This month’s book recommendations focus on the horror/suspense genres for those who enjoy a good thrill. Here are ten recommendations in no particular order of the different types of books one can find in this genre.
1. “The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson.
“The Haunting of Hill House” by Shirley Jackson was published in 1959 as a gothic horror novel. The book was a finalist for the National Book Award. Since its publication the book has been the basis for two movies, a tv show, and a play.
The book follows four individuals: Dr. John Montague, Eleonar Vance, Theodora, and Luke Sanderson. Dr. Montague is an investigator of the supernatural, who attempts to find the scientific reason behind the supernatural. The doctor decided to rent Hill House, a supposed haunted house, for the summer. This is when he invites both Eleanor and Theodora. Luke is the heir to the house. Together, the four unravel the history of the house as supernatural things start to happen to the four. The story becomes one of survival as they try to make it to the end of the summer.
2. “Interview with the Vampire” by Anne Rice.
Published in 1976, “Interview with the Vampire” is a gothic horror which was Anne Rice’s debut novel. It was originally written as a short story (about thirty pages), that she revisited after her daughter’s death from cancer.
A vampire by the name of Louis de Pointe du Lac tells his story to an up-and-coming journalist. Born and raised in Louisiana, Louis was turned in 1791 after the death of his brother, and he meets a french vampire by the name of Lestat who turns him.
As the night goes on, Louis tells the reporter everything, from what his life was like before he was turned into a vampire, to what it was like to live through all sorts of important political movements, wars, and how society shifted as a whole.
Both Louis and Lestat become companions, and one night when Louis is feeding on a little girl who was dying due to a sickness, they decide to turn her into a vampire “daughter” for them. Louis and Claudia then conspire to leave Lestat and go to Europe.
The book has been adapted into a movie as well as an award-winning tv show. “Interview with the Vampire” is the first in a series titled “The Vampire Chronicles.”
3. “The Sun Down Motel” by Simone St. James.
“The Sun Down Motel” takes place in upstate New York in 1982 and 2017 and is considered a book in the thriller/mystery genres. The book was published in 2020 and has 4 stars on GoodReads and is Amazon’s Editor’s Pick. There’s always a small town motel that’s a little… off. The mysteries seep into the place. Viv worked at Sun Down in 1982, but the young woman disappeared. Over 30 years later, the woman’s niece, Carly, now returns to the hotel in hopes to find her aunt.
4. “The Only Good Indians” by Stephen Graham Jones.
“The “Only Good Indians” is a national bestseller that was published in 2020. The story follows four native American men who killed many elk illegally, including shooting a cow (a female elk) who was pregnant at the time of her death. Now, years later, it appears that a spirit in the form of an elk is hunting the four men down in order to get justice for their actions.
There have been comparisons of this spirit to that of the Deer Woman found in a lot of native tales, who can either be seen as a symbol for fertility, or one who leads unfaithful men to their deaths.
Many have described it as both a psychological horror and a “cutting social commentary in identity politics.” There are many overlapping commentaries throughout the book, including womanhood and the violence that is often perpetrated on indigenous women. The title comes from the harmful saying “the only good Indian is a dead Indian” that was popular in the 1860s.
5. “The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires” by Grady Hendrix.
“The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires” was published in 2020 and is considered a horror/thriller/supernatural book. The book takes place in the south, specifically Charleston, South Carolina in the early ‘90s. It follows a woman named Patricia, who has a very sad life. Her children are ungrateful, and her husband neglectful.
However, Patricia has one thing for herself: her book club of other Charleston mothers. They focus on true crime and suspenseful fiction. But someone new moves to town, and the discussions go from books to a gossip session about the newcomer.
Children start to go missing, and Patricia is connecting the dots. At first, she thinks the newcomer is a serial killer, as that makes sense in today’s world. But it appears that reality is hiding its own secrets.
“The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires” is a #1 Best Seller in Vampire Horror.
6. “The Butcher and the Wren” by Alaina Urquhart.
“The Butcher and the Wren” was published in 2022 and was an instant New York Times Bestseller. Urquhart is the co-host of a true crime podcast called Morbid. Before she became a co-host and a writer, she was an autopsy technician.
With this background, as well as having degrees in biology; criminal justice; and psychology, she wrote a book. “The Butcher and the Wren” is the first in a current duology that is a dual-perspective story. The book follows Jeremy, a serial killer known as “The Butcher” and a forensic pathologist named Dr. Wren Muller as a string of murders has her putting pieces together from her past. The events of the book take place in the Louisiana bayou.
(The picture of the book is courtesy of PangoBooks)
7. “Frankenstien” by Mary Shelley.
There aren’t many who don’t know the story of “Frankenstein,” but there might be a few who only know Hollywood’s story of “Frankenstein.” The book was published in 1818 and is a gothic novel. Frankenstein’s monster as we know it is so far removed from its original text, considered to be a more horror-centric monster that has an intense fear of fire and is zombified.
In Shelley’s story however, Frankenstein’s monster is trying his best to understand why he is alive. He’s learning how to read, how to interact with people. And to come to terms with the fact that he is suddenly alive and conscious. And Dr. Frankenstein has to come to terms with the fact that he created life in every sense of the word.
8. “Sundial” by Catriona Ward.
“Sundial” was published in 2022. The book follows a mother and daughter. Rob, the mother, sees something dark in her daughter that reminds her of a life she left behind. Her daughter, Callie, collects animal bones and talks to people that aren’t there.
Rob then takes her daughter to the family ranch she ran from.
9. “Secret Window, Secret Garden” by Stephan King.
“Secret Window, Secret Garden” is a novella in a collection by Stephen King titled “Four Past Midnight.” It was originally published in 1990. A recently divorced Mort Rainey lives alone in a small town as he’s hit a writing roadblock.
A man named John Shooter shows up one day, accusing Rainey of stealing his story. Rainey then makes it a point to prove himself innocent. In doing so, he begins to spiral, and all his proof starts to slip through his fingers until it just all disappears.
The collection won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Collection and, in 1991, the collection was also nominated for the Locus Award.
10. “The Changeling” by Victor Lavalle
“The Changeling” was published in 2017 as a fantasy horror. It won awards like the 2017 Dragon Award for Best Horror Novel; the 2018 Locus Award for Best Horror Novel; and the 2018 World Fantasy Award.
Apollo’s life was not normal from the beginning. He was abandoned by his father as a child, with only strange books to remember him by. Years have gone by now, Apollo’s married and a baby on the way. Everything was perfect. And then after the baby’s born, Emma, his wife, starts to act strangely.
At first, Apollo comes to the conclusion that his wife is going through postpartum depression, but it becomes clear that it is something deeper than that.
Then his wife and baby disappear, and he has to go find them.