|
|
| The Pandora Room by Christopher GoldenWhat it's about: When the mythological Pandora's Box is found in a subterranean Iraqi city, Department of Defense fixer Ben Walker is called in to investigate the threats coming both from the artifact itself and from the jihadist forces eager to harness its power.
Why you might like it: This eerie claustrophobic chiller offers well-developed characters, formidable human and supernatural adversaries, and pulse-pounding tension.
Series alert: The Pandora Room is the 2nd Ben Walker novel, following the Bram Stoker Award-winning Ararat. |
|
| Little Darlings by Melanie GoldingThe premise: Recovering in the hospital after the birth of her twins, exhausted mom Lauren Tranter is visited by a sinister figure who tells her "I'll take yours and you can have mine." Her doctors blame sleep deprivation for her seeming hallucinations.
What happens next: Lauren's twins mysteriously vanish from a park, but when they're found unharmed, only Lauren knows that something is terribly wrong...these babies aren't hers.
Read it for: a haunting take on changeling folklore; an unflinching depiction of contemporary motherhood. |
|
| The Invited by Jennifer McMahonWhat it is: a compelling ghost story with a twist -- a haunted house is built, rather than moved into.
How it happens: Drawn to the traumatic history of her property (hint: it involves witches), Helen Wetherell collects artifacts connected to the grounds, hoping to build them into her new home. Her efforts reveal long-buried secrets...and unleash vengeful ghosts.
Try this next: For another fresh take on a haunted house story, check out Ezekiel Boone's The Mansion, set in a smart home menaced by its own AI. |
|
|
Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto MooreThe Premise: A music blogger discovers a remarkable new track by an unknown band, Beautiful Remorse. It's more than hypnotic, literally entrancing the listener for hours. And it's only the first track from their new album. How it Happens: As Beautiful Remorse drops a track a day on Bandcamp for ten days straight, and the narrator joins them on tour, it becomes clear that something strange is going on. Each new song has a more powerful and destructive effect on those who hear it. Remorse's lead singer Airee Macpherson is aiming this album at the world like a loaded gun, for a bizarre purpose of her own. Read it for: Playwright Moore puts together a fast-paced tale of an indie music scene and occult sf weirdness that doesn't lose momentum despite its rather frenzied conclusion.This debut novella is a lean, quick read with no fat.
|
|
|
The bone keeper by Luca Veste
What it's about: Set in Liverpool, England, this formulaic thriller from Veste centers on a legendary bogeyman known as the Bone Keeper, who slices off the flesh of his victims and keeps the bones. What happens: A decade before, two girls and two boys seek out the Bone Keeper in a dark tunnel, the being's supposed lair. They become scared and flee the tunnel, but one boy doesn't make it out. Present day, Det. Constable Louise Henderson and her partner, Det. Sgt. Paul Shipley, investigate the case of Caroline Rickards, whom they interview in the hospital. Caroline, who has been attacked by someone who sliced the skin off multiple parts of her body, asserts that the Bone Keeper is real and responsible for her injuries. Why you might like it: A well-crafted, deliciously unsettling blend of police procedural and horror folklore that shares appeal with John Connolly's and Lauren Beukes' thrillers. |
|
|
| What Should Be Wild by Julia FineMeet: Maisie Cothay, whose touch can kill the living and resurrect the dead. Raised by her anthropologist father, Maisie grows up in almost total isolation -- as well as total ignorance of her unusual family history.
Is it for you? Although the premise is reminiscent of TV's Pushing Daisies, the tone of this Gothic-tinged modern fairy tale is much darker.
Want a taste? "Still, I killed my father three times before the age of eight, and caused the demise of over a dozen small animals."
Nominee, Superior Achievement in a First Novel |
|
| Broken Lands by Jonathan MaberryWhat it is: a gory, action-packed YA zombie novel that will appeal to both teens and adults.
Read it for: the large cast of diverse and well-developed characters; the cliffhanger ending.
Series alert: Set in the world of Jonathan Maberry's bestselling Rot & Ruin novels, Broken Lands is the 1st in a new series that takes place shortly after the events of Fire & Ash.
Nominee, Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel |
|
| Baby Teeth by Zoje StageStarring: seven-year-old daddy's girl Hanna and her mother Suzette, who Hanna considers competition for her father's affections.
Who it's for: Readers who love sinister "bad seed" stories will enjoy Hanna's escalating psychopathic antics and her disturbing knack for antagonizing her long-suffering mother.
Reviewers say: "deviously fun" (Publishers Weekly); "deliciously creepy" (New York Post).
Nominee, Superior Achievement in a First Novel |
|
|
The Cabin at the End of the World
by Paul Tremblay
What it's about: Eric and Andrew are enjoying a well-earned vacation with their seven-year-old daughter, Wen, until a quartet of weapon-wielding strangers appears, warning that the apocalypse is imminent...unless one of the family members sacrifices another.
About the author: Paul Tremblay is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of A Head Full of Ghosts.
Why you might like it: Reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy's The Road, this thought-provoking home invasion thriller wrestles with questions of morality in the face of survival.
|
|
| The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten WhiteWhat it is: a twisty YA retelling of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
What sets it apart: Narrated by Elizabeth Lavenza (a passive minor character in the original novel), this Gothic tale offers a new perspective on a classic story by exploring themes of feminism, power, and captivity.
Try this next: For another female-centric spin on a classic horror novel, try Megan Shepherd's The Madman's Daughter, inspired by H.G Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau.
Winner, Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|