By KEVIN HOOVER
April’s new book releases shower bibliophiles with a zombie onslaught. A country club’s last hope against the shambling undead comes from the unlikeliest of sources, and RUE MORGUE contributor and Stoker nominee Lindy Ryan’s latest is a tale where ghouls aren’t necessarily the most dangerous threat. Plus, killer plants make high school life even more of a living hell than usual in an Encyclopocalypse original, and a girl whose closest confidants are roaches finds herself skittering away from the clutches of a serial killer she’s escaped once before.
Janitors vs. The Living Dead
Melissa Lason and Michelle Garza
Death’s Head Press
April 1st – Pre-order Now
In the pristine landscape of Serenity Canyon Country Club, situated in the majestic red rocks just outside of Sedona, Arizona, there is little leniency for anything grotesque. The staff ensures constant tranquility, their priorities glued to maintaining this slice of paradise on Earth in their gated community with private pools, a golf course and a members-only club. But when member Dr. Reinart becomes obsessed with his newest experimentations, this facade begins to crumble. He unknowingly carries a parasitic virus into the neighborhood and his wife unleashes it when she decides to end their marriage swiftly and violently.
Chaos envelopes the community as the virus spreads throughout. High class ruling members of society shift into bumbling monsters covered in bile and decaying flesh. Their only salvation? The lowly janitors they dedicated their living days to belittling.
Doomflower
Jendia Gammon
Encyclopocalypse Publications
April 8th – Pre-order Now
Camellia Dume is the meanest teen queen in her Malibu high school, a rich daddy’s girl thanks to her father’s elaborate scams. But she might be the only hero for humanity as an extraterrestrial mutation sends plants tearing across the country and through people in bloody fashion. As if that weren’t enough drama, Camellia just might meet her own personal match – or worst enemy – in new student Wray, as sparks fly, and opposites attract. Only by working together can they uproot a deadly conspiracy that may have torn Camellia’s family apart.
Another Fine Mess
Lindy Ryan
Minotaur Books
April 15th – Pre-order Now
For over a hundred years, the Evans women have kept the undead in their strange southeast Texas town from rising. But sometimes the dead rise too quick–and that’s what left Lenore Evans and her granddaughter Luna burying Luna’s mother, Grace, and Lenore’s mother, Ducey. Now the only two women left in the Evans family, Luna and Lenore are left rudderless in the wake of the most godawful mess to date.
But when the full moon finds another victim, it’s clear their trouble is far from over. Now Lenore, Luna and the new sheriff – their biggest ally – must dig deep down into family lore to uncover what threatens everything they love most. The body count ticks up, the most unexpected dead will rise – forcing Lenore and Luna to face the possibility that the undead aren’t the only monsters preying on their small town.
Scurry: A Horror Novel About Roaches and Serial Killers
Seann Barbour
Self-Published
April 25th – Pre-order Now
Catty Hammond isn’t like other girls; she can talk to roaches.
It’s not a gift she ever wanted or asked for, but ever since she was a child, it’s marked her as different. And in the suburb of Hilly Green, different is just about the worst thing a person can be. After a lifetime as a social pariah – culminating in a bloody and terrifying encounter with a deranged murderer – Catty left suburbia and never looked back.
A decade has passed since then, but now a call from her sick mother brings Catty home. Not much has changed in Hilly Green: the houses are still beautiful, the lawns are still immaculate and the people still smile and gossip and quietly judge their neighbors …
… and the serial killer Catty narrowly escaped from all those years ago is still there, watching her.
The Staircase in the Woods
Chuck Wendig
Del Rey
April 29th – Pre-order Now
Five high school friends are bonded by an oath to protect one another no matter what. Then, on a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find something extraordinary: a mysterious staircase to nowhere. One friend walks up – and never comes back down. Then the staircase disappears.
Twenty years later, the staircase has reappeared. Now the group returns to find the lost boy, and what lies beyond the staircase in the woods …
*Purchases made through any included links will directly benefit independent bookstores and could result in compensation for Rue Morgue.
