In the follow-up to her critically acclaimed novel Bless Your Heart, Lindy Ryan returns to the small Texas town where the Evans family has been quietly putting down the restless dead for generations. While the first book introduced us to this matriarchal monster-hunting family, Another Fine Mess cranks up the supernatural chaos to eleven, delivering a blood-soaked tale of family secrets, undead awakenings, and the complex bonds that tie women together—even beyond the grave.
Another Fine Mess offers readers a distinctly Southern take on classic horror tropes, blending gothic atmosphere with generational trauma and enough monster mythology to fill a mortuary. The novel proves Ryan hasn’t lost her knack for crafting memorable characters who speak with authentic voices dripping with both honey and venom.
The Evans Women: Four Generations of Stubborn Undead Wranglers
The Evans women continue to be the heart and soul of this series. After the shocking events of Bless Your Heart, the family roster has been drastically reduced:
- Lenore Evans – Now the reluctant matriarch after the deaths of her mother Ducey and daughter Grace, Lenore is caught between grief and duty as she struggles to keep the family business—both funeral home and supernatural protection service—running.
- Luna Evans – Grace’s teenage daughter is coming to terms with her half-monster heritage after accidentally turning her boyfriend into a strigoi (a vampire-like creature) who went on a killing spree in the previous book.
- Ducey Evans – Lenore’s mother, who died protecting her family from the restless dead… yet somehow refuses to stay buried. Her resurrection is a mystery that drives much of the plot.
- Grandmother Pie – The original Evans matriarch who disappeared years ago, leaving only cryptic letters about the family’s supernatural responsibilities.
Ryan excels at depicting the complex relationships between these women. They love each other fiercely but keep devastating secrets. They bicker constantly but unite against supernatural threats. Each represents a different generation’s approach to both monster-hunting and motherhood, creating a fascinating exploration of female relationships.
Plot: More Monster Mayhem, More Evans Family Secrets
Set just a month after the bloody events of Bless Your Heart, this sequel wastes no time throwing readers back into the supernatural deep end. When Ducey inexplicably rises from her grave and returns to the funeral parlor, the Evanses must confront two terrifying realities: their understanding of the restless dead is woefully incomplete, and whatever connection the family has to these supernatural occurrences runs much deeper than they realized.
Meanwhile, a new kind of monster is stalking the town—something collecting animal parts, human teeth, and leaving trinkets outside Luna’s window. As high school life resumes with homecoming approaching, Luna and her goth friend Crane search for answers about her heritage while new sheriff Roger Taylor covers up the supernatural carnage plaguing the town.
The novel builds to a blood-drenched climax at the homecoming dance where monsters, hunters, and secrets collide in spectacularly gory fashion.
Strengths: Southern Authenticity and Gruesome Monster Mash-ups
Another Fine Mess shines brightest in these areas:
1. Authentic Southern Voice
Ryan captures small-town Southeast Texas with precision and affection. From Ducey’s colorful expressions (“most people don’t have the good sense God gave a goose”) to the community’s response to tragedy (continuing with homecoming despite several murders), the cultural details feel deeply authentic. The funeral parlor setting alone provides rich material for exploring Southern attitudes toward death and propriety.
2. Monstrous Mythology
Ryan expands her supernatural universe with complex lore that blends Eastern European folklore with Southern superstition. The novel introduces pricolici (werewolf-like revenants) while exploring different manifestations of the undead. Most compellingly, it suggests the Evans women themselves might be something more than human.
3. Genre-Bending
The novel seamlessly blends horror, mystery, coming-of-age, and family drama. While the gore and monsters satisfy horror fans, the emotional core explores grief, identity, and intergenerational trauma. The mystery of Ducey’s resurrection and the Evans family’s supernatural connection provides narrative momentum beyond the monster-of-the-week format.
4. Multiple Viewpoints
The rotating perspectives give readers access to different characters’ knowledge and emotional states while maintaining mystery. This technique proves particularly effective for revealing information about the Evans family secret in carefully measured doses.
Weaknesses: Pacing and Occasional Overwhelming Plot Elements
Despite its strengths, Another Fine Mess occasionally bites off more than it can chew:
1. Pacing Issues
The first half meticulously sets up characters and situations, but the second half accelerates dramatically, packing major revelations and action sequences into a short timeframe. This creates a somewhat lopsided reading experience where the climactic homecoming dance sequence feels rushed compared to the deliberate buildup.
2. Character Overload
The novel features a substantial cast—from the Evans women to their allies, the local police force, high school students, and various minor characters. While Ryan generally manages these personalities well, some secondary characters receive insufficient development before being thrust into important plot roles.
3. Uneven Emotional Impact
Some emotional beats land with devastating effectiveness—particularly Luna’s complex feelings about her heritage and Lenore’s grief. Others, like the romantic subplot between Luna and Crane, occasionally feel underdeveloped amid the supernatural chaos.
Writing Style: Southern Gothic Meets Monster Mayhem
Ryan’s prose sparkles with Southern authenticity while delivering effective horror imagery. She excels particularly at:
- Vivid descriptive passages: “The scent tore the hunger from her instantly, and a new instinct flooded through her.”
- Southern colloquialisms: “All those cold shoulders did her a favor: the less people paid her any mind when they were alive, the less she had to mourn them when they turned up dead.”
- Gruesome imagery: “Meat clung to some of the bones, but most had been cleaned—licked clean—stacked like cairns honoring their dead.”
- Character moments: “Ducey couldn’t feel the weight of her diamonds when she waggled her wedding finger, but she could see them sparkle.”
Thematic Richness: Family, Secrets, and Female Power
Beneath the bloodshed, Another Fine Mess explores several compelling themes:
1. The Power and Cost of Family Secrets
The Evans family motto might as well be “what you don’t know can’t hurt you,” but the novel repeatedly shows how secrets ultimately create more damage than they prevent. Pie’s cryptic letter, Ducey’s withheld knowledge, and Lenore’s protective silence all contribute to the family’s supernatural predicament.
2. Female Autonomy in Restricting Circumstances
The Evans women operate within limitations imposed by their small town and supernatural burden, yet fiercely maintain their independence. The funeral parlor serves as both prison and fortress—a place where they can exercise authority despite societal constraints.
3. Grief and Its Monsters
The novel literalizes grief through its monsters. Grace’s transformation into a pricolici represents rage at being separated from her daughter; Ducey’s resurrection embodies the family’s refusal to let go; even the townsfolk’s denial about the supernatural threats reflects grief’s distorting effect on perception.
Comparison to Bless Your Heart
While Bless Your Heart established the Evans family and their supernatural responsibilities, Another Fine Mess deepens the mythology and raises the emotional stakes. The sequel benefits from the groundwork laid in the first book, allowing Ryan to explore more complex relationships and supernatural elements.
The first novel focused primarily on Luna discovering her heritage and confronting her first monster. This sequel broadens the scope to examine the entire Evans family history and suggests their connection to the undead is more complicated than simply being designated protectors.
Final Verdict: A Bloody Good Time with Heart and Teeth
Another Fine Mess delivers what horror fans crave—creative monsters, gruesome deaths, and genuinely creepy moments—while offering something deeper through its exploration of family dynamics and generational trauma. Ryan’s authentic Southern voice and complex female characters elevate the material beyond standard monster fare.
The novel occasionally stumbles under the weight of its ambitious mythology and large cast, but these issues rarely detract from the reading experience. For fans of Southern Gothic horror, monster stories with depth, or tales of complicated family dynamics, Another Fine Mess offers a satisfying blend of chills, emotional resonance, and distinctive character work.
Like the Evans women themselves, this novel is tough, sometimes messy, fiercely protective of its heart, and absolutely refuses to stay buried.
- Perfect for fans of: Grady Hendrix’s Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, Stephen Graham Jones’s My Heart Is a Chainsaw, and T. Kingfisher’s The Twisted Ones.
With tantalizing hints dropped in the epilogue, readers will eagerly await the next chapter in the Evans family saga. After all, in a family where not even death is permanent, the possibilities for future stories are limitless.
