the reviews I read and some of the video reviews I watched the main plot line to the story. I didn’t think this was something I wanted to read for pleasure. I’m a father of 2, and I can’t imagine, I can’t fathom the thought of losing a child. I just knew this book would take my feelings to a place I did not want them to go.

I had to find out for myself. I had to man up, and dive in. Damn this book. I knew it. I love it.

I read this book in 1 sitting. I read it quick. I wish I read it sooner.

This book is beautiful. I don’t need to throw in a bunch other fancy descriptive words. It’s just beautiful. Quote me now. Every bit of this book, down to the very last period, is BEAUTIFUL.

For those who don’t know, who have been living under a rock, or may have been purposely avoiding this book because of the feelings it brings, it’s about a mother grieving over her lost son. Chris lost her only child Trey to a car accident. And now, she has a makeshift memorial at the site of the crash, on the side of a highway. I think we've all seen these sort of memorials on the side of the road many times.

We get that Trey meant the world to Chris, as do most kids to their parents. But the narrative in this book is next level writing. Every single thought Chris has. Every single voice Chris hears is spot on beautiful, yet at the same time, at the exact same time, it’s a punch to the heart.

Now she has this memorial on the side of a busy highway and she basically risks her life daily to stop and talk to Trey. She is endangering her life in order to visit the site where Trey died. Its then when Chris decides to try something, in hopes of bringing back her dead son.
We get some Supernatural aspects mixed in, along with a bit of self-mutilation, without giving away too much.

Parents Should Not have to bury their kids. It should be the other way ‘round. We get that. We all understand that. And this book really points that out by showing the anguish, the grief, the sadness, the loneliness that occurs when it happens the wrong way.

Now, with all of that said, there is something I want to point out that I picked up on while reading this. Something I want to talk about. There is something I’m not sure if it was intentional or not. I like to think it was the authors way to keep us guessing a bit. Lets talk about the character development. We have good character development for Chris. We have development for the neighbor Dan, for Chris’s ex-husband Beau who is also Trey’s father. But, and I hope this isn’t too much of a spoiler, if it is I apologize, the character development we get for Trey is all through the eyes of Chris. Now what do I mean by that? Well, I can do no wrong in my mothers eyes. Sure there are spats at times and disagreements. But a child can do no wrong in their mothers eyes.

Not that anything he may have done deserved to result in his death, but we don’t get too much information on his back story. Was he the good boy Chris referred to? Was he speeding and driving crazy? Drunk? Police chase. When the Supernatural parts take form in the book, you are to believe Chris is seeing and speaking to a particular person. But you will then question if that person, or entity truly is who it's supposed to be, or something else?

Decide for yourself.

3 people found this helpful

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Ross Jeffery

Mesmerising Horror

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 15, 2020

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A mothers grief is something even the devil should fear.

This is my first experience of Laurel Hightower and it will not be my last. Crossroads is a sensational, emotionally shredding, grief riddled nightmare of a book. The story is one that will affect you for long after reading (whether you are a parent or not) such is Hightower’s brilliance at capturing the clawing hands and the baying cries of grief, all wrapped in a suffocating blanket of loneliness, a loneliness that I can only imagine is all consuming at the passing of a child.

Two of the best books I’ve read that deal with the all consuming emotions of grief are Stephen King’s ‘Pet Sematary’ and Max Porter’s ‘Grief is the Thing With Feathers’ and I would now have to say that Laurel Hightower’s offering ‘Crossroads’ is now one that can sit next to these great authors and their stunning offerings.

Comparisons will of course be made to King’s ‘Pet Sematary’ (and so they should – Pet Sematary for me is one of King’s masterpieces, and this from Hightower is up there with his brilliance) mainly because of the subject matter and the full blown horror that is on offer. This horror, like King’s, is rendered perfectly by Hightower and it’s so emotionally charged that I would say it surpasses King’s offering, but that’s my own opinion.

But Crossroads is not a copy, this is something wholly original, totally unique and delivered with such mastery it is hard to look away (at times I wanted to, but was forced to read on), it was devastating and heart-rending, the hurt, the pain, the suffering is all inescapable and Hightower’s prose and hold on the story is beguiling whilst also terrifying and will have your turning those pages even when you don’t want to.

But this book doesn’t stop there, it could, because the horror is sensational, but it doesn’t. Hightower populates this nightmare vision of grief with a cast of haunted characters. Crossroads whilst being a grief filled tale is also a powerful character driven piece, with a damaged main protagonist and a whole host of secondary characters that are each fully rendered and believable, each character’s life and circumstance are added to the unfolding carnage of the situation that our main protagonist finds herself in; whilst also revealing how powerful grief is and how monstrous and unyielding its clutches are – reaching out like weeds and choking anything good from sprouting and strangling anything that has started to grow.

As this is a fast paced novella, I’m going to keep the review quite short and spoiler free.

Chris is a grieving mother, her son Trey died when he was 21 in a horrific car accident. Since that day Chris has been dealing with her grief, of how this incident has wrecked her, and left her stranded at the hands of this storm we call life. It’s not mentioned in much detail but Chris is on her own now, her ex-husband Beau has his own new family now (was this due to the stranglehold grief had on her or not, we’re not sure) and it appears that he is moving on, and in doing so he is leaving Chris to pick up the shattered pieces of her life, with no instructions on how the pieces go back together.

‘What was the difference, really, between physical pain caused by say, cancer, and the living hell Chris had been in since the day her son was killed.’
After accidentally cutting herself at her son’s memorial (near the place where they found his body), Chris is visited that night by a version of her son near the streetlamp outside her house, but something is not quite right. Trey is different than she remembers, he’s haunted by something, something darker than the grave. Chris starts to think that maybe this accidental blood offering brought her son back to her, and her mind begins to race at what she could offer to have him fully back, the way he once was – alive. But there will need to be a bigger sacrifice, but is she willing to pay it.

What then happens is a frantic and horrifying journey into the depths of a mothers love, a love that is as deep and wide as the biggest and deepest ocean. The grief of a mother is something even the devil should fear, such is the unrelenting pain and the determination to change this cruel act; all detailed brilliantly by Hightower.

Hightower writes with such power and honesty that at times it brought tears to my eyes. I’ve not suffered much grief in my life (which I’m hugely thankful for) but Hightower writes about this with such blinding clarity that one can’t help but be moved by her words. What makes this story even more heart-rending for me is that I have two girls that I fiercely defend and protect, they are my world, and where they are, I always want to be (something Hightower also covers in the book). If something ever happened to either of them, I’m not sure I’d be able to cope, what would I do? If the situation arose to be with them again, would I grab it with both hands, no matter the cost to me? Sure I would!

Hightower also writes this story to within an inch of its life, her prose is direct and striking and full of fabulously crafted and deftly executed horror. There are some witty pieces that made me laugh (it’s not all doom and gloom) one of which was this…

‘…but it was Beau on the other side, looking like ten pounds of s**t in a five-pound bag.’
… but there are also moments where Hightower’s writing is on fire, chapter 19 was one such place for me. In this chapter Chris confronts her mother and the familial issues that have been plaguing their relationships since childhood (how she doesn’t want to repeat the sins of the mother on her own child) which have become unbearable since Trey’s death. This had me thinking of my own family (mother and father) it was such a believable sequence and one that was handled so deftly by Hightower that again it proves her ability as a masterful writer as she mixes sensitivity and poignancy along with terror and horror.

The story continues at breakneck speed and you can’t help but fall under Hightower’s enchanting spell she casts with this book. For me Crossroads will be up there at the STOKERS and it should be; a phenomenal book by an absolutely stunning writer. I’m looking forward to diving into more of Hightower’s work and already have Whispers In The Dark to be getting on with – if you’ve not discovered her yet, make sure you remedy that as soon as possible, you won’t regret it.

Crossroads is a grief riddled tale and a story that pulls at the heart strings. Horrific whilst also heartrending. A remarkable depiction of grief in all of its dirty shades. Crossroads is an honest and unflinching whilst also being an unforgettable journey into the full consuming darkness of loss. Horror has a new name and that is Laurel Hightower!

One person found this helpful

Yvonne - The coycaterpillar Reads

A masterpiece in visceral fear

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 10, 2020

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Crossroads…a fork in the road, a decision to be made, life taking a turn and lives altered. Laurel Hightower has taken a certainty in life, death and given it a complex meaning, a burden, a floating through life trying to grasp the ending but never holding onto that tangible point. Chris is existing through life after the death of her only son. He is taken in the most tragic circumstances well before his time, a car crash. Greif is crushing her, minute by minute, hour by hour. A natural reaction to an unnatural event, but what would you do to have them back?

Look at the cover – the desolation, the grief and loneliness jumps out at you. It is essentially a horror in its purest form – the death of a child. I know if I was too loose one of my boys it would be like living hell on earth. The colour of the cover, the illustration, it grabs you by the genitals with its originality and its bleakness and the pages contained within hit you where it hurts all the more! A narrative so bleak but powerful that it could bring the strongest of people to their knees.

Motherhood had mad her face all her fears, let go of her phobias and the things that bugged her, like snot and puke and having anything touching her collarbone. Kids trample all over those little rules and peferences in no time…

Laurel Hightower takes us on a journey. A road less travelled, the grass has covered up the remains of the road and the wind leaves you feeling wracked and disorientated. A snippet of life, the devastation of putting your entire life into your child to have it cruelly taken away – leaving you with a sense of emptiness. Crossroads isn’t an easy read, it isn’t meant to be. It’s meant to grab you by the jugular and not let go. It makes you want to run and hide and hope to any higher power that this never happens to you.

Chris is a broken mother. A mother that is a shadow floating through this world putting on an act that all is ok. The mental strain and the depression his hidden from the public face. Laurel Hightower brings us the sadness in Crossroads and has the button to the readers emotions firmly pressed.

The writing contained within Crossroads brings the puzzle and mystery together. With every visit from the supernatural the tension almost becomes too much. Be prepared to have your own heart ripped out, stomped on and given back the pieces of a shredded organ. I wanted to make this book last, but, when you read that first page you will be hooked. It knows it has you, and it knows you won’t let go until that last harrowing sentence has been digested.

As the story developed I had several a-ha moments and you truly wondered who was holding the deck of cards. A story that will haunt me for a while to come yet.

Crossroads is a masterpiece in visceral fear. It crackles with menace and despair. It’s scary, truly scary. Reality has blended with the sinister. Laurel Hightower has captured every parent’s worst nightmare and brought it into frightening high definition.

Austrian Spencer

A fantastic rendition of an unstoppable breakdown.

Reviewed in Germany on December 31, 2020

Verified Purchase

I had the pleasure of reading this as one of the last books I read in 2020, finishing it today on the cusp of a new year. A great way to read out a year known for its own horrors, Crossroads is a book that appealed to the parent in me and which will strike a chord I believe in anyone that has children themselves, or that has adopted a similar role.

I think I’d be right in saying that it was the only horror book I have read this year that made me squirm, though I confess that I haven’t read an abundance of horror – nevertheless, self-harm / mutilation done for a logical reason is its own barrel of nastiness. That the reader can see through the MC’s logic to argue the opposite case makes her self-harm even more tragic, horrifying, and avoidable. Hightower plays the tragedy to its extreme – the reader is well aware of the inevitable conclusion to the book but is swept up on hope throughout - and that Is the touch that elevates this book higher than its contemporaries. The addition of Dan - a selfless love interest, provides the reader with that strand to cling to, to hope, that the error of the MC’s path can be diverted, yet within that hope lies its ultimate defeat – Dan is simply too considerate to be able to take action against the wishes of his lover, and too willing to cling to hope.

The MC Chris, a single parent that still mourns her lost child, is brilliantly realized, her emotions are lived through the reader, and the book quite rightly focuses on her as THE story. The book does not linger overlong on the supernatural happenings, but rather highlights them through its cold portrayal of a woman living in a state of mental breakdown, inspired by hope for regaining that which was lost, her son. The fact that Laurel revisits this at the end of the book, that the reader does not consider in which state the ghost of her son will be reanimated, is a credit to how deeply invested we are in Chris – and that is our tragedy. Dan is a reflection of our own inability to react, and the knowledge that we wouldn’t even know what that reaction would even be.

I loved this. It’s a great book to get to know the Author’s voice, and a tragedy couched in horror.

Charlotte F

Creepy and uncomfortable in the best way

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 14, 2022

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I devoured this short novel, driven forward by the story's quick pace. Although there is very little action, the story follows Chris as she tries to cope living in a world after the tragic loss of her young adult son, Trey, who died in a car accident. Although she has an amicable relationship with her ex, Treys dad, and begins a relationship with her neighbour, Chris feels very much alone in the world and that loneliness comes across in the writing as she starts to feel that she's inadvertently brought her son back to some kind of life. His vague presence seems to grow stronger with her sacrifices, and the dread builds as she keeps ramping up what she is given of herself to his roadside memorial in the hopes that she can bring him back, until the inevitable conclusion is reached.

Val

beautifully written, heart-breaking story

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 29, 2022

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Crossroads is an extremely emotional book that deals with the grief of losing a child. The story was so heartbreaking but beautifully written. Chris would do absolutely anything to even see a glimpse of her son. When one day he comes to visit her as an entity, is it really him?
The paranormal element of this book was truly creepy (at least for me personally). I'll definitely read more books from this author.

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