Davida Breier

“Breier seamlessly moves between bifurcated narratives set in the mid-1980s and the early 2000s, which depict Michelle’s starved need for love and Sissy’s charismatic ruthlessness, both growing out of parallel traumas. The final showdown between them is destined to shock; the electric denouement more than justifies the tension throughout.” —The New York Times

“Breier serves up a sweet and sour and ultimately redemptive delight of a mystery, redolent of 80s Florida and adolescence in all its sinister glory. I devoured it.” —Kelly Link, author of  Magic for Beginners and Get in Trouble

“Sinkhole is a thought-provoking, highly atmospheric, and immensely readable debut about growing pains and facing the truths we’d rather run from. Breier summons both the 1980s and Central Florida to great effect.” —Jonathan Evison, New York Times Bestselling author of Small World

“A clever plot and astute characterizations help drive this coming-of-age tale with a malevolent twist. Readers will eagerly await Breier’s next.” —Publishers Weekly

“Sinkhole deserves to be on year-end best of lists across the board and this debut novel will amass Davida G. Breier a cult fan-following who will anxiously wait to see what she has to offer next.” ―Bolo Books

“Breier’s Florida is merciless, lush, and all-consuming; if Lauren Groff’s characters feel submerged by Florida, Breier’s characters have Florida in their bone marrow…Sinkhole never lets the reader forget that class is an overwhelming burden in Michelle’s life, yet it never becomes the main focus in the way that it can in a Dorothy Allison novel. In tone and style, NW and Sinkhole couldn’t be more different, but on their exploration of these phenomena, they are aligned.” ―Samantha Neugebauer, The Hopkins Review

“…a psychological whodunit with a literary twist.” ―Jenna Jaureguy, Southern Review of Books

“…a captivating, claustrophobic debut in which no crime is as pervasive as a guilty conscience…While the humidity and oppression of the author’s story are distinctly Southern, the underlying idea that big (and often bad) things are bubbling just below the surface is universal.” —John B. Valeri, The Strand Magazine

“Rating A+…seductive language that drips with the humidity of summer nights, virtually hypnotizing the reader, transporting them back to the glory (or is it gory) of the 1980s.” ―Kristopher Zgorski, Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine

“…brilliantly captures the mental chaos that accompanies youth, compounded with the self-doubt and downward spiral that often occurs with gaslighting. The descriptions of small town Florida are absolutely edible; I could eat them for days. I’m so pleased to be selling Sinkhole at our shop, and I look forward to reading the next book!” ―Teeka Ballas, The Writer’s Block Bookstore and Café (Anchorage, AK)

“A mysterious death by the train tracks. Secrets and lies that tear families apart. The new best friend who becomes the ultimate frenemy. A seemingly supernatural phenomenon at the lake. All this and more come together in Sinkhole…the final chapters had me holding my breath. I could not put the book down until the very end. And what an ending it is!” ―Razorcake

“Breier paces the story well, then delivers shocking moments for a climactic confrontation and an ending that doesn’t disappoint. I read the last 60 pages in one sitting because I absolutely had to know how the book ended.” ―Megan McCarthy-Biank, The Nerd Cantina

“While there are clever twists to the book’s mystery, it’s centered more by its cast and its vibrant settings. Descriptive verve is applied to sweaty, run-down swamps and trailer parks, as well as to hidden places of beauty. The cast’s psychological shifts are handled in a deft manner, too…More than just a murder mystery, Sinkhole is a bracing tale about redemption, coming to terms with the past, and finding the strength to move forward.” —Foreword Reviews

“Set in the pre-internet, pre-cell phone era, it’s a murder mystery, a story of a toxic teenage friendship, a revelatory examination of class in America, as well as a finely crafted work of ecofiction.” ― Susan Larson, host of The Reading Life on WWNO-FM, for the Times-Picayune

“The surprising ending―with some extraordinary revelations―is downright healing. And while there is criminal behavior, it’s on the sidelines of the story, never at the center. A wonderful tale about the power of friendship to transcend evil that young adults should also appreciate.” ―Brian Kenney, First Clue

“…delivers an astounding addition to coming-of-age stories. This riveting homage to the 1980s features a love letter to Wild Florida, a part of the state very few tourists and residents experience. Told with the same passionate love of the land that captivates fans of James Lee Burke, Sinkhole transports readers to the noisy, humid, bug-ridden, and wondrously beautiful inland Florida.” —Meredith Babb, former Director, University Press of Florida

“Breier’s debut novel is a wonderfully crafted puzzle box, a coming-of-age travelogue through layers of truth that engages from the first page to the unexpected but entirely satisfying conclusion.” —Bruce Goldfarb, author of 18 Tiny Deaths

“Breier writes with fierce energy and a swampy verisimilitude in this twisty story of a woman unraveling a web of cruel lies. Surprising and affecting, it’s a terrifically entertaining exploration of emotional abuse and the cost of leaving your problems behind.” —Jeff Somers, author of The Electric Church

“Equal parts Freaks and Geeks, The Bad Seed and Welcome to the Dollhouse. I declined invitations to go out while I downed it in big gulps because I had to know what happened next.” —Liz Mason, manager of Quimby’s Bookstore (Chicago)

“…sticky, pre-digital, late 20th-century teenage attachments will suck you into a Central Florida liberally seasoned with 80s deep cuts.” —Ayun Halliday, author of No Touch Monkey!

“Sinkhole is fantastic and gives us a version of Florida that’s as complicated and heartfelt as the book’s characters: three best friends who try to survive a state full of ‘strip malls glued together by car dealerships, gas stations, fast food, and other invasive species.’ This beautifully rendered story asks us to consider how we are shaped by the lies other people tell about us and the ones we tell about ourselves. Davida Breier’s writing is lightning in a bottle — it’s sharp, focused, and pops on every page. Once you pick it up, you won’t be able to put it down.” —Tyler Gillespie, author of The Thing about Florida: Exploring a Misunderstood State

“Lies open up like sinkholes in Davida G. Breier’s compelling and nostalgic debut. Little fibs widen into gaping manipulations that swallow entire lives and turn the pages. Filled with spot-on nods to ‘80s culture, which rekindle the teen angst in us all, the truth could be a lifeline if these characters are able to climb out of what they lost in their youth.” —Gregg Wilhelm, Director, Mason Creative Writing, George Mason University

“Both haunting and haunted, Sinkhole exposes a universal truth that childhood is complicated and high school can be both formative and devastating. Those experiences have lasting, powerful, and profound ramifications. What Breier reveals so masterfully in her debut novel is a narrative filled with self-doubt, unseen possibilities, and the hope and freedom of recognizing, finally, the face looking back at you in the mirror.”—Brad Bertelli, author of The Florida Keys Skunk Ape Files and A Local’s Guide to Bloodline

“Sentence by sentence, the ground begins to give way in this marvelous tale.” —Rafael Alvarez, author of the Orlo & Leini stories and The Wire: Truth Be Told, and screenwriter for HBO-TV’s The Wire

“Sinkhole is a heartbreaking coming-of-age story in which central Florida is a main character. The novel captures the angst of high school friendships and their enduring effects, the danger of lies, and the pain of insecure teens. I was riveted by every page and the plot twists kept me guessing. The characters are authentic and the dialog real. A brilliant debut novel with a perfect alchemy of people, plot, and place.” —Marianne Bohr, author of Gap Year Girl

“I have read dozens and dozens of novels that take place in the Florida where I grew up, so it’s a rare pleasure to find an author who understands the place and avoids the usual stereotypes. I’m thrilled to recommend Davida G. Breier’s debut, Sinkhole, and what it portends. What a future!” —Jeff Klinkenberg, author of Son of Real Florida and winner of Florida Humanities Council’s 2018 “Florida Lifetime Achievement Award For Writing”

“…the exemplar of a page-turner. Sinkhole sucked me in and swirled me through page after page of guilty pleasures and hard-won insights from intimately relatable characters. A mature first work – more, please!” —Susan Gore, PhD, Board President, LGBTQ Resource Center, Gulfport Public Library