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| The Brink by James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth What happens: After subterranean creatures escape from the New York City subway, former mayor Tom Cafferty and his team must save the world from apocalypse -- and the secret organization that may be responsible for the carnage.
Series alert: The Brink is the 2nd in the bestselling Awakened series.
Book buzz: Crucible author James Rollins calls The Brink "a white-knuckled rollercoaster." |
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| The Poison Thread by Laura PurcellStarring: imprisoned seamstress Ruth Butterham, who is convinced her stitches have the power to kill; and phrenology-obsessed heiress Dorothea Truelove, who hopes Ruth will be a useful object of study.
Why you might like it: Featuring a pair of unreliable narrators and an evocative Victorian-era setting, this creepy Gothic novel will keep readers guessing about its characters' motivations and the secrets they keep.
Want a taste? "The more she picked at the rope, the more it seemed to resemble a pile of human hair in her lap." |
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| All My Colors by David QuantickWhat it is: a satirical, self-referential novel that blurs the lines between reality and fantasy, humor and horror; a disturbing successor to The Twilight Zone, Charlie Kaufman, and Franz Kafka.
The premise: At a party in 1979, arrogant wannabe author Todd Milstead drunkenly recalls passages from a popular novel called All My Colors -- but he's the only one who knows it exists.
What happens next: After deciding to "write" the novel himself (which becomes a bestseller, of course), Todd is plagued by surreal events, and All My Colors starts to take on a vengeful life of its own... |
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Pan's labyrinth : the labyrinth of the faun by Guillermo del ToroWhat it is: An epic and dark fantasy novel, complete with haunting illustrations and enchanting short stories that flesh out the folklore of this fascinating world. Why you might like it: This spellbinding tale takes readers to a sinister, magical, and war-torn world filled with richly drawn characters like trickster fauns, murderous soldiers, child-eating monsters, courageous rebels, and a long-lost princess hoping to be reunited with her family. Collaboration: An Oscar-winning writer-director and a New York Times best-selling author have come together to transform Guillermo del Toro’s hit movie, Pan’s Labyrinth.
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Growing things and other stories by Paul TremblayWhat it is: A chilling collection of psychological suspense and literary horror from the multiple award-winning author of the national bestseller, The Cabin at the End of the World, and A Head Full of Ghosts Why you might like it: All stories are anchored by a variety of strong narrative voices that expertly guide the reader through extremely dark emotions, smoothing out the potentially bumpy ride into an enjoyable experience to terrifying depths.
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Adaptations and Retellings
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Premise: Elizabeth Bennett is determined to destroy the evil menace, but becomes distracted by the arrival of the dashing and arrogant Mr. Darcy. Reviewers say: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you'd actually want to read.
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| The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValleWhat it's about: In 1920s Harlem, a young African American con artist named Charles Thomas Tester struggles to make ends meet for himself and his dying father while treading on the borders of an occult realm.
What sets it apart: This atmospheric retelling of H.P. Lovecraft's short story "The Horror at Red Hook" cleverly deconstructs the racism of its source material by putting a black man front and center.
Book buzz: A Bram Stoker Award finalist, The Ballad of Black Tom won the 2016 Shirley Jackson Award and the 2017 British Fantasy Award. |
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| The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzieWhat it's about: In this creepy young adult novel based on the YouTube series of the same name, 16-year-old Sunshine Griffith discovers that her new home in Washington state is haunted -- and that she alone may possess the power to help the restless spirits move on.
Series alert: The Haunting of Sunshine Girl is followed by The Awakening of Sunshine Girl and The Sacrifice of Sunshine Girl.
Reviewers say: "Suspenseful, exciting and endlessly entertaining" (Kirkus Reviews). |
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Dracul
by Dacre Stoker and J.D. Barker
Then: As a boy, Bram Stoker was on death's door when his strange nanny, Ellen Crone, saved him with a bite before vanishing from his life.
Now: Years later, the seemingly ageless Ellen is spotted, sending Bram and his compatriots across Europe to investigate her connection to a sinister creature who has her in his thrall...and who wants Bram, too.
Why you might like it: Co-written by Bram Stoker's great-grandnephew, this atmospheric "prequel" to Dracula reimagines the origins of the 1897 classic -- and of Stoker himself.
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The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein
by Kiersten White
What 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
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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