The nitty-gritty: A mind-bending, bloody mystery, Japanese Gothic blends time travel and folklore into an emotional and heartbreaking story. “Words carried easily through this house—it was a skeleton, and when you slid open enough doors, the whole world passed through it. There was no such thing as a secret in this house.” Japanese Gothic is […]
The nitty-gritty: A promising, fast paced debut, Morsel is big on folk horror atmosphere but tried to do too much to be completely successful. Morsel is a strange little book that started out very strong, but at some point it took a weird turn and ended up in a place I wasn’t expecting. And I’m […]
The nitty-gritty: Mind-bending and menacing, The Caretaker is weird psychological horror at its best. “If you are reading this, it means you have failed the first Rite.” The Caretaker is Marcus Kliewer’s second book, and it’s just as bizarre and unsettling as We Use To Live Here. This is another mind fuck of a story […]
The nitty-gritty: Shocking, gross and eye-opening, Nothing Tastes As Good is both hard-hitting and wildly entertaining. “We’re all hungry, aren’t we? You’ve made us all into monsters.” I read my first Luke Dumas book a few years ago and enjoyed it (The Paleontologist), but Nothing Tastes As Good is so much better in just about […]
The nitty-gritty: Despite a solid story idea and plenty of tension, Crawlspace didn’t deliver on the horror. Crawlspace had so much potential, but unfortunately the execution did not work for me at all, which resulted in a slow paced space thriller with very little scares. It was also bogged down with page after page of […]
The nitty-gritty: Insect horror and Gothic mystery combine in T. Kingfisher’s latest, a tense and disturbing horror story with the author’s trademark humor and quirky characters. T. Kingfisher never disappoints, and in her latest she returns to the horror genre, although she manages to inject plenty of humor into the story as well. If you […]
The nitty-gritty: Mystery meets mind-bending supernatural terror in Dead First, a unique tale of revenge, redemption and murder. “Sometimes, people leave part of themselves in a horrible place, creating an eternal scar.” Dead First surprised me in just about every possible way. This is a gritty, violent and emotional story that mostly leans into mystery/detective […]
The nitty-gritty: Creeping horror and sinister townsfolk await in Alan Baxter’s latest Tales From the Gulp, a wildly entertaining and delightfully gruesome series. “I killed Emil and incapacitated Icelynn. Sleeson is some kind of weird monster. I’ve got a pass card and I’m leaving.” She grinned. “That’s the fucking plan, Olaf.” There’s really nothing better […]
The nitty-gritty: Lindy Ryan’s latest horror-humor mash-up successfully mixes the grittiness of a slasher with the heartfelt emotions of friendship. “Barb, sliced apart in the parking lot. Mom, cut open on the closet floor. And now me, with my dead mother’s face in my new master bedroom.” Lindy Ryan won my heart with her Bless […]
The nitty-gritty: A dark homage to Peter Pan, Nowhere Burning explores the terrors of childhood and the uncertainty of growing up. “Change means fear and loss,” Noon says. “But it is the only way.” She leans in and embraces Riley. “Children are sacred,” she murmurs. Every hair on the back of Riley’s neck thrills. “Growing […]