Brimstone Hollow

Annie Gore #2
By Archer Sullivan
** Publication Date 11 August 2026 **
​4 stars




Annie Gore is quite the plucky young woman. Former Air Force special investigation, now private investigator, Annie gets the strange cases. She’s like a dog with a bone, just won’t let it go until she figures it out.


In this second installment, she’s being called to a small town in Kentucky. A woman’s father has died. A father she hasn’t seen since she was a young child when her mother fled with Katie to another place. Now this father is gone, and Katie needs closure. He was buried within a day and no autopsy was performed. Is there something hinky going on? Or was this just a case of wanting to get it over with.


Annie arrives in this small town, where Katie’s father was revered by all. A snake wielding preacher. Not fire and brimstone, he was actually more sedate, but he did wield the snakes. As Annie begins her investigation, it sounds all normal. But as the day goes on, Annie finds more and more unsettling things about this death and burial. This town is hiding a lot of secrets. Annie intends to uncover them.


The Annie Gore novels are set in Appalachia. Annie herself was raised in small town Kentucky and still lives in Louisville. The stories are steeped in folklore and legend. Captivating for this person who was raised in a big city. Sullivan pretty much points the finger at everyone, and the twists tend to come fast and furious. There are always characters from the towns that Annie visits that are memorable. The books keep me riveted because I want to solve the mystery. The first was fascinating, and this follow up does not disappoint. I finished it in just about a day.


Definitely recommend. Not a cozy mystery, but a good one.