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New and recommended scary books
Updated February 8, 2024
RPL Staff
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Take it back
Abdullah, Kia
Audiobook
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The whispers
Audrain, Ashley
Paper Book
"Expertly, subtly and powerfully rendered....[The Whispers] delivers a sucker-punch ending you'll have to read twice to believe."--The New York Times Book Review "[An] electrifying...razor-sharp page-turner." --Carley Fortune, #1 New York Times bestselling...
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Nineteen claws and a black bird : stories
Bazterrica, Agustina MarÃa
Audiobook
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Good rich people
Brazier, Eliza Jane
Ebook
A Good Morning America 'January Book That Can Get Us Through Anything' A Most Anticipated Novel of 2022 by The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Harper's Bazaar, Entertainment Weekly, New York Post, PopSugar, Shondaland, Yahoo!, and Crime...
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Where they wait : a novel
Carson, Scott
Paper Book
"Where They Wait is so readable, you'll be a couple of hundred pages in before you realize you're terrified...and then you can't put it down. Mesmerizing." --Stephen King "Tense and twisty." --Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Southern...
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The Queen of the Cicadas
Castro, V.
Paper Book
NOMINATED FOR A BRAM STOKER AWARD FOR SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A NOVEL 2018 - Belinda Alvarez has returned to Texas for the wedding of her best friend Veronica. The farm is the site of the urban legend, La Reina de Las Chicharras - The Queen of The Cicadas. In 1950s south Texas a...
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Birnam Wood
Catton, Eleanor
Paper Book
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER A Best Book of the Year: The New York Times Book Review, NPR, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Time, Financial Times, Slate, The Chicago Public Library, Kirkus, The TelegraphA...
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Vampires of El Norte
Cañas, Isabel
Paper Book
As the daughter of a rancher in 1840s Mexico, Nena knows a thing or two about monsters - her home has long been threatened by tensions with Anglo settlers from the north. But something more sinister lurks near the ranch at night, something that drains men of their blood and leaves them for dead....
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Dead of winter
Coates, Darcy
Paper Book
USA TODAY BESTSELLER JULY 2023 LIBRARYREADS SELECTION From bestselling author Darcy Coates comes Dead of Winter, a remote cabin in the snowy wilderness thriller that will teach you to trust no one. There are eight strangers. One killer. Nowhere left to run.
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The senator's wife : a novel
Constantine, Liv
Paper Book
A D.C. philanthropist suspects that her seemingly perfect employee is secretly plotting to steal her husband, her reputation-even her life-in this seductive novel of psychological suspense from the internationally bestselling author of The Last Mrs. Parrish. "Adeadly...
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The ferryman : a novel
Cronin, Justin
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "Next to impossible to put down . . . exciting, mysterious, and totally satisfying."--STEPHEN KING From the author of The Passage comes a riveting standalone novel about a group of survivors on a hidden island utopia--where...
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The violence : a novel
Dawson, Delilah S.
Paper Book
How far would you go to be free? Three generations of women forge a new path through an America torn by a mysterious wave of violence in this "chilling [and] dizzyingly effective" (The New York Times Book Review) novel of revenge, liberation, and triumph. "A...
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The block party : a novel
Day, Jamie
Paper Book
Raves for the hottest thriller of 2023! "This is wicked fun." --Publishers Weekly "Absolutely amazing. Readers are going to flip!" --Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of ONE STEP TOO FAR "Like a firecracker on a hot summer...
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The reformatory : a novel
Due, Tananarive
Paper Book
*Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner * New York Times Notable Book * Locus Award Finalist * Winner of the Bram Stoker Award and the Shirley Jackson Award * "You're in for a treat...one of those books you can't put down...Due hit it out of the park." --Stephen King ...
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Shutter
Emerson, Ramona
Paper Book
Rita Todacheene is a forensic photographer. Her excellent photography skills have cracked many cases - she is almost supernaturally good at capturing details. In fact, Rita has been hiding a secret: she sees the ghosts of crime victims who point her toward clues other investigators overlook. Rita's...
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Our share of night : a novel
Enriquez, Mariana
Paper Book
"A masterpiece of supernatural horror."--The Washington Post "An enchanting, shattering, once-in-a-lifetime reading experience."--The New York Times (Editors' Choice) ONE OF TIME AND THE ATLANTIC'S TEN BEST NOVELS OF THE YEAR * ONE OF THE NEW...
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The glassy, burning floor of hell : stories
Evenson, Brian
Paper Book
"Here is how monstrous humans are." A sentient, murderous prosthetic leg; shadowy creatures lurking behind a shimmering wall; brutal barrow men--of all the terrors that populate The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell, perhaps the most alarming...
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Greenwich Park
Faulkner, Katherine
Paper Book
"A twisty, fast-paced" (The Sunday Times, London) debut thriller, as electrifying as the #1 New York Times bestseller The Girl on the Train, about impending motherhood, unreliable friendship, and the high price of keeping secrets. In this "gloriously tangled...
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Manhunt
Felker-Martin, Gretchen
Audiobook
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What have we done
Finlay, Alex
Paper Book
In this "top-notch mystery thriller" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) from Alex Finlay, What Have We Done is a tale about the lives we leave behind and the secrets we carry with us forever. One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2023:* BookPage...
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Devil makes three
Fountain, Ben
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE 2024 JOYCE CAROL OATES PRIZE * A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITOR'S CHOICE * WASHINGTON POST BEST FICTION OF 2023 * From the award-winning, bestselling author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk comes a brilliant and propulsive new...
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Red rabbit
Grecian, Alex
Audiobook
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Hokuloa Road
Hand, Elizabeth
Paper Book
On a whim, Grady Kendall applies to work as a live-in caretaker for a luxury property in Hawai?i, as far from his small-town Maine life as he can imagine. Within days he's flying out to an estate on remote Hokuloa Road, where he quickly uncovers a dark side to the island's idyllic reputation: it...
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Black sheep
Harrison, Rachel
Ebook
A New York Times Best Horror Book of the Year A cynical twentysomething must confront her unconventional family's dark secrets in this fiery, irreverent horror novel from the author of Such Sharp Teeth and Cackle. Nobody has a "normal...
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Starling house
Harrow, Alix E.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK "This book has everything you could possibly want this fall...a cursed town, a haunted house, a vivid & eerie setting--plus, characters willing to risk everything." --Reese Witherspoon (Reese's Book Club October '23 Pick)...
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The Villa
Hawkins, Rachel
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! "Hawkins weaves an engrossing tale about betrayal, sisterhood, and the power of telling your own story. Captivating!" --People "Hawkins is the reigning queen of suspense." --Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times<...
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My best friend's exorcism : a novel
Hendrix, Grady
Audiobook
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Near the bone
Henry, Christina
Ebook
A woman trapped on a mountain attempts to survive more than one kind of monster, in a dread-inducing horror novel from the national bestselling author Christina Henry. Mattie can't remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him...
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The soulmate
Hepworth, Sally
Paper Book
"One of the best thrillers of the year"--The New York Times "The book is many things: a crime story, a psychological study, a blueprint for how and when to mete out information in a thriller. But most of all it is an inquiry into the mysteries of marriage and commitment,...
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Little Secrets A Novel
Hillier, Jennifer.
Ebook
National Bestseller! "Unflinching and unforgettable. Little Secrets has everything you want in a thriller" --Riley Sager, New York Times bestselling author of Lock Every Door Overwhelmed by tragedy, a woman desperately tries to save her...
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Bad Cree : a novel
Johns, Jessica
Paper Book
In this gripping, horror-laced debut, a young Cree woman's dreams lead her on a perilous journey of self-discovery that ultimately forces her to confront the toll of a legacy of violence on her family, her community and the land they call home. "A mystery and a horror story about...
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The angel of Indian Lake
Jones, Stephen Graham
Paper Book
A National Bestseller The final installment in the most lauded trilogy in the history of horror novels picks up four years after Don't Fear the Reaper as Jade returns to Proofrock, Idaho, to build a life after the years of sacrifice--only to find the Lake Witch is...
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Dead eleven : a novel
Juliano, Jimmy
Ebook
"An ominously slow burn...Keep the lights on for this one."--A PEOPLE MUST-READ FOR SUMMER "Very creepy...you've been warned."--R.L. STINE "Gripping."--ANA REYES On a creepy island where everyone has a strange obsession with the year 1994, a...
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First Light
Kerin, Liz
Ebook
"A Phoebe Bridgers song in book form, I felt and bled, willingly and gratefully."--CJ Leede, author of Maeve Fly With Night's Edge, Liz Kerin took a bite out of vampire lore. The riveting sequel, First Light, is about seizing a brighter future by confronting...
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Nothing but blackened teeth
Khaw, Cassandra
Paper Book
A USA TODAY BESTSELLER * A Bram Stoker, Shirley Jackson, British Fantasy, and World Fantasy Award Finalist! * An Indie Next Pick! * An October LibraryReads Pick! * 2022 RUSA Reading List: Horror Winner! Cassandra Khaw's Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a...
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Holly : a novel
King, Stephen
Paper Book
#1 New York Times Bestseller * A New York Times Notable Book * An NPR Best Book of the Year Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King's most compelling and resourceful characters, returns in this chilling "exploration of grief and delusion, just pure undistilled evil" (...
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A house with good bones
Kingfisher, T.
Paper Book
A Barnes & Noble Best Horror Book of 2023 A haunting Southern Gothic from an award-winning master of suspense, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family. "Mom seems off."<...
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Bright young women
Knoll, Jessica
Paper Book
Don't miss this "breakneck thriller" examining "our culture's obsession with serial killers and true crime" (Harper's Bazaar) following two women on the pursuit of justice against all odds. "A fascinating look at true crime and tabloid culture that's as thoughtful as it is gripping" (...
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She's not sorry
Kubica, Mary
Paper Book
The instant New York Times bestseller that BookTok is calling "absolutely A-M-A-Z-I-N-G" (@hollylovesbooks1519) and "impossible to put down" (@kurryreads), from the author of Local Woman Missing and Just the Nicest Couple Everyone has secrets, but not everyone has...
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Everyone here is lying
Lapena, Shari
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! Another thrilling domestic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Couple Next Door "The most addictive book I've read in ages--so slick and disquieting and clever. Just brilliant." -...
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Everything the darkness eats : a novel
LaRocca, Eric
Audiobook
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Lone women : a novel
LaValle, Victor
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Blue skies, empty land--and enough wide-open space to hide a horrifying secret. A woman with a past, a mysterious trunk, a town on the edge of nowhere, and an "absorbing, powerful" (BuzzFeed) new vision of the American West, from the award-winning author of...
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Going zero : a novel
McCarten, Anthony
Paper Book
TWO HOURS TO VANISH. ONE CHANCE TO ESCAPE. ZERO ALTERNATIVES. Ten Americans have been carefully selected to Beta test a ground-breaking piece of spyware. FUSION can track anyone on earth. But does it work? For one contestant, an unassuming Boston librarian named...
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The housemaid
McFadden, Freida
Paper Book
Over 1 Million Copies Sold! Don't miss the New York Times and USA Today bestseller and addictive psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist that's burning up Instagram and TikTok--Freida McFadden's The Housemaid is perfect for fans of...
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Our hideous progeny : a novel
McGill, C. E.
Audiobook
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The invited
McMahon, Jennifer
Paper Book
A chilling ghost story with a twist: the New York Times bestselling author of The Winter People returns to the woods of Vermont to tell the story of a husband and wife who don't simply move into a haunted house--they build one . . . In a quest for a simpler life,...
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The Maidens
Michaelides, Alex
Paper Book
**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** "Alex Michaelides's long-awaited next novel, 'The Maidens,' is finally here...the premise is enticing and the elements irresistible." --The New York Times "A deliciously dark, elegant, utterly...
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The quiet tenant
Michallon, Cle?mence
Paper Book
NATIONAL BEST SELLER * A NEW YORK TIMES BEST CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR * GMA BUZZ PICK * "A bravura feat of storytelling...daring and completely satisfying." --James Patterson, #1 best-selling author A PULSE-POUNDING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER ABOUT A SERIAL KILLER NARRATED BY THOSE...
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The only survivors : a novel
Miranda, Megan
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller A LibraryReads Hall of Fame Pick They were nine survivors. Now, a decade later, only seven remain...how long can they keep the promise made that night? Don't miss this "gripping thriller" (CrimeReads) from the Reese...
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Graveyard of lost children
Monroe, Katrina
Ebook
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Silver nitrate
Moreno-Garcia, Silvia
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * From the author of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and Mexican Gothic comes a fabulous meld of Mexican horror movies and Nazi occultism: a dark thriller about the curse that haunts a legendary lost film--and awakens one woman's hidden powers. ...
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The bone orchard
Mueller, Sara A.
Audiobook
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Drowning : the rescue of Flight 1421 : a novel
Newman, T. J.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM WARNER BROTHERS PICTURES * "Reads like Apollo 13 underwater." --Don Winslow * "Masterful." --Patricia Cornwell * "A stunningly vivid tour de force!" Gripping. Shocking." --Brad Thor Flight...
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Strange Sally Diamond
Nugent, Liz
Paper Book
"Shocking, disturbing, and utterly original." --Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times bestselling author This "haunting and poignant tale, one that won't be easy to forget any time soon" (Mystery and Suspense Magazine), follows an enigmatic woman confronting...
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Small Angels : a novel
Owen, Lauren
Ebook
In a hypnotic tale of sisterhood, first love, and hauntings, a wedding in a small English village stirs up unsettling magic and forces a troubled family's secrets out into the open. "This beautifully written modern ghost story is an enchanting place to get lost."--Danielle...
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We spread
Reid, Iain
Paper Book
The author of the "evocative, spine-tingling, and razor-sharp" (Bustle) I'm Thinking of Ending Things that inspired the Netflix original movie and the "short, shocking" (The Guardian) Foe returns with a new work of suspense following an elderly woman trapped in a...
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Tell me I'm worthless
Rumfitt, Alison
Audiobook
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The devil's playground : a novel
Russell, Craig
Paper Book
A riveting 1920s Hollywood thriller about the making of the most terrifying silent film ever made, and a deadly search for the single copy rumored still to exist, from the internationally acclaimed author of The Devil Aspect. "An excellent, engrossing historical...
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The only one left : a novel
Sager, Riley
Paper Book
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Named a summer book to watch by The Washington Post, Boston Globe, USA Today, Oprah, Paste, Country Living, Good Housekeeping, and Nerd Daily "Propulsive ... a dizzying Gothic whodunit." --...
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Loyalty
Scottoline, Lisa
Paper Book
#1 bestselling author Lisa Scottoline presents Loyalty, an emotional, action-packed epic of love and justice, set during the rise of the Mafia in Sicily. Loyalty can save a soul--or destroy one. Franco Fiorvanti is a handsome...
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The violin conspiracy
Slocumb, Brendan
Paper Book
GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK! * Ray McMillian is a Black classical musician on the rise--undeterred by the pressure and prejudice of the classical music world--when a shocking theft sends him on a desperate quest to recover his great-great-grandfather's heirloom violin...
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Sister, maiden, monster
Snyder, Lucy A.
Ebook
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The resting place
Sten, Camilla
Paper Book
One of Goodreads Most Popular Horror of 2022 "Engrossing, character-rich, powerful. Sten is on a roll."--Publishers Weekly(starred review) Crimson Peak meets The Sanatorium in The Resting Place, a heart-thumping,...
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The Marigold
Sullivan, Andrew F.
Ebook
The Marigold, a gleaming Toronto condo tower, sits a half-empty promise: a stack of scuffed rental suites and undelivered amenities that crumbles around its residents as a mysterious sludge spreads slowly through it. Public health inspector Cathy Jin investigates this toxic mold as it infests the...
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The kind worth saving : a novel
Swanson, Peter
Paper Book
"The inventive Mr. Swanson never lets the willing reader down. With The Kind Worth Saving, he surpasses his own high standard." -- Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal In this spectacularly devious novel by New York Times bestselling author Peter Swanson, a private...
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Lute
Thorne, Jennifer
Audiobook
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The beast you are : stories
Tremblay, Paul
Ebook
A haunting collection of short fiction from the bestselling author of The Pallbearers Club, A Head Full of Ghosts, and The Cabin at the End of the World. Paul Tremblay has won widespread acclaim for illuminating the dark horrors of the mind in novels and stories that push...
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Delicate condition
Valentine, Danielle
Paper Book
THE INSPIRATION FOR FX'S AMERICAN HORROR STORY: DELICATE STARRING EMMA ROBERTS AND KIM KARDASHIAN A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BUZZ PICK As seen in People, Vanity Fair, Variety, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, Shondaland, and more! Anna Alcott is desperate to have a family. But as...
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The cherry robbers
Walker, Sarai
Paper Book
"Sarai Walker has done it again. With The Cherry Robbers she upends the Gothic ghost story with a fiery feminist zeal." --Maria Semple The highly anticipated second novel from Sarai Walker, following her "slyly subversive" (EW) cult-hit Dietland--a feminist gothic about the lone...
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Looking glass sound
Ward, Catriona
Paper Book
A USA TODAY BESTSELLER * A 2023 World Fantasy Award nominee * Best Book of 2023(Vulture) * A Best Horror Book of All Time (Cosmopolitan) * A Best Horror Book of 2023 (Esquire) * An Indie Next Pick * A LibraryReads...
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Black river orchard : a novel
Wendig, Chuck
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A small town is transformed when seven strange trees begin bearing magical apples in this masterpiece of horror from the author of Wanderers and The Book of Accidents. "This masterful outing should continue to earn Wendig comparisons to...
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Mister Magic : a novel
White, Kiersten
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Who is Mister Magic? Former child stars reunite to uncover the tragedy that ended their show--and discover the secret of its enigmatic host--in this "skin-crawling story of pop culture fandom and '90s nostalgia" (Melissa Albert, author of The Hazel Woods) from...
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Where the dead wait
Wilkes, Ally
Paper Book
"Haunting...Ominous." --The New York Times Book Review A "wonderfully chilling" (Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author) polar gothic about a Victorian explorer in search of his lost shipmate-and redemption-from the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of...
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All the dangerous things
Willingham, Stacy
Paper Book
Following up her instant New York Times bestseller, A Flicker in the Dark, Stacy Willingham delivers a totally gripping thriller about a desperate mother with a troubled past in All the Dangerous Things. One year ago, Isabelle Drake's life changed forever:...
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Midnight is the darkest hour : a novel
Winstead, Ashley
Paper Book
From the critically acclaimed author of In My Dreams I Hold A Knife and The Last Housewife comes Midnight is the Darkest Hour, a gothic Southern thriller about a killer haunting a small Louisiana town, where two outcasts--the preacher's daughter and the boy from the wrong side of the tracks--hold...
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