The nitty-gritty: Unsettling and eerie, Chris Panatier’s latest is a skillfully written story that delves into the horrors of psychiatric care gone wrong. “Charlotte lurks at the edge of my thoughts, pulling strings in the shadows of my psyche. She is my creation, not the other way around. I say it aloud when I’m alone. […]
The nitty-gritty: Diavola has it all: a creepy, haunted villa, an uncomfortable, dysfunctional family gathering, an ominous Italian setting, and even some jump scares. Come for the well executed folk horror ambiance, stay for the unforgettable characters. “And yet there was something idiosyncratic about Villa Taccola. The whole house suggested pentimenti, original brushstrokes covered over […]
The nitty-gritty: Harrowing and addictive, A Haunting in the Arctic is a frozen, Gothic treat for horror lovers who appreciate a well told tale. “In the mirror opposite, she could see it—her foot was no longer human, but the fin of a cetacean, dark and slick as ink, bringing fresh revulsion every time she looked […]
The nitty-gritty: A remarkable story in so many ways, Shelby Van Pelt’s debut will stick with me for a very long time. What a wonderful surprise this was! I thought Remarkably Bright Creatures was a story about a woman and an octopus, but it turned out to be so much more than that. This is […]
The nitty-gritty: Emily Wilde and friends return in this whimsical, magical sequel that succeeds on every level. “I have never felt so spent. Yet I must write what happened—for how else will it be known? Already the details drift from my mind like dandelion seeds scattered by the wind. The price of too much time […]
The nitty-gritty: Scandals, secrets and lies abound in this twisty, tension-filled thriller about a dysfunctional family and the multi-million dollar inheritance they’re fighting over. “Roddy Kenmore was a drug-addled fool who I never should have married in the first place, and the only regret I felt when I watched him slip under that dark salt […]
The nitty-gritty: Ghosts, family trauma and close-knit relationships make Louisa Morgan’s latest a delightfully nuanced and layered story. Louisa Morgan always writes the most comforting stories, even though her characters face dangers and challenges, and The Ghosts of Beatrice Bird is another shining example of this. At its core, the story is about two women, […]
The nitty-gritty: A skillfully constructed story-within-a-story full of emotion, tension and magic, Dreambound is one of my favorite books of the year. Dreambound is every bit as good as people are saying, and trust me, this is one 2023 release you’re not going to want to miss. Dan Frey has stepped up his game from […]
The nitty-gritty: An unexpected and bloody homecoming awaits the protagonist of Black Sheep, Rachel Harrison’s latest, a thoroughly entertaining surprise of a story. “All happy families are alike, I thought. Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Once again, Rachel Harrison has surprised and delighted me with an outstanding story that did not […]
The nitty-gritty: Beware the month of September, when the ghosts come out and the walls bleed, in this outstandingly creepy and heartfelt story about coping with all of life’s challenges. “I put my hand in hers and saw the whole scene from the night she died—the candles and the dining room and the laughing man […]