[Editor’s note: Lindy Ryan, our very own author-in-residence and all-time favorite literary FANGirl is back to inject some scares into your late-summer reading list. These are Lindy’s favorite terror tomes for the devilish dog days of August. Need more creepy FANGirl content? Check out her RUE MORGUE exclusive interview with Southern Vampire Mysteries creator Charlaine Harris here.]
WHALEFALL by Daniel Kraus (8 August 2023, MTV Books)
A son charges himself with finding the remains of his deceased father off the coast of Monastery Beach and finds himself in the belly of an 80-foot, 60-ton whale, with only one hour before his oxygen runs out. This scientifically accurate thriller about a diver swallowed by a sperm whale is a masterclass in survival and healing – A whale of a good time (no pun intended).
SPIN A BLACK YARN by Josh Malerman (15 August 2023, Del Rey)
There’s something for everyone in this collection of five spine-chilling horror/spec fic novellas. From a household cleaning device with an unusually large appetite to a dying man’s final desires, these five harrowing novellas show that Malerman can spin a black yarn.
MISTER MAGIC by Kiersten White (8 August 2023, Del Rey)
Probably no child star comes out unscathed… right? This nostalgic novel takes place 30 years after a tragic accident shuts down production of the classic children’s program Mister Magic The five surviving cast members reunite to settle the secret of the tragedy that ended their show – and its enigmatic host.
THE HANDYMAN METHOD by Nick Cutter & Andrew F. Sullivan (8 August 2023, Saga)
From the author of The Troop and The Deep comes another chilling domestic terror in which Black Mirror meets Amityville Horror. A young family buys into an unfinished development community. Soon, cracks appear in their new lives (literally and figuratively), and a strange YouTube DIY instructor delivers dark subliminal suggestions about how to handle household problems. (Stay tuned for an interview with the authors!)
LOOKING GLASS SOUND by Catriona Ward (8 August 2023, Tor Nightfire)
Wilder Harlow has begun writing his novel, a story about a serial killer who stained the days of his youth and the terrible secret he and his friends discovered sunk in the coves off the bay. Ward’s readers know to expect a good twist at the end, and this novel set in a cottage overlooking the windswept Maine coast might be Ward’s biggest tidal wave yet.
DELICATE CONDITION by Danielle Valentine (1 August 2023, Sourcebooks)
Convinced that something sinister is attempting to ruin her ability to have a child, an indie actress feels a baby moving inside her abdomen despite being told she has miscarried. Rosemary’s Baby gets a terrifying update in this modern treatise on the brutal truths of motherhood and the horror of not being believed by those closest to you.
