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| Ring Shout by P. Djèlí ClarkThe premise: In 1920s Macon, Georgia, sorcerer D.W. Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation has unleashed an army of racist demonic monsters known as Ku Kluxes.
Starring: a trio of battle-hardened Black women ready to protect their town from the cosmic horrors lying in wait: sword-wielding Maryse; sharpshooter Sadie; and World War I veteran Chef.
Who it's for: This gruesome and darkly humorous alternate history will appeal to fans of Black-authored stories that interrogate the racist tropes of H.P. Lovecraft's fiction, like Victor LaValle's The Ballad of Black Tom. |
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| Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth; illustrated by Sara LautmanThen: In early 20th-century Massachusetts, a series of mysterious deaths at a girls' boarding school are linked to the provocative (and real) 1902 queer memoir The Story of Mary MacLane.
Now: On the set of a high-profile horror film about the incident, creepy phenomena begin plaguing the cast and crew.
Read it for: a sardonic metafictional storyline that blurs the lines between past and present; evocative black-and-white illustrations that capture the novel's eerie gothic tone. |
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| The Loop by Jeremy Robert JohnsonWhat it is: a fast-paced techno-thriller set in the small Oregon town of Turner Falls, where a biotech company loses control of an experiment with devastating potential fallout for the town and the entire human race.
For fans of: apocalyptic stories that combine elements of horror with social satire, such as Wanderers by Chuck Wendig or Mira Grant's Newsflesh series.
Reviewers say: "unputdownable" (Publishers Weekly); "heart-pounding and deeply unsettling" (Booklist). |
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Books You Might Have Missed
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| The Wise Friend by Ramsey CampbellWhat it's about: When his son Roy becomes interested in occult art painted by a late family member who died under suspicious circumstances -- and makes a mysterious new friend who encourages his fascination -- Patrick Torrington worries that the 15-year-old may be in danger.
Is it for you? Fans of leisurely paced folk horror will want to check out this menacing latest from Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award winner Ramsey Campbell. |
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| The Unsuitable by Molly PohligStarring: Iseult Wince, a young Victorian woman who communicates with her dead mother; Iseult's cruel father Edward, who is determined to marry off his "old maid" daughter at any cost; and Jacob Vinke, a damaged young man and Iseult's most likely marriage prospect -- if Iseult can quiet her mother's increasingly worried voice.
For fans of: darkly humorous gothic fiction such as Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye or Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast trilogy.
Reviewers say: "Bloody and bizarre" (Kirkus). |
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The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires
by Grady Hendrix
Starring: 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
by Stephen King
A collection of four novellas includes the title story in which Holly Gibney of the Bill Hodges trilogy and "The Outsider" struggles to face her fears and another possible outsider.
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Home Before Dark
by Riley Sager
Twenty-five years after her father published a wildly popular nonfiction book based on her family’s rushed exit from a haunted Victorian estate, naysayer Maggie inherits the house and begins renovations, only to make a number of disturbing discoveries.
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The Only Good Indians
by Stephen Graham Jones
Ten years ago: A quartet of 20-something Blackfeet men embarked on an ill-fated elk hunting trip on tribal lands meant only for the elders' use.
Now: Still processing their lingering feelings of guilt and shame all these years later, one by one the men find themselves at the mercy of a vengeful entity that stalks their every move.
What sets it apart: This incisive own voices novel explores themes of cultural identity and intergenerational trauma while offering plenty of eerie supernatural scares.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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