Stuart Turton
[isbn]
An atmospheric mystery with a time travel twist. Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11 p.m. the night of her parents’ gala at Blackheath Estate. And until he can uncover the murderer, Aiden is doomed to relive the day again and again, waking in the body of a different guest each time. Who can he trust? What can he change? This completely unique novel grabbed me immediately, and still hasn’t let me go.
Recommended by Madeline S.
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Alison Rumfitt
[isbn]
This has to be one of the most intense, searing, hits-you-like-a-bus, disturbing books I've read this year. I loved every minute of it. This is definitely NOT for the faint of heart as this is as extreme as extreme horror can get. But if you can stomach it, this is definitely worth your time.
Recommended by Chris P.
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Kelly Link
[isbn]
Kelly Link's debut novel is as expansive, funny, human, and strange as I could've possibly hoped. The Book of Love reads like it has a heart, beating so strongly and desperately, it strains at its container. The story is full of grief and friendship and acrimony, teenagers trying to sort through impossible feelings and circumstances, memories that erode and rewrite themselves and turn inside out. It's such a phenomenal feat; I'm so... (read more)
Recommended by Kelsey F.
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Stephen King
[isbn]
Stephen King sets a macabre table, inviting you to feast on a traditional hard-boiled detective story, with his signature flourishes of horror sifted into the mix. First introduced in King's novel, Mr. Mercedes, detective Holly Gibney, recovering from the death of an icy mother, is hired to investigate the disappearance of a young girl. What initially appears to be a simmering, straightforward case rapidly erupts into a chaotic mystery... (read more)
Recommended by Gary C. G.
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Lorrie Moore
[isbn]
Lorrie Moore has always been a writer whose words root into my veins, setting up camp for months after I think I’m done with them. I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home — a book about love and death and passion and grief and how all of it can be messy and muddy and bad but also sometimes, somehow, occasionally good and worthwhile — has already found a home in my bones. This book is so beautifully written and filled with such wild pathos... (read more)
Recommended by Kelsey F.
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Stephen King
[isbn]
Given the context of the story, it may be in poor taste to state that I devoured this book in a sitting; however, that makes the statement no less true. This is easily one of King's most intriguing plots: a serpentine supernatural thriller awash in compelling character arcs and teeming with tension and terror. This book is most certainly a worthy successor to the Mr. Mercedes trilogy — and does fans of Holly Gibney good to see her begin to truly... (read more)
Recommended by Shane H
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Sam Rebelein
[isbn]
Okay, so. SO. I honestly have no idea how to accurately sum up Edenville. This book has it all! Struggling author? Check. Strained relationships? Check. Massive amounts of gore and humor? Check. This is going to be the perfect Halloween read and I will be recommending it to my fellow horror enthusiasts!
Recommended by Chris P.
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Stephen King
[isbn]
For fans of King's crime novels and character studies, Billy Summers is a must read. The story's protagonist is an intriguing enigma, and the tale ranks with the best in what the action-adventure/mystery genre has to offer. Also, if you're into easter eggs, this one has a doozy.
Recommended by Shane H
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Erika Kobayashi, Brian Bergstrom
[isbn]
Kobayashi continues to weave generations of women into stories of the wounds of nuclear power and the hubris of war, this time in a lyrical collection of eleven short stories. These stories follow the growth and change of nuclear power and how it mirrors the lives of the women in these stories. Though these generations are simply trying to live their lives, they each become their own perfect example of the irrevocable consequences of... (read more)
Recommended by Aster A.
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Maru Ayase and Haydn Trowell
[isbn]
The Forest Brims Over is the first of Ayase's novels to be translated into English, and both the themes and writing style remind me of Han Kang's The Vegetarian. Ayase's approach to examining gender roles and exploitation in the literary world via magical realism was interwoven throughout in a way that never felt jarring to the plot. I appreciated the varied perspectives within this book and the different self-reflections this... (read more)
Recommended by Charlotte S.
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Cassandra Khaw
[isbn]
Without a doubt, the most insane thing (actually and in a good way) you'll read in 112 pages. The fairy tales got everything wrong. The kids are all frankensteined, the mermaid is eating discarded body parts, and the plague doctor is the hottest character ever written. Cassandra Khaw, I love you.
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Agustina Bazterrica, Sarah Moses
[isbn]
This collection of nineteen short stories is exactly what you would expect from the author of Tender is the Flesh, and I mean that in the best way. Once again, Bazterrica drags our darkest fears to light with tales of dystopia, alienation, and violence, but in her vivid and clever style, she also manages to make you laugh. This collection is witty, disturbing, and an absolute must-read. In many ways, reading these stories gave me that... (read more)
Recommended by Aster A.
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Bora Chung and Anton Hur
[isbn]
What a delightfully strange short story collection! Each story is so original — often unnerving, sometimes gut-wrenching, and all in their own way a critique of capitalism and the patriarchy.
Recommended by Charlotte S.
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Stephen King
[isbn]
The first true horror story I ever read and it's stuck with me ever since. For a good reason. Read with the lights on and NOT before bed.
Recommended by Addison H
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Stephen King
[isbn]
“This is how we bring about our own damnation, you know — by ignoring the voice that begs us to stop. To stop while there's still time.”
If you're looking for exceptionally compelling fiction that always manages to stay several steps ahead of you as a reader, then look no further than King's Revival. The story depicts the extraordinary confluence of events continually bringing Charles Jacobs, a former minister turned jaded spiritualist... (read more)
Recommended by Shane H
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Jade Song
[isbn]
A modern, thalassic gothic about girlhood, obsession, and queerness briny with wit so sharp I almost can't believe it's a debut. Song shines brighter than any mermaid scale you can dream up. Yes, even brighter than your older sister's tail in the pool all those summers ago. Drag us down into the depths, Jade. More, more, more!
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Alex Woodroe
[isbn]
If your eyes aren't on Portland-based publisher Tenebrous Press, you may need to get your prescription checked. This collection of Weird (with a capital "W") horror stories was concocted to unsettle and perplex you, and that it will. Highlighting Mae Murray's "The Imperfection" and Carson Winter's "In Haskins." Long live the Weird!
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Matt Blairstone and Alex Woodroe
[isbn]
WTFs abound in this anthology benefitting trans youth from a powerful union of trans writers exploring the darkest pits of body horror. No pulled punches to be found here, and why should they be? Trans people live through horrors every waking minute. Sit down, get uncomfy, and PROTECT TRANS KIDS ALWAYS.
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Mira Grant
[isbn]
Move over Disney's Ariel – these are the mermaids of your nightmares.
Recommended by Mecca A.
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Stephen Graham Jones
[isbn]
The end of this book had me up past one in the morning. A love letter to horror and slashers and survivors, tender and gory and funny and so, so smart. Jones has plucked all the best elements of the genre and catapulted somewhere totally new, with results that are as exciting as they are heartfelt. A book for anyone who has loved horror long enough to see themselves become a protagonist instead of a body in the background. Ridiculously good.
Recommended by SitaraG
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Victor LaValle
[isbn]
Victor LaValle is so good! Just — so good. His new book blends horror with the myth of the American West, in a story about Adelaide, a woman who will go to extraordinary lengths to protect both herself and the secret of her family's curse. This book is so inventive, so startling, so pleasantly strange, and has one of the most satisfying endings I've read in a long time. Already, I know it's one of the books that's going to get better the more I... (read more)
Recommended by Kelsey F.
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Eric LaRocca
[isbn]
If there's anything I've learned from LaRocca's work, it's that nothing is ever what it seems. In a spine-tingling subversion of the smalltown-with-secrets trope, Everything The Darkness Eats gives us a ruthless villain, a sympathetic yet disturbing main character, and more of its creator's signature writing style, which feels like it should be narrated by the late Tony Jay or Boris Karloff. You will be unnerved.
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Benjamin Percy
[isbn]
If you're looking for very well-written escapism, this sci-fi book is for you! Debris from a comet turns a dying Minnesota town into a violent, crazed, weird, greedy boom town. Percy is a successful superhero comic writer. It shows.
Recommended by Nan S.
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Alice Hoffman
[isbn]
The beginning of the most wonderful series. The matriarch of the Owens women finally gets her own story. I loved it.
Recommended by Sydney W.
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Nathan Ballingrud
[isbn]
In this horror-adjacent collection, Ballingrud sets up unique premises, intriguing characters, and white-knuckle tension in nearly every story. What happens when people in dire straits are faced with unimaginable horrors? Find out if you're not chicken!
Recommended by Adam B.
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Karl Ove Knausgaard, Martin Aitken
[isbn]
A dazzling meditation on death in the 21st century, this novel is filled with characters that will enchant, horrify, and excite you. Knausgaard walks the fine line of belief with all the grace of a master. A book no one should miss.
Recommended by Mug
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Adam Nevill
[isbn]
Brutal folk horror from the author of The Ritual — an English family buys a "fixer-upper" surrounded by ancient woods. It comes with THE WORST NEIGHBORS EVER.
Recommended by Miranda T.
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Ling Ling Huang
[isbn]
When does the pursuit of beauty cross the threshold into body horror? Why is female body horror often dismissed as innocuous? Is it because women spend their entire lives being told to contort and conform their bodies into a desired shape, no matter the personal cost? This novel is a biting examination of wellness culture, consumerism, otherness, and beauty standards. Huang takes on these topics in a wonderfully plotted, whirlwind of a nightmare... (read more)
Recommended by Charlotte S.
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Elizabeth Kostova
[isbn]
This literary mystery is a nested puzzle-box that keeps opening and opening. I love what a slow burn it is and how seriously it takes its premise — what if a real historian really inherited an ancient book that had led to ruin for its previous owners? The seemingly fantastical elements are grounded in real history. Deeply creepy, deeply satisfying.
Recommended by Claire A.
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Hailey Piper
[isbn]
A noxious blend of horror and romance through an unabashedly queer lens from the name in horror no one can stop screaming about, Hailey Piper. Themed around women's agency and its incessant overriding, Queen of Teeth speaks to those who see the delight in the disgusting, the fairness in ferocity, and the vaudeville in the villainous. And, of course, to the gays.
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Katrina Monroe
[isbn]
I was on edge from the very moment I started reading. This book is deliciously eerie, twisty, and thrilling. Revolving around a line of cursed women — passed down mother to daughter — a crumbling lighthouse, and a skeptical woman determined to be different from her family, all set on the rocky shores of Cape Disappointment. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book since putting it down!
Recommended by Bee D.
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KC Jones
[isbn]
Wow. This read felt like being in a movie theater — all of the horrors larger than life, swallowing me whole. Me — wide-eyed and on the edge of my seat, muttering 'oh no' beneath my breath. This is a monster movie of a book. But in the deft hands of K. C. Jones, it's also a character study of two flawed people who find their reason to live at the end of the world. Cancel your plans and get comfy, you're in for a wild ride.
Recommended by Heather A.
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Eric LaRocca
[isbn]
Eric LaRocca is a master of atmosphere and We Can Never Leave This Place is a study in how the true power of horror lies in the untold and nondescript. Gothic and morose, delicate and heartfelt, the fine line between grotesque and dazzling is where you’ll find LaRocca dancing like a Puritan girl liberated by witchcraft, naked and levitating. You’ll start this book willingly, hand-in-hand, but by the closing pages it’ll be dragging you... (read more)
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Vince A. Liaguno and Rena Mason
[isbn]
As a peer and self-identified "other," I ran to this book like a madman. It's hard to say I was terrified by any of the stories in this compilation because I'm too focused on the justice of an inclusive horror anthology with Big 5 traction, but that's not to say that you won't be. The stories are both feral and poised, grotesque and dazzling, highlighting Hailey Piper's "The Turning" and Tananarive Due's "Incident at Bear Creek Lodge."
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Ainslie Hogarth
[isbn]
What an icky book, in the best possible way. Whip-smart writing on Hogarth's part. Some of the lines prompted me for the first time ever to take a highlighter to a printed book (don't worry, I didn't). Both a commentary on motherhood and inherited family trauma, Motherthing takes a foreboding and insidious plot and turns it into something else. Something, dare I say it, cheerful. Dark-horse book of the year for me.
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Clive Barker
[isbn]
I read this collection of stories at the tender age of 15 and the stories have stuck with me over half my life. The terror instilled in this collection exudes our most primal fears. Clowns? Check. Being alone on the train? Check. The inherent terror of the English countryside? Check. Clive Barker does it all and everyone will find a story to haunt them.
Recommended by Lauren M
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Stephen King
[isbn]
In this difficult world we're in, sometimes we want to wrap ourselves in the fantastic lands and breath and story that Stephen King can bring. Fairy Tale is such a place. It is all we know, but covered with the beautiful skin of King's imagination.
Recommended by Doug C.
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Conner Habib
[isbn]
Hawk Mountain is a queer horror story as tender as a caress to the cheek before the snapping of a neck. It begins when two classmates, Todd and Jack, victim and bully, meet again after fifteen years. Todd, now a single father, is less than thrilled about this reunion — especially as "can we catch up" turns into "can I stay the week" and Jack begins to worm his way into Todd and his son's life. What happens next is as unexpected as it is... (read more)
Recommended by Nicole S
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Mae Murray
[isbn]
Too often queer authors — queer people — are expected to be congenial. Unless queer characters are lawful good and palatable to a broadly heteronormative audience, they are vilified. Even by queer communities who demand that queer writers create within moral guidelines that don't exist for their non-queer contemporaries. The Book of Queer Saints puts fangs back into the mouth of queer authors. It's the queer jailbreak you've been waiting... (read more)
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Agustina Bazterrica and Sarah Moses
[isbn]
Tender is the Flesh is one of the most disturbing but also one of the more beautifully written books I have read in some time. In the vein of Clive Barker and his Books of Blood, the tale told will not leave you for days. Can you handle a bite?
Recommended by Lauren M
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Joe Vallese, Carmen Maria Machado, Bruce Owens Grimm
[isbn]
Required reading for any queer horror enthusiasts. I can remember feeling very lonely in my adoration of horror as a queer man growing up. Sure, I had friends who loved horror movies like me.But when we'd reflect on our viewing experience, I couldn't help but feel a distinct sense of othering. It Came from the Closet holds the conversations I wish I'd had then. Haven't screamed, "YES, EXACTLY!" this many times in my whole life.
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Sangu Mandanna
[isbn]
Okay, so you’ve read all of TJ Klune, Becky Chambers, T. Kingfisher — but there has to be something else, right? You are in luck, because The Secret Society of Very Irregular Witches is exactly the book you need. Mika is a South Asian witch who is mysteriously summoned to a house hidden in the countryside to tutor three young girls in controlling their magic. Found family, a cranky librarian, and a car whose interior magically expands... (read more)
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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Grady Hendrix
[isbn]
A book that poses the question: what if your favorite slashers were based on real people? by taking a look into the long and short term effects of the trauma associated with being a Final Girl, this novel delves even deeper into what would happen if they continued to be hunted. Can you trust your own already-proven instincts? How does being a Final Girl affect your life and those around you? Fans of the 80s and 90s slasher films will have a blast... (read more)
Recommended by Lauren M
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Peter Straub
[isbn]
Unrelenting — by the end I was begging it to stop and praying that it wouldn't. Like a bad dream in all the best ways.
Recommended by Warren B.
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Sheridan Le Fanu
[isbn]
Yes, the patriarchy has wronged us again. Shocking. This time, it has robbed us of Carmilla, the deliciously sapphic vampire gothic that predates Bram Stoker's Dracula by almost half a century. Don't feel bad that you haven't heard of her. It's not your fault. Do yourself a favor; get lost in Le Fanu's sensuous prose and be sure to mind charming strangers on moonlit strolls.
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Gus Moreno
[isbn]
This Thing Between Us is a horror novel with a bleeding heart. Simultaneously eerie and affecting, it warns how grief can corrupt and let evil into our lives, despite our best intentions. I was struck by how timely and urgent this book was, too: Moreno manages to blend his supernatural scares with the horrors of our contemporary lives. The result becomes something unsettling and deeply honest.
Recommended by Nicole S
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Monica Ojeda
[isbn]
This book is challenging in all of the right ways. Ojeda's experimental use of language is well-preserved in Booker's English translation. Jawbone straddles the line between horror and pure psychological fiction, playing with symbolism, psychoanalysis, and pop culture references to weave a fascinating meta take on the horror genre. It's often gross and unsettling, and it's not like anything else I've ever read before (which is one of the... (read more)
Recommended by Mar S.
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Gretchen Felker-Martin
[isbn]
Both a brutal fist to the teeth and a tender cry, Manhunt is unlike anything I've ever read. Fran and Beth are an insurmountable duo and I was locked in from the very first word. This book is a carbon-fiber arrow to the shoulder — it sticks with you and it hurts like a mother.
Recommended by Stacy W.
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V. Castro
[isbn]
Jennifer's Body and The Craft collide in this summery south Texas possession tale. Despite its finish-in-an-afternoon length, it packs a hefty, feminist uppercut to the chin. Reflexively engrossing from beginning to end. If it had a credit roll, "Quien Paga" by PIERI would be blasting over it.
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Peter Rock
[isbn]
Passersthrough is a gripping, slippery, spooky book about fragile family bonds, loneliness, and what we choose to remember. A welcome return from Peter Rock, this is a thoroughly Oregon book — filled with mountains, forests, lakes, and creatures.
Recommended by Kelsey F.
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Grady Hendrix
[isbn]
Clever, clever, hair-raising, and then cleverer still, Horrorstör is one of those books that makes you feel hip when reading it. Equal parts consumerism commentary and true-to-form haunted house horror, Horrorstör is one of those books you never shut up about it. Plus it's really fun to read in public, hehe.
Recommended by Stacy W.
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Karl Ove Knausgaard
[isbn]
Following multiple story lines, Knausgaard provides his usual great writing and takes on the world, but also a touch of science fiction and even suspense. After devouring the My Struggle series, I didn't know what to expect from the Norwegian author's fiction, but it was as addictive and enjoyable as everything else he writes.
Recommended by Jeffrey J.
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Cassandra Khaw
[isbn]
I loved Khaw's beautiful prose and how she describes everything so perfectly. I was able to picture everything she described and it really threw me into the story. I am in awe of her ability to craft similes and metaphors in such a clever and brilliant way. I also learned a lot about Japanese folklore, which is incredibly interesting, and wonderfully terrifying.
Recommended by Parker W.
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John Darnielle
[isbn]
John Darnielle has created an intriguing, multilayered novel that interrogates the true crime genre’s highest aspirations and basest instincts. Devil House is a gripping read that raises important questions about what the true costs of salacious stories are, and who pays them.
Recommended by Keith M.
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Grady Hendrix
[isbn]
This was my first introduction to the "horror novel." I was unsure if I would like it, but it did not disappoint! This was a full-blown thriller with twists and turns. With just enough gore to make one shiver.
Recommended by Mariette E.
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Caitlin Starling
[isbn]
A haunted house, a doctor trapped by the shame of his past, a determined and headstrong heroine, gothic romance, all sprinkled with blood, gore and fantasy elements — literally what is there not to love? This book had everything I could have possibly wanted — and I can't wait to dive into the rest of Caitlin Starling's books now, too.
Recommended by Nicole S.
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Silvia Moreno Garcia
[isbn]
Mexican Gothic is such a relief: it breathes fresh air into an old genre with a vibrancy and lushness of atmosphere that is so easy to get lost in. I fell in love with the courageous, fiery protagonist Noemí and found myself glued to every page, desperate to see her succeed. Moreno-Garcia does such a fantastic job weaving the Gothic tropes we all know and love into something timely, jarring, and downright chilling.
Recommended by Nicole S.
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Stephen Graham Jones
[isbn]
Jade is the ultimate slasher fan, and her prayers are answered when her dead-end hometown starts mimicking the plot points of her favorite films. Like all the best of these movies, My Heart is both a gory popcorn thrill ride and a warped lens to better see the very real horrors that humans inflict on each other. Don't start reading it after dark, and stay clear of the abandoned summer camp filled with secrets.
Recommended by Michelle C.
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Mona Awad
[isbn]
All's Well is a swirling, intoxicating, otherworldy story about chronic pain, power imbalances, and the theatre. While putting on one of Shakespeare's problem plays, Miranda Fitz has an encounter with a mysterious trio that magically cures her debilitating pain (at a cost), and sets her on a dizzying path toward opening night and protecting her newfound lightness. It's dark, it's comedic, it's surreal and relatable — it's Mona Awad at... (read more)
Recommended by Michelle C.
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Cherie Dimaline
[isbn]
Joan’s husband has been missing for a year when she sees a man who looks and sounds like him, but he keeps insisting he is someone else. With a cast of quirky and idiosyncratic characters, Joan sets out to discover what happened to her husband, and why.
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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Stephen King
[isbn]
Another solid King novel, his third in the Hard Case Crime series. There's certainly nothing unique about the story. It's a coming-of-age tale of a kid with a special power (or is it a curse?), but it's done well, as King tends to do, and if you're a fan of the bestselling author, this is a must-read. If you're not a fan, Later is a good gateway to other works.
Recommended by Jeffrey J.
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Edgar Cantero
[isbn]
If you have fond memories of Scooby Doo, and wonder what it might look like updated to today, laced with some Lovecraftian rocket fuel, and stripped of the cheesy rubber masks at the end, this book is a nonstop thrill ride!
Recommended by Warren B.
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Stephen Graham Jones
[isbn]
Not for the squeamish — this story starts with a rush and rarely lets up. Along with the horror, though, comes a heartbreaking, eye-opening look at the consequences of the tectonic stresses building and releasing at the borders between the Indigenous and white cultures.
Recommended by Warren B.
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Yu Miri
[isbn]
A doleful, ethereal, even diaphanous tale of the forgotten and forlorn, Yu Miri's Tokyo Ueno Station (translated from the Japanese by Morgan Giles) — a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award for Translated Literature — conjures considerations of class, loss, memory, history, and societal indifference. Kazu has already shuffled off this mortal coil, but he must, even in death, endure more suffering still (after losing his career, his... (read more)
Recommended by Jeremy G.
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Karen Russell
[isbn]
In Sleep Donation, insomnia is a mysteriously contracted and potentially fatal condition. Trish works for an organization that has sprung up to help — encouraging people to donate their sleep and parceling it out to sleepless people in need. Ethical quandaries, scientific marvels, and a literal nightmare public relations disaster ensue. Karen Russell is a master of atmosphere: This book gave me goosebumps in a heatwave. It reminded me of... (read more)
Recommended by Michelle C.
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Hester Fox
[isbn]
The Witch of Willow Hall is a well-written, old-fashioned ghostly suspense tale made all the more enjoyable by a slow-build romance that doesn’t overtake the plot but only deepens it. A strong, smart protagonist with believable flaws, buried secrets, sisterly rivalry, lies and tragedy, all set in the misty countryside of colonial New England, had me devouring pages long after my bedtime.
Recommended by Steph C.
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M R Carey
[isbn]
This is the terrific story of Melanie: a young girl caught in a dystopic land, kept in a jail cell, guns pointed at her every day, and all she wants to do is go to school. Don't read anything else about this book — you have to just dive in blind. With an absolutely perfect ending, The Girl With All the Gifts is a straight-up fantastic, fun read!
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Jennifer McMahon
[isbn]
Jennifer McMahon hits another one out of the park with her sinister story of a family descended from a witch. Hattie repeatedly warned of impending disasters, and was hung for her foresight. When Nate and Helen buy Hattie's old property at the edge of a bog and begin to build their dream house, the townspeople are less than thrilled. Soon things are disappearing, Helen and Nate are seeing things, warnings are revealed, and evil (?) things are... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Caitlin Starling
[isbn]
So creepy and fascinating! A thrilling debut from a PNW author, this book is really hard to put down. Gyre is a caver who may or may not have falsified some of her credentials in order to get a job. She soon discovers the job itself is not as advertised, and her employer is keeping things from her. Spooky and atmospheric, this book is an amazing combination of psychological thriller, extreme adventure story, and creeping horror. Highly, highly... (read more)
Recommended by Azalea M.
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Vikram Paralkar
[isbn]
Night Theater is a gripping parable of the limits of medical science and human resilience. The big questions of morality and mortality presented by this tale will haunt readers more than any ghosts ever could.
Recommended by Keith M.
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Josh Malerman
[isbn]
Bird Box is the scariest book I have read in years and I have read many scary books. I jumped out of my chair while reading it when my wife came home unexpectedly one evening. It's not for the fainthearted.
Recommended by Jeffrey J.
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Leigh Bardugo
[isbn]
Leigh Bardugo’s adult debut is an immersive, heart-pounding, brain-twisting read set in an alternate New Haven. Alex Stern’s connection to Yale’s secret societies may be more dangerous than she bargained for. Drenched in magic and darkness, this world will clench you between its bony fingers until the end.
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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Paul Tremblay
[isbn]
There might be five pages that aren't suspenseful in The Cabin at the End of the World, and that's only if you don't read the synopsis. Tremblay will draw you in beginning with a friendly stranger stopping by to chat with a little girl playing in her front yard, and it won't end until the final page. Be prepared to stay up past your bedtime.
Recommended by Jeffrey J.
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Stephen King
[isbn]
Last summer's The Outsider was one of Stephen King's best books in years, and this summer's The Institute proves that King is again writing some of his best work. With echoes of Firestarter, Carrie, and It, The Institute includes some of King's strongest ingredients — kids with telekinetic and telepathic powers, government conspiracy, and a showdown between good and evil elements in the world... (read more)
Recommended by Lucinda G.
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Melanie Golding
[isbn]
I'll read just about anything with elements of creepy folklore, so I was all over this contemporary-thriller-meets-modern-fairy-tale. And it met my high hopes — I was fully engaged from the beginning, and sections were downright terrifying.
Recommended by Emily F.
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Joe Hill
[isbn]
It's no wonder that Joe Hill is one of my favorite authors of horror. These electrifying, horrifyingly fantastical stories are mind-blowing! Huge imagination and strange creatures
make Full Throttle so good! Perfect for around the campfire!
Recommended by Adrienne C.
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Benjamin Percy
[isbn]
Since Benjamin Percy never writes the same book twice, I wasn't sure what to expect when I opened his latest. By the end of it, I still wasn't sure. Is it literature, horror, pointed social commentary, or some sort of hybrid? He defies expectations with and between his stories, which range from the grittily realistic to the highly supernatural, and together they form a powerfully affecting display of Percy's range. My personal favorite was... (read more)
Recommended by Lauren P.
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Stephen Chbosky
[isbn]
Having read the entirety of Stephen King's oeuvre during my teen years, I have very definite ideas of what horror should be. And Imaginary Friend has everything I want: a huge page count, multiple narrators and endless back stories, gruesome visuals, and an epic showdown between good and evil. It all begins when Christopher and his mother move to the small town of Mill Grove. Fleeing a painful past and an abusive relationship, Kate hopes... (read more)
Recommended by Lauren P.
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Daniel Mallory Ortberg
[isbn]
Daniel Ortberg — perhaps most famous for cofounding the wry and side-splitting feminist website The Toast — brings us his deliciously subverted collection of classic fairy tales that turn gendered expectations on their head. Hilarious, dark, deeply intelligent — in short, unmissable.
Recommended by Cosima C.
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Katherine Howe
[isbn]
Connie moves into her grandmother's house to ready it for sale. She stumbles upon an ancient key with a tiny piece of paper rolled up inside it which reads: "Deliverance Dane." The search for the meaning of this phrase leads Connie to witches, hangings, a bit of romance, a little supernatural phenomenon, and an elusive spell book. Katherine Howe is an art historian and her own ancestors include Elizabeth Howe and Elizabeth Proctor, both of whom... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Paul Tremblay
[isbn]
One sign of a successful book is how much you think about it after turning its last page. On that count, Head Full of Ghosts is a resounding success. I've thought of this book many times since finishing it... often on rainy dark nights, when I wonder how in the world the author wove such a believable young narrator in with a story that seems straightforward at first, but becomes increasingly creepy and meta. So yeah, I still think about... (read more)
Recommended by Bart K.
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David Wong
[isbn]
If the idea of a talented, funny, irreverent author throwing all of his best ideas about aliens, drug use, horror, and slapstick into a bag, shaking it, and then throwing that hot mess onto the page sounds appealing, then John Dies at the End is for you. Me? I loved the novel's lack of preciousness, its verve, and its outrageous humor. My theory is that this book makes an auspicious gift for anyone you don't know well. It will either... (read more)
Recommended by Bart K.
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M R Carey
[isbn]
M. R. Carey's newest novel is one of the most gripping books I've read all year. Like The Girl With All the Gifts and Fellside, Someone Like Me wrapped me tightly in the world of its characters. Fran, Liz, and Zac stole my heart, and I cared what happened to each of them as they fought for their lives in more ways than one.
Recommended by Emily F.
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Laird Hunt
[isbn]
In the House in the Dark of the Woods is a dreamlike, spooky, and disorienting new fairy tale set in colonial New England. With its lyrical prose and the questions it raises about freedom, self, motherhood, and evil, this book fits right in with stories by masters such as the Grimms.
Recommended by Emily F.
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Deborah Harkness
[isbn]
Harkness’s newest novel is a love story full of magic and the supernatural. It follows vampire Marcus and soon-to-be vampire Phoebe through their pasts and present. Fans will recognize the characters from the All Souls Trilogy, but this book stands on its own.
Recommended by Jennifer H.
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Stephen King
[isbn]
Set in Castle Rock, a town well known to Stephen King fans, Elevation is a surprisingly optimistic (but still, of course, incredibly creepy) new novel from the master. Drawing on the themes of community and strength in the face of prejudice and evil that King has threaded throughout his earlier work, Elevation meets the consistently high standard that the author has set for himself.
Recommended by Lucinda G.
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Shelley Jackson
[isbn]
As a longtime fan of Shelley Jackson, I was incredibly excited to read her new book — and it exceeded even my sizable expectations. Riddance is a wild dream written in extraordinarily precise and stunning prose. A ghost story, an alternative scientific universe, and the story of some thrillingly compelling characters, Riddance is the most original and innovative novel I've read in years.
Recommended by Jill O.
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Shirley Barrett
[isbn]
Simply put, Eleanor is at a crossroads. Fed up with her useless cancer support group, her unsupportive friends, and her indifferent ex, she decides to take a teaching position in isolated Talbingo. Their previous teacher, the beloved Miss Barker, has disappeared without a trace — what timing! Perhaps Eleanor's luck is about to change... or perhaps not. With her snarky wit and old-school horror style, Barrett has mastered the art of the small-town... (read more)
Recommended by Lauren P.
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Stephen King
[isbn]
King’s newest thriller is absolutely terrifying. A young boy is found murdered and all evidence points to the town Little League coach. But the coach has an alibi: How can he be in two places at once?
Recommended by Lucinda G.
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Amelia Gray
[isbn]
The world as written by Amelia Gray is a deeply unsettling place, and I visit it every chance I get. Her stories are both bizarre and relatable, and she is startlingly good at carving out the essence of being human. This collection is like something I imagine Kelly Link or George Saunders might write if you left them alone in the dark for too long.
Recommended by Emily F.
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Jac Jemc
[isbn]
Yikes, this is one disturbing book! Jemc pens a wholly unsettling book about a couple who buy a house in the country, where things do not go as planned. From the creepy neighbor, to the drawings on the walls, to the moldy water, to the shifting spaces (both inside and out), to the bruises on the wife's body, to the constant and just barely audible hum, buying this house was clearly a bad decision. Jemc ramps up the tension and unease on every... (read more)
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Mira Grant
[isbn]
We all know there are lots of creepy crawlies living deep in the ocean, but in the first book of Mira Grant's latest series, what lurks below is much worse than anglerfish and spider crabs. This book had me hooked at "flesh-eating mermaids," but it delivered more than just novelty. Into the Drowning Deep will suck you in, creep you out, and totally change the way you look at Ariel.
Recommended by Emily F.
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Nick Cutter
[isbn]
Little Heaven is everything I look for in a horror story: tense, engrossing, multi-layered, and just plain scary. In other words, it's exactly what I've come to expect (and crave) from Nick Cutter. Cutter is one of very few writers who can really, deeply creep me out and whose books I love just as much on the second read — which is why he's officially my favorite horror writer. (Please don't tell Stephen King I said that.)
Recommended by Emily F.
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Jess Kidd
[isbn]
Himself is a cross between a Tim Burton movie and an Agatha Christie story. It's dark, hilarious, and keeps you guessing. A ghostly murder mystery typically isn't on the top of my list, but Kidd is so original and dreamy, all the while keeping the emotional plot from derailing; this book is a universal gem.
Recommended by Sam K.
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Carlos Ruiz Zafón and Lucia Graves
[isbn]
This is an exciting mystery centered around a "forgotten" book. There's someone evil gathering up all known copies an author's book, burning them, and then burning away all traces of the author. The evil person calls himself by the name the book gives for the devil. Two surprise revelations make this a great, fast-paced, fun read. Carlos Ruiz Zafón is a master at producing a page-turner.
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Shirley Jackson
[isbn]
Everyone wears a mask, a public self that conceals the inner, true self. Shirley Jackson is the master of capturing the subtle horror of the moment when the mask slips. She sets her stories in harmless places — cheerful suburbs, beloved vacation spots, well-known cities — and skillfully peels back the layers of ordinary life to expose the hypocrisy, cruelty, and pure evil underneath. Her talent lies in taking everything that is familiar and... (read more)
Recommended by Lauren P.
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Stephen King and Owen King
[isbn]
Stephen and Owen King have combined their considerable powers to write a chilling, moving, and eerie novel for our times. What would happen if all the women in the world went to sleep — and never woke up? Sleeping Beauties answers that question with grace, humor, and terrifying yet fascinating consequences.
Recommended by Jill O.
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Kat Howard
[isbn]
A fast-paced and thrilling magical adventure, full of duels, betrayals, and dark secrets, An Unkindness of Magicians is deeply absorbing and compelling. Magic is fading and losing its power, despite the immense sacrifices being made on its behalf. Can balance be restored, or will magic be lost forever?
Recommended by Mary Jo S.
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Patrick Suskind
[isbn]
"He coveted the odor of certain human beings: those rare humans who inspire love." So begins Jean-Baptiste Grenouille's single-minded plot to capture the scent that will change him, and ultimately, the world. But the scent and the person, so intertwined, must first be wrenched apart and sacrificed to his evil plan. Creepy, gripping, and fabulous!
Recommended by Dianah H.
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Angela Carter
[isbn]
A collection of the best adaptations of classic fairy tales, with a feminist flare, modern twists, and carnal delights. Carter's writing is everything that is great about the perfect short story. Every word synergizes with the others to create layers of meaning that resonate with the soul, heart, and mind. Reading it is an intense experience.Carter uses visceral prose to exhilarate and titillate. Each tale offers suspense and satisfaction on a... (read more)
Recommended by Alex K.
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