The nitty-gritty: A beautiful, horrible tale of inescapable family ties. Above, the castle sighs and shifts. Creaks, cracks, sound and movement as if with the passage of vast dark coils. The thing from Dinah’s dream is down here, too. It crawls up through the trapdoor. Catriona Ward has a gift for creating characters who are […]
The nitty-gritty: A group of friends discover the mysteries and dangers of ghosts and hauntings in this creepy, disturbing tale. “Ghost isn’t the kind of drug you find. It finds you. You hear about it from someone who’s used it. They tell you about it, then you tell someone else, like a —” “Ghost story?” […]
The nitty-gritty: A garden full of poisonous delights, the stories in Effects Vary will catch you off guard and change the way you think about horror. You can tell from the disturbing cover art that this isn’t going to be your usual collection of short fiction. Effects Vary contains twenty-two short stories, and it’s one […]
The nitty-gritty: Full of raw emotion and tough themes, Full Immersion combines mystery and horror as a a woman attempts to heal from personal trauma. Full Immersion surprised me in many ways and ended up being one of the most unique books I’ve ever read. Gemma Amor’s latest novel is an exploration of some very […]
The nitty-gritty: At times uncomfortable and disturbing, Eric LaRocca’s stories explore the dangerous side of human relationships. Eric LaRocca is quickly becoming my go-to horror author when I’m looking for well-written, edgy horror, horror that isn’t like anything else out there. I believe this is my third book of theirs I’ve read, and in fact […]
The nitty-gritty: A lush, bloody, sweeping saga of an unusual relationship that spans centuries. “Love makes monsters of us, Constanta, and not everyone is cut out for monstrosity.” I’ve been eyeing A Dowry of Blood ever since the self-published edition made a splash on social media, but it went out of print before I could […]
The nitty-gritty: Creepy and unsettling, thrilling and terrifying, Gallows Hill is the perfect story to read with the lights off—if you dare. “”It might be easier to go over everything in three parts,’ Kant said. ‘Before the bells. After the bells. And once they’re in the house.’” I’m so glad I’ve finally read my first […]
The nitty-gritty: The Book Eaters is a delicious, dark surprise, strange and compelling and utterly original. “A moment of perverse beauty: one child holding another, with Cai’s mouth on the baby’s ear. Almost a kiss, almost a cuddle. It was love and it was death and Devon thought that, for her, those things had become […]
The nitty-gritty: A weird and wonderful trip through space, blasting with loud music, fabulous outfits and of course, giant killer mechas, August Kitko and the Mechas from Space is a wild ride from start to finish. “Fashion is always intentional, and Ardent has carefully selected their cataclysmic attire for maximum mobility. They tug at the […]
The nitty-gritty: A creepy and atmospheric retelling that pays homage to the original story while adding many unique elements, What Moves the Dead induces both laughter and dread, often in the same paragraph. “The mushroom’s gills were the deep-red color of severed muscle, the almost-violet shade that contrasts so dreadfully with the pale pink of […]