The visuals in this book are done really well and make the book feel grounded. The characters were interesting and fun to read about, and I really liked the POV switches and how it builds the sense of community that churches strive to create, while also showing the divide between the religious community and how different views can fracture a town and cause destruction. The world felt grounded in reality, and many of the characters were relatable. I enjoyed reading the book, but felt the pacing was going by too fast, and it also acted as a good reflection on how the real world works.

Robbie Doorman’s Words of Christ in Red is a blistering, blood-soaked meditation on faith, power, and the demons that wear holy faces. Set in the suffocating, judgmental heat of Sacred, Georgia, this southern gothic thriller rips apart the façade of righteousness to expose a core of rot, obsession, and dangerous belief.

At the heart of the novel is Pastor David Ingram—a man as complex as the church he’s been sent to save. Young, passionate, and unapologetically gay, David walks into a hornet’s nest of whispered prejudice, theological decay, and one very determined adversary: Eli Parsons, heir to the church’s legacy and guardian of its darkest secrets. Their clash is inevitable, and Doorman turns that tension into a spiritual and psychological powder keg.

Eli is not just a bigot hiding behind Bible verses—he’s something far more unsettling. The grotesque Christ in his basement, the whispered suffering behind his rituals, and his unwavering gaze on David all point toward a horror that’s as metaphysical as it is human. The church becomes a battleground not just for doctrine, but for souls—and maybe something older and crueler than God Himself.

Doorman’s prose is lyrical and sharp-edged, laced with dread and desperation. The novel dances on the edge of religious horror and psychological thriller, grounded by its flawed, fiercely human protagonist. David’s inner struggle—to lead with grace or fight with vengeance—is both deeply personal and profoundly theological. When he’s finally pushed to the edge, the choices he faces feel less like a climax and more like a revelation.

Words of Christ in Red is not for the faint of heart. It’s raw, unflinching, and spiritually provocative—less a sermon and more an exorcism. But for those who can stomach the darkness, it’s a powerful, unforgettable exploration of what happens when faith becomes a weapon and righteousness turns to wrath.

3.5 for the book itself, rounded up for an authentic depiction of pigs that I've been missing from the majority of horror books I've read over the past several months. What a cathartic ending 🩷

Words of Christ in Red by Robbie Dorman is a brutal horror novel about the conflicts between two sects of the same religion in a small southern town. On one side there is Eli, a traditional conservative Christian who wants to take the town's church back to its roots and on the other is David, a gay pastor from a bigger city who is invited to take the place of the town's deceased pastor.

The story is fast paced and interesting and it kept me turning pages. The villain is so deplorable it's easy to hate him and all the cast of characters that have his back - in particular Bronson, the town sheriff - but it's the characters on the good side that really kept me invested. David's relationship with his husband and son in particular felt well developed and real, and really showed the human side of what was happening in this town. David in particular, as the central character, was incredibly well-rounded. The exploration of his flaws and how he progressed from a young man into the adult pastor he became lent a lot of depth to the story.

The side characters in this story are strong as well. From Laurie, the former pastor's wife, to Zeke, a reformed drug addict, it's easy to see Dorman's exploration of religious trauma and how it can impact a community. This is especially true for Tommy, Eli's gay son, who is struggling with his own identity and what it means both for his faith and his family. Through David's steadfast belief in God and goodness, Dorman is able to right a lot of painful wrongs done to some members of the community, at least for a little while.

The only thing that felt off to me about this book was how abrupt the ending was. I would have liked to have seen the aftermath of the final showdown between the two sides, but it ends rather abruptly with no telling what happens after the credits roll.

This is a good read for horror buffs or anyone looking to explore their own religious traumas, however I will say this book really pulls no punches.

Thanks to Robbie Dorman for writing this book and providing me with an advanced copy to read.

This was one of the scariest books I've read to date. The real world horror was terrifying. I had this uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach the whole time. Everything kept ramping up and then the ending was a landslide of emotions.

There are some amazing things happening in this book, and also some inconsistencies on a craft level. I agree with other reviewers who found the ending too abrupt.

First, the good stuff. Hats off to anyone who trusts his audience enough to interweave deep theological debates into a Southern Gothic gore-fest. Christianity IS bloody and kinky. The book's main villain, Eli, goes mad because he can't accept his Jesus fetish and instead must moralize and project it outward as an apocalyptic battle for his church. David, the new gay pastor, is a fascinating character, because his commitment to self-sacrificial love is at war with his barely-contained rage at a lifetime of facing homophobia. Though his values are better, in some ways he's got a split personality like Eli's, and he knows it all too well.

As both main characters struggle to distinguish God's voice from their shadow impulses, we are treated to some visionary and sensual passages of writing. You will never think of wood glue the same way after reading the painfully erotic scene where Eli tries to repair his statue of the tortured Christ. So much sweat and ooze! David takes his own journey into the underworld with the help of hallucinogenic mushrooms from a swamp-dwelling wild man in the congregation.

The ending piled up a larger body count than "Hamlet". David's descent into violence reminded me of the country song "Coward of the County". I was disappointed that we don't find out how he copes with the consequences, legally or spiritually. It felt to me like the story abandoned its theological nuance and tension at the end, in order to have a Hollywood showdown.

The gorgeous passages cited above were oddly juxtaposed with writing that was flat and functional, with too many redundant dialogue tags. David's spouse and child had no personality development.

I admire this book's ambitions so much. Genre fiction and the novel of ideas do mix! I hope that the author's next work has more consistent literary polish because I am looking forward to more of his reflections on faith in action.

Words of Christ in Red by Dorman is a captivating, poetic exploration of faith and human struggle. The writing is powerful and evocative, offering a raw, emotional experience that resonates deeply. It’s a beautifully crafted work that leaves a lasting impact.

This book was at its best when highlighting the horrific aspects of Christianity (the brutality of crucifixion, the emphasis on suffering and physical torture as spirituality) -- there are certainly many aspects of both organized religion and the Bible that lend themselves to horror, especially body horror. But I'm just baffled as to why a gay man would pursue a career in an institution that actively promotes homophobia. I understand that he wants to help others see that God isn't synonymous with hatred and that the source text doesn't actually support their bigoted beliefs, but given the tepid reaction of the church administration during both his bullying at seminary and GUN-TOTING COUP later on, I'm not sure what he sees in the institution to be saved.

Words of Christ in Red is a religious horror novel about two sects in rural town fighting over control of the church. One faction is more progressive, lead by the openly gay pastor David who has just moved to town and accepted the pastor position after the last pastor's mysterious accident. The other is more 'traditionalist' (I don't like using that word for this but I can't think of another one in this context), lead by local Eli who wants the church to return to how it was before the church became more progressive.

This novel is a suspenseful, non-stop thrill ride from the beginning that culminates into a blood-soaked event. The story is amazing and kept my attention the entire time. With characters that are fascinating to read and get to know and short chapters that are easy to digest considering that some of the subject matter is a little heavy.

I also think that some of the discussions around religion and religious institutions was interesting to read, considering the state of religion in the world today and the sort of crossroads we're at in terms of progressive views and more traditionalist views. Bringing into question how we interpret ancient religious text in a modern society.

I literally can not recommend this novel enough. I'm shocked at how much I loved this, and how fast it climbed my ranking for favorite horror novels. I will be keeping an eye out for this author's future works for sure!!

As a lesbian who grew up in a Georgia Baptist church, Robbie Dorman could've been writing pieces of my biography in Words in Christ in Red. Brutal and brilliant, Dorman's triggered a lot of deep-seated fears religious gays have when considering the hate of neighbors. Has there ever been a more sympathetic character than Tommy?

Set in a backdrop of a southern small town, gay preacher David arrives with the mindset he's attending to a progressively religious church. From the start, though, members of the community reveal they have a violent hatred of queerness. David and his husband, Jason, are thrown into a blood soaked culture war led by Eli Parsons who, backed by the local cops, waves his bible over everyone with self-righteous fury.

There's a lot to love and appreciate here. Eli isn't sympathetic at all and his bigotry is Very There. He doesn't even toy with the notion of redemption, and he's so very, very evil. David is a fine enough protagonist and also harbors his own violent impulses, and it's a lot of fun when he lets them show through the pages. (Love a fist-fighting preacher, ok. More of that.)

Overall it's a quick, captivating read that's both horrifying and thrilling. There are some negatives - the abuse of commas, the sort of blandness between David and Jason, the lack of input from villains outside of Eli and the Sheriff, etc. I wish the southern gothic vibe was captured more clearly through settings (small churches can have like, 15 people but the most beautiful chapels you've ever seen), and I would've liked more use of religious iconography outside of the Jesus suffering on a cross (Listen - I love a crucifixion as much as anyone, and I can see why it came back so many times; but growing up stained glass windows could show so many biblical scenes and would've been equally as powerful, while still offering a sense of diversity).

A good pick for horror or gay book clubs.

📿⛪️🙏𝕲𝖔𝖉 𝖎𝖘 𝖜𝖆𝖙𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌🙏⛪️📿


"𝓣𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮'𝓼 𝓷𝓸 𝓰𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓱𝓪𝓽𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓷 𝓒𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓷 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮"

A church divided.

A congregation damned.

The Holy Church of Sacred is in need of a new Pastor after their last one tragically died in an accident, this is where Pastor David and his family come in, and move in to preach the good word of Jesus Christ.

But how can a gay man lead a church? Isn't that a sin? That was what the patriach of the small town, Eli, thinks, and his influence and delusions run heavy in the town. And he is not happy, not one bit, and he will do anything to get "his" church back.

This was such a thought-provoking, fast-paced, cruel, and engulfing read! I started it and finished it all within 24 hours. It was heavily cinematic while reading. The passion and rage within the pages were palpable. Living in a small town in the middle of SC and having been raised Catholic, this was very relatable in some of the hypocrisy that sometimes comes with sins. And the extremes of being a follower vs. a fanatic.

(Fun fact, I used to teach Sunday school)

If you enjoy a small town horror or religious, read this book right here for you.

I would love to thank NetGalley and Robbie Doorman for allowing me to read and review this e-book ARC. Can't wait to add to my bookshelves!

One of the reasons that this book won my attention was the cover, I've always loved religious paintings event though I'm not a religious person at the moment, I grow up in a very Christan house so maybe that´s why this book called me from the very beginning, religious trauma it's my favorite trope.

David is a gay pastor, he have been hired in this small town in order to replaced the last one who just died, he sees this like an opportunity to find a place to settle with his husband and son, what he doesn't know is how much violence he can face when some of the assistants of the church find his queernes sinful.

Through different POV we know the differents angles of the story, David the pastor, Eli who's conveinced that God is talking and guide him to reform the church and take it away from the "devil" ones, Tommy the 15 year old kid who's the son of Eli, and a few others who are part of this church congregation.

This book is violent, grotesque but also beautiful, when we are living in a time that rights are taken away from minorities and people are spreading hate, there is always people like David, Zeke or Anna who are ready to protect those who needed, the author do a very good job with the characters, I loved that David use verses from the Bible to defend against attacks, and his sermons were beautiful. Eli in the other side was a horrible and wicked character, I'm sure (sadly) that this type of persons exists.

The end for me was not what I expected, it felt like a few pages were missing.

Pastor David Ingram accepts a job in a small church in Georgia, taking over for his friend, the previous minister, who died in a tragic car crash. The job is offered to David by the late minister’s wife, and it doesn’t take long for the super-conservative congregation to split.

David, along with his husband and young son, are accused of bringing Satan into the church and continuing to change things as the previous pastor had begun. As David attempts to preach love and acceptance, Eli, a long standing member of the church, believes it is his calling to bring judgment and punishment to those who refuse to stay on his side. A commissioned statue of Christ is removed from the church, and Eli believes it is giving him commands straight from God.

WORDS OF CHRIST IN RED may be a bit more thriller than flat out horror, but supernatural elements do come in to play, especially when one of the faithful shows David his special way of communing with God.

Anyone who grew up in (or even visited) a small church can easily associate with the turmoils presented here, and the author builds enough suspense and tension that even if religious horror isn’t your thing, you may still find yourself racing through the pages to see what happens … and the final chapter will surely be debated by all who take this emotional trip.

It’s hard not to have some religious trauma if you grew up in the evangelical church like I did, and this book exemplifies the real human horrors that occur when people use religion to shield and justify their horrific actions. This is a book that I couldn’t look away from, terrifying, heartbreaking, but so raw and real. It’s short but brutal and fantastic. I highly recommend this one for any readers looking for some very human horrors.

This is a bloody religious horror novel set in a small town where competing factors wage a war for control of the church.

A gay pastor takes his first leadership role in a small town church in Georgia. He and his husband along with their young son see it as an opportunity to heal and unify the residents after the death of the former pastor..

But there are others who see this as a sin against God and a sin against themselves and all they hold sacred. And they're not above using extreme measures, in the name of God, to rid their town of the evil they believe is homosexuality.

From the brutal first chapter we know that this will not end well and this book has a spark of tension throughout which builds in waves until the horrific climax.

This novel sets two religious factions against each other. One clearly serves the God of the old testament, full of fury and fire. The man leading this side is formed of antiquated ideas and resists any progressive changes. But the sheriff is on his side allowing for violence and bloodshed to run freely.

The ending is a chaotic, brutal, gore filled event. It does end rather abruptly though. It felt jarring. But I still loved the story and definitely felt that it amplified events which are readily apparent in todays society but with more blood and gore! I highly recommend this if you want a good religious horror story between good and evil.

This was ok. The culmination in the crucifixion was really powerful and unexpected, but that’s really the only interesting part of this. The characters weren’t well developed, key things weren’t explained, and a lot of time was wasted in useless flashbacks that could have made the contemporary scenes relevant and interesting.