Recommended Horror Reads #2 (Oct. 27, 2020)

Here are the top new horror book releases as reviewed by our staff of curators. Each of these books received the majority thumbs-up.

666 GABLE WAY by Dani Lamia

Publisher: Level 4 Press
(October 20, 2020)

Something evil hides within the House of Seven Gables…

Phoebe Pyncheon hasn’t had an easy life. Alone and out of work, she does her best to make ends meet while she finishes her debut novel. But when even the monthly rent becomes too much for the struggling young writer to afford, she is forced to move in to her Great Aunt Hester’s boarding house.

Known as the House of Seven Gables, this Victorian mansion is a maze of decrepit halls, musty old furniture, and faded glamour. At first, Phoebe feels at home in the strange, quirky old house. But soon she senses a presence lurking in the shadows, just out of sight. She hears it breathing in the darkness, feels its cold touch on her skin at night.

Then the police knock on her door with news of a dead body found nearby. And Phoebe discovers the terrifying truth…

The House of Seven Gables is a temple to an ancient evil, a terrifying power unleashed by Hester and her coven of friends. This dark entity haunts the stones of the old mansion, plotting its revenge upon the living. But a secret power hides within Phoebe as well. And releasing it may be her only chance to survive the terror that awaits her…

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CURSED by Richard Schiver

Publisher: Abiss Books (October 20, 2020)

One, two, the witch is due.

After the loss of her husband, Susan sought a safe place to rebuild a life for herself and her six-year-old daughter, Christine. Quaint and picturesque, Porter Mines seemed ideal. Susan soon learns appearances can be deceiving.

Three, four, she’s at the door.

Like many small towns, the history of Porter Mines was woven in a tapestry of dark secrets. One centered on a witch, who vowed with her dying breath to claim vengeance against those who wronged her. A ghost story rooted in grisly truth.

Five, six, who will she pick?

Can Susan protect Christine from a wrath even death couldn’t tame? Or will her only child fall prey to the curse of Porter Mines?

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THE SPREAD BOOK 2 (THE VILLAGE) by Iain Rob Wright

Get book 2 in the bestselling The Spread series.

For lovers of ‘The Strain’ comes an unforgettably squeamish tale!

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STRANDED by Stuart James

Publisher: Bloodhound Books (October 19, 2020)

A family trapped. A psychopath on the loose. Let the game begin…

What could be more innocent than going on a family holiday?

As a family drive along a quiet country lane on their way to the airport, they meet a stranger standing alone in the middle of the road.

Steering them along another path, he tells the driver, Ben, that a tree has fallen and there’s no way through.

But as they make their way along the diverted route, they come across a coach blocking the road.

Getting out of the car Ben goes to investigate and is horrified to find the passengers tied to their seats.

Then a discarded phone starts to ring…

If Ben calls the police, everyone on board will die.

Let the horrific game begin…

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PSYCHO B*TCHES by Rick Wood (A Splatterpunk Horror Novel)

Publisher: Blood Splatter Press (October 27, 2020)

Every woman has turned into an aggressive monster, and Kevin is desperate to know if this includes his twin sister. Can he survive a journey across a country of dangerous, rabid females to find her – and will she just kill him if he does?

Women across the world are turning on men – becoming cannibalistic, hostile killers determined to maim and murder.

Kevin’s twin sister is 400 miles away, and he is desperate to know if she has become one of them.

After all, while most women have succumbed to these urges, twins have a 50/50 chance of being immune – meaning there is a possibility she might have remained human.

What follows is a horrifying, disgusting, and down-right weird story of a man journeying across a country of violent beasts, desperate to find the person who means most to him.

Will he find her in time? Will she be like all the other women? Or will he be murdered and torn apart before he gets there?

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WYRD AND OTHER DERELICTIONS by Adam Nevill

Publisher: Ritual Limited (October 26, 2020)

Derelictions are horror stories told in ways you may not have encountered before.

Something is missing from the silent places and worlds inside these stories. Something has been removed, taken flight, or been destroyed. Us.

Derelictions are weird tales that tell of aftermaths and of new and liminal places. Each location has witnessed catastrophe, infernal visitations, or unearthly transformations. But across these landscapes of murder, genocide and invasion, crucial evidence remains. And it is the task of the reader to sift through ruin and ponder the residual enigma, to behold and wonder at the full horror that was visited upon mankind.

A dead ship carries a terrible cargo across a black ocean. Below deck, signs of slaughter and devotion await to tell a ghastly tale.

On a barren and hostile shore a great ritual has been enacted successfully. The act of a god may have taken place. But what kind of deity did this?

An eerily silent campsite. No sign of life. Look closer and observe the grisly artefacts of annihilation.

In the very foundations of this dreadful house, was something supernormal called upon to abolish life so mercilessly?

Wyrd contains seven derelictions, original horror stories from the author of Hasty for the Dark and Some Will Not Sleep (winner of The British Fantasy Award for Best Collection).

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Check out all the books our curators have recommended here.