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The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. JamesWhat it's about: A young woman takes a night-clerk job at the same roadside motel from where her aunt went missing decades earlier before uncovering the work of a serial killer. What happens: Upstate New York, 2017. Carly Kirk has never been able to let go of the story of her aunt Viv, who mysteriously disappeared from the Sun Down before she was born. She decides to move to Fell and visit the motel, where she quickly learns that nothing has changed since 1982. And she soon finds herself ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed her aunt. Reviewers say: "There are very few novels that leave me feeling genuinely spooked....Simone St. James's The Sun Down Motel is very much one of those books, taking twists and turns that are equal parts compelling and creepy."--PopSugar
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Sanctuary by Luca D'AndreaWhat it is: In his haunting follow-up to the acclaimed Beneath the Mountain, Luca D'Andrea returns to the stunning Italian landscape of Alto Adige in this clever, twisting thriller that follows a woman on the run from her crime boss husband and the assassin sent to kill her. What you will encounter: With nightmarish villains and kind-hearted heroes, Sanctuary is a fairy tale-esque thriller that will leave readers racing through its pages to keep up with a cat and mouse game between a lunatic crime boss and his desperate, pregnant wife.
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| The Return by Rachel HarrisonTwo years ago: Elise's best friend, Julie, disappeared without a trace.
Now: An emaciated Julie returns with no memory of where she's been. Eager for a reunion, Elise and her two other best friends plan a girls' weekend at a remote Catskills hotel.
What could possibly go wrong? Julie's amnesia is the least of the group's problems, as they soon discover their kitschy hideaway is harboring malevolent forces that seem eerily connected to Julie's horrifying (and rapidly deteriorating) physical state. |
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| The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady HendrixStarring: bored housewife Patricia Campbell, whose sole respite from her stifling life in 1990s suburban Charleston is her true crime book club.
The monster next door: When sunlight-averse James Harris moves into the neighborhood, Patricia's suspicions are dismissed as flights of fancy. But when children start disappearing, it's up to Patricia to convince her book club to help her stop James before it's too late.
Media buzz: At turns horrifying and heartwarming, this gruesome New York Times bestseller is set for a TV adaptation at Amazon Studios. |
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If It Bleeds: New Fiction by Stephen KingWhat it is: The award-winning literary master presents a collection of four novella-length tales, complementing the title piece with the stories, Mr. Harrigan's Phone, The Life of Chuck and Rat. Why you should read it: The novella is a form King has returned to over and over again in the course of his amazing career, and many have been made into iconic films, including "The Body" (Stand By Me) and "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" (The Shawshank Redemption). Reviewers say: "King clearly loves his characters, and the care with which he develops their personalities draws the reader ineluctably into their deeply unsettling experiences. This excellent collection delivers exactly the kind of bravura storytelling King's readers expect. --Publishers Weekly, STARRED review
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A Lush and Seething Hell: Two Tales of Cosmic Horror by John Hornor JacobsWhat it is: The award-winning and critically acclaimed master of horror returns with a pair of chilling tales--both never-before-published in print--that examine the violence and depravity of the human condition. What's inside: The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky examines life in a South American dictatorship. In My Heart Struck Sorrow, a librarian discovers a recording from the Deep South--which may be the musical stylings of the Devil himself. Why you should read it: Breathtaking and haunting, A Lush and Seething Hell is a terrifying and exhilarating journey into the darkness, an odyssey into the deepest reaches of ourselves that compels us to confront secrets best left hidden.
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| Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman; illustrated by Colleen DoranWhat it is: a creepy graphic novel reimagining of "Snow White" told from the queen's point of view.
Read it for: the clever role reversal -- Snow White is a villainous vampire; the queen, her terrified would-be slayer.
Art alert: Colleen Doran's elegant art nouveau-inspired illustrations offer a lush homage to early 20th-century stained glass artist Harry Clarke.
Winner, Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel |
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| Inspection by Josh MalermanThe experiment: What if separating the sexes made kids smarter? The pseudonymous M.O.M. and D.A.D. aim to accomplish just that in the sex-segregated schools they rule with rigidity and violence.
Is it for you? Though Inspection doesn't mine larger questions regarding gender and sexuality, it's a thought-provoking horror-thriller where every character is an unreliable narrator, whether by necessity or ignorance.
For fans of: Lord of the Flies and other works of psychological fiction.
Nominee, Superior Achievement in a Novel |
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| The Luminous Dead by Caitlin StarlingWhat it's about: Having lied about her credentials to secure a coveted spot on a cavern-mapping expedition, Gyre Price discovers that her employers haven't been entirely honest with her, either.
Nevertheless... Gyre's survival depends on her "topside" handler, Em, who reveals little about herself beyond her ability to control every aspect of Gyre's life-sustaining high-tech caving suit.
Why you might like it: Part psychological thriller, part horror-tinged SF, this debut introduces a pair of flawed protagonists whose complicated relationship develops against a claustrophobic subterranean backdrop.
Nominee, Superior Achievement in a First Novel |
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| Growing Things and Other Stories by Paul TremblayWhat it is: a disturbing collection of 19 short stories written by three-time Bram Stoker Award winner Paul Tremblay.
Read it for: Tremblay's penchant for turning the ordinary into the uncanny; the surprising connections to some of his other works (and the connections between some of the stories in this one).
Don't miss: the choose-your-own-adventure tale "A Haunted House Is A Wheel Upon Which Some Are Broken."
Winner, Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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