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| Meddling Kids by Edgar CanteroIn Meddling Kids, Catalonian author Edgar Cantero portrays a reunion of old friends who decide to complete some unfinished business in the resort town where they spent their summers as kids. While pitting good against evil, Cantero pays homage to H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos, the bumbling but resourceful gang in Scooby-Doo (yes, there are four kids and a dog), and a full range of road trip, haunted house, and reclusive wizard tropes. This gripping escapade (with touches of quirky humor) will have you rooting for the sympathetic, well-drawn kids -- now adults -- as your knuckles all turn white. |
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| In the Valley of the Sun: A Novel by Andy DavidsonIn this "lyrical modern Western" (Booklist, starred review), author Andy Davidson skillfully works the traditional vampire legend into a cowboy yarn set in West Texas in 1980. Serial murderer Travis Stillwell wakes up pale, weak, and sensitive to sunlight after a one-night stand; he's taken in by a motel owner and her son, who offer him odd jobs. All the while, a Texas Ranger is tracking him, and the vampire who turned Travis is annoyed by his pacific behavior. This suspenseful, complex debut will please not only horror fans but also those who appreciate Cormac McCarthy's dark narratives. |
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Sleeping Beauties: A Novel
by Stephen King
In this "kind of untold Greek tragedy meets Deliverance" (Kirkus, starred review), a father-son collaboration envisions a near-future where the women succumb to a sleeping disease that encases them in a white membranous cocoon. Meanwhile, the men revert to their increasingly primal natures and one woman named Evie, mysteriously immune, struggles to survive in an Appalachian prison town where she is treated alternately as a demon and a lab specimen.
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| The Dark Net: A Novel by Benjamin PercyThere's a dark net in reality, but in The Dark Net author Benjamin Percy injects supernatural evil into the communications technology that handles such things as movie pirating, drug trafficking, and other criminal activities. He also adds futuristic devices such as a special prosthetic that enables one character, 12-year-old Hannah, to see. Percy's combination of techno-thriller and demonic possession explores what happens when demons cross from the electronic communications network into flesh-and-blood Portland, Oregon. Valiant humans, led by the blind Hannah, must beat back this attempt to subjugate humankind. This fast-paced and gruesome adventure will keep you on the edge of your seat. |
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| Stay Awake: Stories by Dan ChaonStay Awake, a story collection by acclaimed author Dan Chaon, presents unsettling tales that explore the darkness lurking in his characters' lives. In the first story, "The Bees," a five-year-old child's screams wake his parents several times a week, but the cause of the screaming is mysterious -- and more disturbing secrets are yet to be revealed. The title story, "Stay Awake," describes a father's nearly fatal traffic accident just before his infant daughter's surgery to remove an incompletely formed conjoined twin. Other tales focus on grief over a loved one's death and similarly intense emotional events. |
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The Museum of Dr. Moses: Tales of Mystery and Suspense
by Joyce Carol Oates
A collection of bloodcurdling tales by the award-winning author of The Female of the Species features "Suicide Watch," in which a businessman desperate to find his missing two-year-old grandson must determine whether the horrifying tale his drug addict son tells him about the boy's whereabouts is a confession or a sick test. In "Valentine, July Heat Wave," a man sets out to prepare a gruesome surprise for the wife who is planning to leave him. In these and other stories, Oates explores interpersonal relationships with keen insight.
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| Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan PoeFrom the well-known "Murders in the Rue Morgue" to the less familiar "Tale of the Ragged Mountains," author Edgar Allan Poe's short stories provide mystery, dread, and lingering wonderment. The poems and other pieces in this collection add additional chills to a horror aficionado's appreciation of the 19th-century master, whose very name makes one keep all the lights on at night. |
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| Black Tide Rising by John Ringo and Gary PooleZombie fans have a feast before them in this tense and fast-paced anthology that vividly depicts life after the zombie apocalypse. Acclaimed science fiction writers present stories set in author and editor John Ringo's zombie apocalypse universe, with pieces by Ringo to introduce and conclude the volume. John Scalzi and Dave Klecha team up in "On the Wall;" characters in Sarah Hoyt's "Do No Harm" wonder if that phrase still means anything; and there's even a jewel heist caper at the Louvre in Jason Cordova and Eric S. Brown's "Best Laid Plans." |
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Anne Arundel County Public Library 5 Harry S. Truman Pkwy. Annapolis, Maryland 21401 410-222-7371www.aacpl.net |
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