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Bruja’s Nest by Brenda LaTorre: A monstrous story about motherhood, power, and the price of freedom

Brenda LaTorre’s Bruja’s Nest is a dark, unsettling body-horror novel about a young woman who believes she can escape poverty and abuse by securing a wealthy husband, only to discover that real power cannot be borrowed from a man.

Yolanda has grown up knowing that her mother favors her older brother and blames her for nearly everything that goes wrong. When her mother catches her in bed with her brother, she blames Yolanda rather than the son who actually betrayed her. It is one more lesson in a lifetime of lessons telling Yolanda that she is somehow always at fault. But Yolanda is determined not to end up trapped in the same kind of life. She wants money, security, and a future she controls herself. When college doesn’t work out, she finds another path forward: marriage.

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Strange Is the Light by Sarah Maria Griffin: A dark fantasy of friendship, betrayal, and consequences

What happens when the games you invented as children turn out to be more real than you ever imagined? In Sarah Maria Griffin’s Strange Is the Light, a childhood game becomes the doorway to something ancient, dangerous, and very much alive—and the friends who created it must finally reckon with the consequences of the last time they played.

Strange Is the Light follows Daphne, Ronan, Leonie, and Finn, four childhood friends whose lives have been intertwined by a strange and somewhat magical summer friendship. Three of them live year-round on the island of Valentia, while Daphne visits only during the summers. At the center of their friendship is a game they have created together, one that begins as the kind of elaborate play-acting children do and gradually evolves into something closer to the role-playing games we know today. They create a world, invent stories and characters, and take turns building the narrative together.

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We Are for the Dark by Gretchen McNeil: An unsettling descent into Newfoundland horror

What if a missing-person investigation led you to an island where nothing is quite what it seems—and something ancient beneath the ground is very, very hungry? Gretchen McNeil’s We Are for the Dark, releasing September 1, 2026, takes that premise and turns it into a fast-paced supernatural horror story filled with isolated communities, religious unease, strange traditions, and a growing sense that the people arriving on the island may have made a terrible mistake.

McNeil’s novel begins with Father Shane Ryan, a recently ordained Catholic priest with an unusual past as an FBI analyst. When a priest disappears from a remote island off the coast of Newfoundland, Cardinal Jacobs calls on Ryan to investigate. At roughly the same time, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary constable Miriam Rideout becomes concerned about a frantic call she received from the missing priest. When her superiors refuse to authorize a wellness check, Miriam takes matters into her own hands and travels to the island herself. Naturally, the two eventually end up together—and neither is particularly thrilled about it.

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Goodnight Monsters by Suzanne Junered is a wild, unsettling ride through pregnancy, motherhood, and murder

Suzanne Junered’s Goodnight Monsters, releasing September 1, 2026, is a psychological horror novel about pregnancy, motherhood, murder, and the terrifying space where fantasy begins to blur with reality—and this book was such a wild ride, I am 100% here for it.

Lia has spent two years as a stay-at-home wife trying to get pregnant, following the same suburban script as the other women in her neighborhood. She and her husband, Evan, have dreamed of becoming parents, and Lia has devoted herself to making that dream happen. But when she finally gets the positive pregnancy test she has been waiting for, instead of feeling uncomplicated joy, she finds herself questioning whether she actually wants to become a mother. And honestly, I was immediately intrigued by that premise.

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The Sleeping Sisters by Jennifer Givhan: A haunting literary horror novel about motherhood, myth, and generational trauma

Some books arrive with impossible expectations, and somehow, they still manage to exceed them. Jennifer Givhan’s The Sleeping Sisters is one of those rare novels that not only lived up to my hopes but cemented her place as one of my favorite voices in literary horror.

When I saw that this ARC had finally reached the top of my NetGalley reading queue, I couldn’t have been more excited. Because I read mostly advance reader copies, my reading schedule is dictated almost entirely by publication dates. Givhan’s Salt Bones was my favorite book of 2025, and I absolutely loved River Woman, River Demon, so this latest novel was an automatic must-read. I was thrilled when my request for an advance copy was approved, and it quickly reminded me why I keep recommending her work every chance I get.

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The Minimalist by Kailee Pedersen: A haunting literary descent into obsession that values atmosphere over momentum

The Minimalist by Kailee Pedersen is a novel that will likely divide readers based on what they hope to find in literary horror. Richly written and emotionally unsettling, it leans heavily into music theory, artistic obsession, and psychological disintegration. While I admired Pedersen’s prose and the ambition behind the novel, I ultimately found myself wishing the story would spend less time exploring musical philosophy and more time advancing the narrative.

Mia Voss was once the prized student of legendary minimalist composer Ryder Wakefield, who promised she would become one of classical music’s next great talents. After Ryder dies unexpectedly, Mia inherits not only his estate but also the unfinished manuscript for his final masterpiece, Death Fugue: Music for Orchestra. Returning to his isolated home to complete the composition forces her to confront the lingering grief surrounding Ryder’s son Oliver, her former lover whose suicide continues to haunt her, while also unraveling Ryder’s own carefully concealed identity. As Mia immerses herself in the unfinished work, the music itself begins to exert an increasingly disturbing influence, blurring the boundaries between artistic devotion, mental illness, and obsession.

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That Night by Gillian McAllister: A gripping family thriller built on impossible choices

Gillian McAllister’s That Night is a twist-filled psychological thriller that explores family loyalty, buried secrets, and the impossible choices that follow a split-second decision. Three siblings. One terrible mistake. One secret that refuses to stay buried.

When Frannie calls her brother Joe and sister Cathy from a family vacation in Italy, she has only one thing to say: she needs help. She has struck a man with her car, and he’s dead. Together, the siblings make a split-second decision that will define the rest of their lives—they bury the body and swear never to tell another soul.

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Mia by Leslie Bazzett: A literary psychological thriller about reinvention and manipulation

If you’ve ever dreamed of spending a year living in another country, Mia by Leslie Bazzett transforms that fantasy into an unsettling psychological suspense novel where reinvention and obsession become dangerously intertwined. Releasing August 11, 2026, this literary thriller explores the seductive pull of becoming someone else—and the devastating consequences of trusting the wrong person.

Sally has everything she believes she has ever wanted: a loving husband, two young children, and the opportunity to spend a year living in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico while her architect husband completes a project. Determined to immerse herself in the culture rather than remain on the fringes as an American outsider, she is immediately captivated by Louise, an older expatriate whose elegance, intellect, and seemingly endless stories about literary legends make her impossible to resist. Before long, Louise begins introducing Sally as her daughter, calling her Mia instead of Sally, and drawing her deeper into an increasingly disturbing relationship that threatens not only Sally’s identity but the safety of her family.

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Dreamland by Olivie Blake: Hollywood gothic horror wrapped in occult secrets

Hollywood dreams have always come with a price, and in Dreamland, Olivie Blake imagines that price as a centuries-old curse lurking behind one of the film industry’s most powerful dynasties. Blending gothic horror, occult mythology, and sharp social commentary, Blake crafts an atmospheric novel filled with unforgettable ideas—even if its ambitious storytelling doesn’t always land as cleanly as its vision deserves.

Anya Morris has spent years believing she’s destined for something greater than working part-time in her family’s store while enduring her mother’s constant dismissal of her acting ambitions. When an unexpected invitation arrives from the de Witts—one of Hollywood’s most influential and enigmatic film families—it seems like the breakthrough she’s been waiting for.

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Stay Buried by Jennifer McMahon: A cozy folk horror steeped in small-town superstition

Jennifer McMahon’s Stay Buried embraces the eerie traditions of New England folk horror, blending supernatural folklore, family secrets, and atmospheric mystery into a story that feels tailor-made for readers who enjoy cozy horror with a gothic edge.

Jennifer McMahon has built a reputation for weaving together dual timelines, family mysteries, and unsettling folklore, and Stay Buried continues that tradition. Set in the isolated Vermont community of Boone’s Ferry, the novel alternates between 1919, when a mysterious illness threatens the town, and 2016, when two siblings inherit property tied to generations of family secrets. As past and present begin to converge, long-buried truths—and the superstitions surrounding them—refuse to stay buried.

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