Horror
August 2022
Recent Releases
Patricia Wants to Cuddle
by Samantha Allen

What it's about: As the final handful of contestants on reality dating show The Catch vie for the affections of the show's star, a lesbian Sasquatch enters the fray to wreak havoc on the production.

Why you might like it: Samantha Allen's satirical fiction debut offers gore and humor aplenty, perfect for adventurous readers who enjoy genre-defying novels.

For fans of: The Bachelor, The X-Files, and Jennifer's Body. 
From Below
by Darcy Coates

How it begins: Decades after the sinking of an "unsinkable" ship, documentary filmmaker Cove Waimarie and a team of deep sea divers are hired to explore the wreckage.

What happens next: The team find more than they bargained for as their investigations turn disastrous and they are plagued by unexplained phenomena.

Try this next: For another claustrophobic horror novel about a crew investigating a mysterious shipwreck, read Mira Grant's Into the Drowning Deep.
Screams from the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous
by Ellen Datlow (editor)

What it is: a spine-tingling anthology of stories about monsters both human and supernatural.

Featuring: all-new tales from established and emerging authors including Stephen Graham Jones, Richard Kadrey, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Cassandra Khaw, Priya Sharma, and more.

Reviewers say: "This is a treat for horror fans" (Booklist).
Hokuloa Road
by Elizabeth Hand

What it's about: Looking for a fresh start, listless carpenter Grady Kendall accepts a caretaker job for a billionaire who lives at a palatial estate in Hawaii.

But then... Grady's seemingly idyllic new life takes a turn when he discovers that dozens of locals have vanished without a trace, and their disappearances may be linked to his eccentric employer. 

Read it for: an evocative blend of mystery and supernatural horror.
What Moves the Dead
by T. Kingfisher

What it is: a fast-paced retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's 1839 short story "The Fall of the House of Usher."

Why you should read it: This compelling latest from T. Kingfisher (The Hollow Places) offers a fresh spin on a classic Gothic tale, starring a nonbinary protagonist who must find a way to defeat killer fungi.

Reviewers say: "It's thoroughly creepy and utterly enjoyable" (Publishers Weekly).
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Starring: sheltered Carlota Moreau, whose father, mad scientist Doctor Moreau, keeps her isolated on their estate in 1870s Yucatán, Mexico.

What happens: A visit from Eduardo Lizalde, the son of her father's benefactor, sets Carlota down a dangerous path as she navigates her feelings for him and begins to see herself reflected in her father's human-animal hybrid creatures who long for freedom.

Try this next: For another inventive take on H.G. Wells' 1896 novel The Island of Doctor Moreau, read Daryl Gregory's The Album of Dr. Moreau. 
The Pallbearers Club
by Paul Tremblay

Then: In 1988 Beverly, MA, teenager Art Barbara serves as a volunteer pallbearer at funerals alongside his eccentric friend Mercy Brown, who likes to take photographs of corpses.

Now: Years later, Art pens a memoir, The Pallbearers Club, and begins to suspect that Mercy may be a vampire. But then Mercy takes over the manuscript to tell her side of the story.

Read it for: the unreliable narrators, steadily building dread, and experiments with form.
Hide
by Kiersten White

The premise: A hefty cash prize is not all that's at stake for the 14 contestants playing a game of hide-and-seek at an abandoned amusement park, as they soon realize that whatever is hunting them is not human.

Book buzz: Hide is the adult fiction debut of Bram Stoker Award-winning YA author Kiersten White (The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein). 

For fans of: Reprieve by James Han Mattson; Netflix's Squid Game.
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Contact your librarian for more great books!
Sonoma County Library
707-545-0831www.sonomalibrary.org