Excerpt & Giveaway – What Happened in Beulah by Christy Scott Cashman
Synopsis
A teenage girl uncovers the dark secrets of her Smoky Mountain town while searching for a missing classmate in this gripping coming-of-age mystery perfect for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing.
Nestled in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, Beulah has always seemed steady—rooted in tradition, shaped by generations, and slow to change. But in 1986, the ground has shifted, and no one feels that more than fifteen-year-old Barrett Childress Owens. Between her parents’ unraveling marriage and a school full of kids she can’t connect with, she feels invisible in her own hometown.
When Lacy Gunderson, the captivating new girl everyone is curious about, suddenly vanishes, the town’s calm surface fractures. Search parties comb the woods. A police investigation begins. Rumors multiply. Families close ranks. And Barrett begins to sense how much the adults around her choose not to say. As Beulah clings to its usual rituals—including the annual Miss Kudzu pageant, which has shaped local girlhood for decades—Barrett is forced to navigate a community where loss lingers in the air and secrets are carefully kept. Her journey through the uncertainty reshapes her understanding of friendships, family, and the complex place she calls home.
A rich coming-of-age story with a pulse of mystery and a budding romance, What Happened in Beulah explores the fault lines of a small town and the courage it takes to face the truths people would rather bury.
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Excerpt
My name is Barrett Childress Owens. People in the South love to give their kids two last names. Mama was a Barrett and Daddy’s mama was a Childress. I’m fairly certain that if I was a boy, my name would’ve been the same.
I was raised in Beulah, Tennessee. But saying I was raised sounds funny because there wasn’t much raising going on. My life unfolded there. An even better word might be unraveled.
In Beulah, late summer is my favorite time of year. That’s when the Great Smoky Mountains really do look smoky. A silver veil of fog lifts by ten every morning, revealing deep blue-green layers of rounded peaks in the distance.
Mama says there’s something mysterious about these mountains that pulls people to them. The way the fog is usually hiding part of them, swathing their middle like a wide sash, draping across them like a shawl over rounded shoulders or settling just at the base of them, blurring the sight of their peaks from the foothills, where Beulah is nestled like a baby in a hammock. In Beulah, the fog has always been the topic of a lot of conversations. How thick it is, where it settles, when it lifts, how it looks different from season to season.
So it’s no wonder that even my dreams were filled with fog when Lacy Gunderson, the new girl from New York City, disappeared my sophomore year. It seeped and swirled into every corner, covering the cluttered images of me, Mama, and Daddy and every stitch of harebrained memory my mind was sewing together. Mama wearing her Miss Kudzu crown. Daddy like he is now, old and tired. Me as a five-year-old living in the wrong house. Sophomore me, watching dream fog pour into that house so thick and fast, everything was going white. Then, slowly, as the fog lifted, I began to see. But I wasn’t at home anymore. I was in the woods. Mama and Daddy were gone.
Then I saw a body.
Lacy’s body.
Mangled and motionless on the brown leaves of the forest floor.
About the Author
Christy is the award-winning author of the bestselling debut novel The Truth About Horses (2023), which earned multiple literary awards and widespread acclaim for its emotionally resonant storytelling, unforgettable characters, and heartfelt exploration of resilience, family, and hope.
She is also the author of the children’s books The Not-So-Average Monkey of Kilkea Castle, Petri’s Next Things and The Cat Named Peanut Shrimp Cookie Fry Muffin Who Lives on Staniel Cay.
In addition to her literary career, Christy is an accomplished actress and producer who has appeared in more than twenty feature films, including American Hustle, Joy, The Women, Ted 2, and The Forger.
Committed to nurturing creativity, mentorship, and storytelling, Christy founded YouthINK, a nonprofit organization in the U.S. and Ireland that connects aspiring young creatives—including writers, filmmakers, actors, artists, musicians, and storytellers—with accomplished industry professionals who encourage, mentor, and inspire the next generation of creative voices. She is also the founder of YOUthink Creative Wellness and Writing Retreats, which offers immersive writing, creativity, and wellness experiences for adults while supporting YouthINK’s mission.
A passionate advocate for literacy and the arts, Christy serves on the Boards of The Associates of the Boston Public Library, the American Film Institute, and the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. She also proudly supports Raising A Reader, reflecting her longstanding commitment to fostering early reading.
The second-youngest of ten children, Christy was named after Catherine Marshall’s beloved novel Christy and grew up in North Carolina, where her lifelong love of horses began. Today, she divides her time between New York City, Martha’s Vineyard, and her farm in Pennsylvania, where she finds inspiration for many of her stories. She treasures time with her family, four horses, two dogs, and the moments that inspire her writing.
