It’s that time again – hope you’re having a great Women in Horror Month!
What great female horror authors have you discovered lately?
This year, my to-read list includes:
1. Tania Carver: The Creeper
I have heard nothing but amazing things about this book. The description alone gives me the chills.
From the Publisher: Suzanne Perry is having a vivid nightmare. Someone is in her bedroom, touching her, and she can’t move a muscle. She wakes, relieved to put the nightmare behind her, but when she opens the curtains, she sees a polaroid stuck to the window. A photo of her, sleeping, taken during the night. And underneath,the words: “I’m watching over you.” (full description from Penguin Random House Canada)
Yikes! This one has been on my list forever, but I’ve only recently discovered that it is a sequel to another title, The Surrogate. Guess I know what I’ll be doing in my spare time!
2. Madeleine Roux: Asylum
This one is a YA novel, and something a little lighter might be needed after I tackle that creepy Tania Carver. I worked in a bookstore for many years, and I learned long ago not to discount YA horror just because I wasn’t into Twilight. I used to get so many requests for YA horror, and it is a market definitely dominated by fantasy right now. But horror sneaks its way in now and then, and this book which kicks off a series is at the top of my list right now.
From the Publisher: Featuring found photographs from real asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Asylum is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity, perfect for fans of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. (see the full description from Harper Collins)
How intriguing do those photos sound? I’m in for a quick weekend read.
Related Post: Women in Horror Reads
3. Shirley Jackson: We Have Always Lived in the Castle
I know, I know…..don’t judge me! I just never seemed to get around to this one, and I always love a good classic. Shirley Jackson has such a great sense of atmosphere, and her stories never disappoint. Bonus: I get to read it before the movies arrives
From the Publisher: Most of the Blackwoods are dead. They were poisoned by arsenic, and the suspected murderer – Constance Blackwood – still lives in their family estate. In fact, she never leaves. Nor does her Uncle Julian, who is confined to a wheelchair. The only person to leave the house is her sister, the third remaining Blackwood, Merricat, and even she keeps her visits to town to a minimum. The townsfolk don’t like the Blackwoods; understandable, when one of them could be a mass murderer. (see the full description from Penguin Random House Canada)
There is something about curling up with a classic under a quilt with a hot cup of tea in the winter, and apparently it’s going to snow here tomorrow, so the evening is pretty much planned out for me!
4. Ania Ahlborn: If You See Her
The first Ania Ahlborn book that I read was Brother, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’ve been rationing this one for a day that I can sit and plow through the entire thing in one sitting. Her writing is so good that I don’t want to put it down, but part of me is just so upset that I have no more to read until the next one. Please keep them coming, Ania!
I love Ania Ahlborn’s books so much that I’m not even going to post a description here. I love going into her books blind, and just seeing how they unfold. Total surprise, which is a great way to read her titles, because they get dark, and then sometimes even darker. Enjoy!
Related Post: Ania Ahlborn’s Novels Will Blow You Away!
5. Selected by Audrey Niffenegger: Ghostly: A Collection of Ghost Stories
This one has been sitting on my shelf staring at me for a while. The Time Traveler’s Wife was such a beautiful love story. But because it left quite an impression on people, I think that many were unprepared for her next novel; a modern gothic ghost story. I loved Her Fearful Symmetry; it had all of the elements that made her first novel so engaging, but had the added bonus of having a great ghost story holding it all together.
From the Publisher: From Edgar Allan Poe to Kelly Link, M.R. James to Neil Gaiman, H.H. Munro to Audrey Niffenegger herself, Ghostly reveals the evolution of the ghost story genre with tales going back to the eighteenth century and into the modern era, ranging across styles from Gothic Horror to Victorian, stories about haunting–haunted children, animals, houses. Every story is introduced by Audrey Niffenegger, an acclaimed master of the craft, with some words on its background and why she chose to include it. Audrey’s own story is “A Secret Life With Cats.” (see full description from Penguin Random House Canada)
Audrey Niffenegger’s writing is just so thoughtful; you can tell that every word is very deliberately chosen. I look forward to seeing that same thoughtfulness in her explanations as to how she selected these stories, and illustrations have the potential to add some really great depth.
You should start to see reviews for the above and more in March/April. Any more great suggestions?
Happy Reading!
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