In “The Levee”, the second book in Michael McDowell’s chilling Southern Gothic horror series Blackwater, the town of Perdido, Alabama has hired on an engineer to build a levee that would hopefully mitigate or prevent the devastating effects of flood similar to the one several years ago, in 1919, which was also the year that Elinor Dammert mysteriously showed up. Everyone in town seems to be for it, except for Elinor, who believes that the river won’t let them build it.No one knows or suspects th...

The building of a levee to prevent further town-swallowing floods serves as a backdrop for the second installment of Blackwater, but the real action takes place on the front porches and at the dinner tables of the Caskey clan: a baby is traded for autonomy, a gaudy in-law comes looking for handouts with her sleazy and dangerous husband not far behind, passive aggression and gossip are used as weapons in a slow-burning battle between a cunning matriarch and a shape shifting lake creature for cont...

This was not as good as the first one but still fun. I will read the next one because well…..I still don't know exactly what is up with Elinor Caskey. This one did drop a big hint. (view spoiler)[ "It wasn't Miss Elinor's face that returned his gaze (hide spoiler)] and also(view spoiler)[ "..it was very flat and very wide and that two large bulbous eyes, glimmering and greenish protruded from it…." (hide spoiler)] Hmmmm……what the hell is up with Miss Elinor? I hope I find out in the next one. T...

great characters, superb storytelling. just read this series!

Unsettled in the end. World: The world building is strong. It lulls readers in a false of calm and then the unsettling things come into play. The tone of the world is slow and quiet and something is not quite right. Story: A solid continuation of the last book with the building of the levee. It's a nice little plot device that puts characters at odds and the new pieces that come into play are interesting. I will say that the plot did not go as I planned and that's good. Characters: The character...

Low on drama yet high on impending doom, Book #2 of the Blackwater saga continues to have me captivated and obsessed. This family is such a trip, and mixing in the mysterious river woman is the perfect catalyst to epic disaster. Not ready to give it 5 stars, because McDowell's really got to stick the landing to justify this much build-up, but it won't surprise me if the complete serial novel ends up being one of my all-time favorites.

This Southern Gothic soap opera of a series continues to be a blast! A levee is built. A distant family member arrives much to the consternation of everyone in the family. That was not the only addition to the Caskey family either. The central mystery continues on in this entry and becomes even deeper as this book draws to a close on some very graphic notes. WOW. This series is so much fun so far and I'm already a quarter of the way through the third volume, The House. Recommend for fans of S...

THE LEVEE is the second book in Michael McDowell's Blackwater series. I found this section to focus primarily on the dynamics between the people of the town, and in particular, the relations in the Caskey family. Elinor has really begun to assert herself behind the scenes as Oscar's driving force and motivation. New characters are brought into the town that begin to play prominent roles, and--as the title indicates--the town begins the building of the levee in order to hopefully avoid a future f...

The chronicle of the Caskeys continues, as new players arrive on stage from unexpected directions, the levee comes into being, a grim prediction for the future of the town is made, and the supernatural entity that has made Perdido it's home continues to defy classification, as elusive as trying to nail down a drop of mercury, leaving the current of mystery at the heart of this tale deceptively deep beneath it's seemingly placid surface, suddenly sucking the reader under with moments that will le...

I didn’t think this could top The Flood, but top it it did! The second volume in Michael McDowell’s legendary Blackwater saga is a feat, a marvel of tightened storytelling and compelling drama.I think what McDowell does best here — oh, he does so many things perfectly in these books — is his evocation of the setting. The reader truly feels he or she has been transported back to southern Alabama circa 1923, humidity and mosquitos and small town gossip and southern hospitality and all. And I’m tot...

3.5 Review to come at a later date encompassing the Blackwater books as a complete series.

Part 2 in the Blackwater Saga continues the inter-family disputes of those living in Perdido while focusing on the construction of the levee in town. As a complete story with its own arc, part 2 didn't live up to the intro of The Flood, however this felt like an important bridge between where we started and where we're going. That being said, I'm far more excited about those possibilities of where this is headed than the particular story that was told within The Levee. Still absorbed enough in t...

It was a bit lacking in building up the same tenseness as the first one.Still,The second installment is AMAZING!!!!.But can Miss Mary-love for once stop making absolutely terrible and wrong decisions because it makes the supposed evil character(Elinor) in this book seem innocent and its getting on my nerves that everybody is sympathizing with her.

This is the second book in The Blackwater Series. The town people are debating whether they should build a levee to protect the town of Perdido from being flooded again. Everyone is for the levee except Elinor. She says that the river will never rise like that again. Elinor was out voted and the levee was to be built. With the levee in it's planning stages, an engineer name Earl Haskew comes to towm. Mary Love offers Early room and board at her house just to spite Elinor. Elinor has gained a gre...

I find each time I read this book I read it faster and faster (hooray for the summer months where reading in the sun is still possible) This book builds on the cast list first presented with the roster growing by the page. You are never quite sure where allegiances lay or who or what agenda you are witnessing now. The gothic feel to the story give a refreshing edge to the family politics and power plays. It would be so easy to dismiss this story (and the others in the series) as a family soap op...

More creepy fun. This one actually has a couple of moments that I would classify as "true horror" scenes, not just "Southern Gothic creepy.Here we also have a continuing story of the Caskey family and their extended relations. It centers, of course, on the relationship of the odd Elinor Caskey to the rest of the family. That they are the richest family in their small town in the early 192os only makes that more interesting.She may not be all that she appears to be, but you'll have to read for mo...

The Levee - Blackwater II... The Levee is the second book in the Blackwater Saga and while I enjoyed it, I liked the first book more. Of course, in the first book everything is new which it makes it more exciting but The Levee also didn't really have as much of the creepiness that I thought the first book had. I felt like this book was more geared toward setting up the playing field for what's to come. Elinor plays one big role in this book but for the most part all of her scheming is pretty sub...

The saga continues, McDowell is a really good storyteller. The flood has gone so this is not as dramatic as the first book but still a goodread there is talk of a Levee to be built and one mysterious lady is not happy. There is new arrivals to the town and that means new rivalry is created by some. " Mary-Love was bewildered. She had intended Christmas to be the first step in a major campaign mounted against Elinor and Elinor's ally Queenie. Instead she had found herself attacked by an army— Sis...

Ok I’m my review of book one of this series, The Flood, I said I felt intrigued and kinda had an idea where this was going…I’m still intrigued but have NO clue what to expect. I’m really enjoying the familiar southern setting- minus the racist, problematic aspects that come with it- I especially felt warm and fuzzy when I read the part about Alabama business meetings taking place on porch swings or in the light of the moon. The southern aspects are doing a great job of making me feel comfortable...

I really enjoy that this has horror elements but they kind of stay in the eerie background. It's like you forget about it and then boom! Horror is right in your face. I was a little put off by a character being described as "simple" and basically that they have no actual thoughts. I know this is published in a time when it is likely how it was presented, but it still doesn't feel good to read about.