Good Reads & Views

If It Bleeds by Stephen King
Fiction                                                                                                   

What it is: Four novellas by the master of horror, never before published.

What you will find inside: A cell phone communicating from beyond the grave, a series of apocalyptic incidents, a Faustian bargain, and Holly Gibney - of King’s Bill Hodges trilogy and The Outsider – facing off against evil in the form of a television newscaster.

Reviewers say: “This excellent collection delivers exactly the kind of bravura storytelling King's readers expect” (Publishers Weekly); “King has gone a far piece from the killer clowns and vampires of old, with his monsters and monstrosities taking on far more quotidian forms--which makes them all the scarier. Vintage King: a pleasure for his many fans and not a bad place to start if you're new to him” (Kirkus Reviews); “This set of novellas is thought-provoking, terrifying, and, at times, outright charming, showcasing King's breadth as a master storyteller” (Booklist).

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The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Fiction

What it’s about: In this creepy Native American horror story, 4 friends in their 30’s, who all grew up on the Blackfeet reservation, are being stalked by an entity. A decade ago they ignored the hunting boundaries of their community and hunted an elk herd on land reserved for Elders. Big mistake!

Why you might like it: A well-developed cast of characters and a great combination of suspense and creepiness, coupled with beautiful writing, makes this an unusual read for the genre.

Reviewers say: “Jones's writing is raw, balancing on the knife-edge between dark humor and all-out gore as he forces his characters to reckon with their pasts, as well as their culture's. This novel works both as a terrifying chiller and as biting commentary on the existential crisis of indigenous peoples adapting to a culture that is bent on eradicating theirs. Challenging and rewarding” (Publishers Weekly).

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Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth
Fiction

What it’s about: In a blend of Gothic horror and current-day Hollywood story, this creative and quirky novel is full of surprises. When an author writes the story of two grisly deaths at a girls’ boarding school in the early 20^th century (death by yellow jackets), her book gets optioned for a movie. As the filming begins, eerie and inexplicable events haunt the set (including: more yellow jackets!)

Why you should read it: If you like your horror novels both smart and snarky, this is the book for you. This book is also a great choice for readers who enjoy clever footnotes in fiction, novels that alternate between two timeframes, LGBTQIA+ fiction, and stories told in layers.

Reviewers say: Kirkus Reviews says it’s “Creepy, meta, and a whole lot of fun.”

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The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
Fiction

What it’s about: Unappreciated suburban housewives tend to their True Crime book club while battling a dark force in the shape of James Harris, a charming new neighbor. FYI: Don’t mess with the housewives!

Is it for you? If you are on the squeamish side and break out in a cold sweat when rats (pgs. 128-132) and cockroaches (pgs. 295-298) are involved, you may want to pass on this one. If, however, you like horror with humor and don’t mind some gross stuff, you should enjoy this.

Reviewers say: “Hendrix draws shrewd parallels between the serial killers documented in the book club's picks and Harris's apparent vampire persona, loading his gruesome story with perfectly-pitched allusions to classic horror novels and true crime accounts. This powerful, eclectic novel both pays homage to the literary vampire canon and stands singularly within it” (Publishers Weekly); “Fans of smart horror will sink their teeth into this one” (Kirkus Reviews).

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Lost Causes of Bleak Creek by Rhett McLaughlin & Link Neal
Fiction

What is it: Rex, Leif, and Alicia are best friends living in the small southern town of Bleak Creek. They’re spending their summer before 9^th grade filming a movie about a ghost dog appropriately named “PolterDog.” While shooting a pivotal scene, they have an accident involving the head of The Whitewood School, which is a reform school in their town. Many troublesome children, or lost causes, get sent there. Some are sent home, changed somehow. Others never make it back home. When Alicia gets sent there, Rex and Leif are determined to figure out a way to help her escape. But strange things start to happen, which cause Rex and Leif to question what is really going on at The Whitewood School.

Why you might like it: This story will keep you in suspense. There are some very dark and creepy elements, reminiscent of Stranger Things. So, even though the 2 main characters are 14 years old, this isn’t a book for kids. Readers will develop with the characters and the story unravels nicely. Readers will be begging for a sequel.

About the Authors: Rhett & Link are popular internetainers, with over 20 million subscribers on YouTube. They host a daily morning show, Good Mythical Morning, and produce a weekly podcast, Ear Biscuits.

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Dread Nation: Rise Up by Justina Ireland
YA Fiction

What it’s about: The dead rose up at Gettysburg just after the battle, and the nation is still recovering from the war and the zombie apocalypse. Now Jane McKeene is training to become a lady’s attendant (bodyguard) against the shamblers and trying to find out what happened to her ex-boyfriend’s sister and her family, but she makes powerful enemies in the process.

Why you should read it: This reads a bit like Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets the Wild West. African-American Jane is smart, sassy, and ferocious, protecting those she cares about and commenting on the world as she knows it. Well worth finding on audio too.

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The Outsider by Stephen King
Fiction

Starring: Ralph Anderson, Flint City detective, and Holly Gibney, former assistant to Bill Hodges of Mr. Mercedes fame.

What it’s about: It looks like an open and shut case when Terry Maitland, local coach and all-around great guy, is arrested for the brutal murder of an 11-yr old boy. There were reliable witnesses who saw Maitland, and his DNA and fingerprints are all over the evidence. Ralph Anderson is sure he has the right guy and arrests him at a public event. But then Maitland produces an iron-clad alibi that has witnesses and DNA evidence putting him in a different place when the murder was committed. The contradictory evidence is grounds to bring in investigator Holly Gibney, who played a crucial part in King’s Bill Hodges trilogy. This being Stephen King, the supernatural eventually finds its way into the plot and if you have a phobia about worms you may want to let someone else recap the last part for you.

Audio note: This is a great experience on audio; Will Patton does an excellent job voicing all the characters, with much emotion and expertise, as he did for King’s Bill Hodges trilogy.>

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Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
Fiction

This is King’s follow-up to his 1977 book The Shining, which established him as the successful writer he has become. Doctor Sleep won the 2013 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel and I’d be remiss to give away too much of the plot. Danny Torrance, the young boy in The Shining, is now an adult with issues that can be traced back to the horrible events of his childhood. A young girl shares the same powers he has but there’s a group of people, especially their charismatic leader, who wants them both dead. RVs and their traveling owners are involved, so are the measles (yup!), recovering alcoholics, and a cat, together with some remnants of the first book. I found this follow-up much more enjoyable than the first one, possibly due to the fact that King is now much older and demonstrably much wiser.

The Girl With All The Gifts by Mike Carey
Fiction

Melanie and the other students in her class live in cells and are strapped into wheelchairs before being brought into the schoolroom. Melanie loves her favorite teacher, Miss Justineau, even though the teacher sometimes seems very sad. Occasionally the doctor in charge will ask for a student or two, and those students are never seen again. So what’s really happening here? Why are the children fed only once a week, and why are they only fed grubs? This gritty horror story, soon to be released as a movie, will keep readers riveted.

In The Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters
YA Fiction

A colleague gushed about this book, saying she didn't usually read historical fiction but couldn't put this down. I really liked the historical details about WWI and the flu epidemic of 1918. For example, people used a lot of folk remedies, like eating lots of onions, to try to keep the flu away. I also liked the gutsy character of Mary Shelley Black, who loves mechanical things and science experiments.

Mary Shelley Black gets out of Portland right after her father is arrested for helping men escape the WWI draft. She goes to San Diego to stay with her aunt, a big believer in Spiritualism, who wants Mary Shelley to pose for another picture for Julian, a spirit photographer and brother to the young man Mary Shelley loves who is going off to war. Julian has been using Mary’s earlier picture as an advertisement for his business, but she suspects his ghosts are frauds ... until she sees a ghost herself.