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| The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas1820s Mexico: Seeking a fresh start after the Mexican War of Independence, impoverished Beatriz marries widower Don Rodolfo Solórzano and moves into his country estate, the Hacienda San Isidro.
Welcome home? Plagued by strange dreams and superstitious staff, Beatriz suspects that Rodolfo's first wife was murdered, and, with the help of a priest, begins investigating the hacienda's haunted history.
For fans of: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. |
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| The Fervor by Alma KatsuWhat it's about: A deadly disease sweeps through a Japanese American internment camp in 1944, connecting the fates of a handful of characters in the camp and elsewhere.
Why you might like it: Told from multiple perspectives, this compelling horror novel inspired by Japanese folklore will keep readers turning the pages to see how the characters' lives intersect.
Featuring: the shape-shifting jorogumo spider demon. |
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| The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahonThen: In 1978 Vermont, monster-hunting siblings Vi and Eric lived with their psychiatrist grandmother on the grounds of the Hillside Inn, a treatment facility for the mentally ill.
Now: Forty years later, Lizzy Shelley, the host of the popular Monsters Among Us podcast, heads to Vermont to investigate the link between a young girl's abduction and a monster sighting -- and to tie up some loose ends from her past.
Read it for: a twisty homage to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. |
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| Hidden Pictures by Jason RekulakHow it begins: Newly sober Mallory takes a job as a live-in nanny to sweet five-year-old Teddy, who has a penchant for drawing.
What happens next: When Teddy's artwork takes a creepy turn, depicting a woman's gruesome murder, Malloy suspects the boy may be possessed. But will anyone believe her?
For fans of: Keith Donohue's The Boy Who Drew Monsters. |
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| Abbott: 1973 by Saladin Ahmed; illustrated by Sami KiveläStarring: tough-as-nails Detroit reporter Elena Abbott, who's trying to save her city from a supernatural menace out to sabotage the upcoming mayoral election.
Why you might like it: Eisner Award-winning writer (and Detroit native) Saladin Ahmed's creepy latest offers an evocative blend of horror and urban fantasy.
Art alert: Sami Kivelä's realistic and richly detailed illustrations bring the gritty action and otherworldly threats to vivid life.
Nominee, Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel |
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| All These Bodies by Kendare BlakeWhat it is: a fast-paced thriller inspired by a real-life murder spree from the 1950s which left victims mysteriously drained of blood.
Starring: 17-year-old Michael Jenson, an aspiring journalist hoping to cover the murder in his Midwestern town. Fifteen-year-old Marie Catherine Hale, found covered in blood at the scene, chooses Michael alone to hear her horrifying story.
For fans of: tales of small-town murder with supernatural speculations, like Lauren Oliver's Broken Things.
Nominee, Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel |
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| My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham JonesStarring: misanthropic Blackfeet teen Jade Daniels, who lives her life like she's in a slasher movie -- and she's long suspected that her rapidly gentrifying Idaho town is the perfect setting for one.
What happens: When a series of strange deaths begin making the local news, Jade pins all her hopes on new-in-town Letha to be the "final girl" who will save their community from an impending massacre.
What sets it apart: This gory meta-horror novel from Stephen Graham Jones (The Only Good Indians) blends searing social commentary with a thought-provoking subversion of the genre's well-worn tropes.
Winner, Superior Achievement in a Novel |
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Nothing But Blackened Teeth
by Cassandra Khaw
What it is: a menacing haunted house novella set in an isolated Heian-era mansion in Japan during a modern-day couple's wedding celebrations.
Read it for: the spine-tingling appearances of Japanese mythological creatures, including the bake-danuki and the ohaguro-bettari.
Who it's for: Readers who enjoy creepy folklore-tinged horror stories like Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic will want to check out this suspenseful latest from rising horror author Cassandra Khaw.
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| When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueenYou're invited: Returning to her small North Carolina hometown for the plantation wedding of a childhood friend, Black high school teacher Mira reluctantly steps foot on the same grounds where she once encountered the ghost of an enslaved person.
'Til death... With the antebellum-themed nuptials underway, the spirits of the enslaved begin seeking revenge on the descendants of their tormentors, and it's up to Mira to confront the plantation's haunted history and her own connection to it if she wants to survive.
Nominee, Superior Achievement in a First Novel |
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The Book of Accidents
by Chuck Wendig
What it's about: After his teenage son Oliver is bullied at school, former cop Nate Graves reluctantly uproots his family to his childhood home in rural Pennsylvania, the site of many unhappy memories.
What happens next: Plagued by visions of his abusive father, Nate is forced to confront the family secrets he's long kept buried. Meanwhile, Oliver's made a new friend with dark motivations.
Book buzz: This sinister latest from Bram Stoker nominee Chuck Wendig (Wanderers) "will be catnip to horror fans" (Kirkus Reviews).
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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