Author Interview

Author Suzanne Junered discusses motherhood, identity, and the darkness behind Goodnight Monsters

In today’s author interview, Suzanne Junered discusses Goodnight Monsters, her unsettling novel about motherhood, identity, grief, and the disturbing thoughts we don’t always admit. When I reviewed Goodnight Monsters, I was struck by the novel’s unsettling exploration of motherhood, identity, and the thoughts we’re often afraid to admit we have. Through Lia’s fascination with death and decomposition, her complicated relationship with pregnancy, and her increasingly blurred line between fantasy and reality, Junered creates a story that is as psychologically disturbing as it is thought-provoking.

Suzanne Junered is the author of Goodnight Monsters, which releases today!

In this interview, she talks about the deeply personal experiences that shaped the novel, the unexpected origins of the Body Farm setting, and her desire to challenge the idea that there is one “right” way to experience motherhood. She also shares how her own struggles with grief, anger, and loss of identity found their way onto the page—and offers a glimpse at what she’s working on next.

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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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Author Interview

Author interview: Sarah Gailey on Make Me Better, cults, belonging, and healing

In today’s author interview, Sarah Gailey discusses the inspiration behind Make Me Better, including the novel’s themes of identity, belonging, cult psychology, climate anxiety, and the complicated pursuit of healing. In my recent review, I described the novel as an unsettling blend of literary fiction, psychological suspense, and horror that asks difficult questions about what people are willing to sacrifice for connection and certainty.

Author Sarah Gailey discusses the inspiration behind Make Me Better, including the novel’s themes of identity, belonging, cult psychology, and the search for healing. Image credit: Kate Dollarhyde

I had the opportunity to ask Gailey about the creation of Kindred Cove, the challenges of writing Celia’s emotional vulnerability, the appeal of high-control communities, and the literary influences that helped shape their work. We also discussed why stories about cults resonate so strongly today and what Gailey hopes readers will take away from the novel’s exploration of wellness culture, manipulation, and transformation.

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The Season of Sinking by Daphne Woolsoncroft: A haunting thriller about obsession, secrets, and the dangers lurking close to home

What if someone knew everything about you—but you had no idea they even existed? Daphne Woolsoncroft’s The Season of Sinking is the kind of psychological thriller that feeds on that unsettling possibility. Equal parts mystery, suspense, and creeping dread, this debut novel from the popular true crime podcaster transforms an idyllic lakeside town into a place where every glance feels suspicious and every memory hides something dangerous beneath the surface.

Set against the backdrop of a picturesque Washington community, The Season of Sinking follows Imogen Bly as she returns to her hometown of Lake Blair after her mother’s sudden death. Accompanied by her twin sister Amelia, Imogen expects a painful but straightforward task: sorting through their mother’s belongings and preparing the family home for sale. Instead, she finds herself confronted by old fears, strange occurrences, and the lingering sense that something has always been deeply wrong about the place she once called home.

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It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell: A thriller that proves why she remains the genre’s best storyteller

A missing teenager, a mysterious house, and a woman forced to confront the darkest corners of her past collide in It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell, a gripping and emotionally rich thriller that reminds me exactly why she remains my favorite author working in the genre today. Releasing June 23, 2026, this latest novel begins with a seemingly simple mystery involving a lost dog before spiraling into something far more layered, unsettling, and deeply personal.

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Thriller novels often follow familiar patterns. There’s a reason readers keep coming back to them. Like a favorite comfort food, the genre offers recognizable tropes, satisfying twists, and reliable entertainment. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Not every book needs to reinvent literature, and sometimes readers simply want an engaging story that delivers exactly what it promises.

But Lisa Jewell has never been that kind of writer.

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Author Interview

Interview: Leslie Baird on Salomé, literary suspense, and the allure of charisma

Leslie Baird’s debut novel Salomé is a hypnotic blend of literary suspense, psychological intrigue, and gothic atmosphere, following a young American woman who becomes entangled in the orbit of a charismatic French family and the enigmatic woman at its center. When I reviewed the novel, I was struck by its dreamlike sense of place, its exploration of longing and vulnerability, and its willingness to venture into stranger, more unsettling territory than readers might expect. In this interview, Baird discusses the cult-like power of charisma, the French landscapes that inspired the novel, the emotional foundations beneath its mystery, and why she is drawn to stories that take risks and embrace the unexpected.

Author Leslie Baird discusses the inspirations behind her debut novel Salomé, including cult charisma, the allure of France, and her fascination with the ways people become vulnerable to mystery and belonging.

Q: Courtney is drawn into Salomé’s world almost immediately. Were you interested in exploring why intelligent, perceptive people can still be captivated by charisma and mystery?
A: I’m fascinated by cults. Not only organized groups, but how even something as ubiquitous as marketing copy can leak over into cultiness. (Shout out to Cultish: the Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell.) How quick we are to align with something, as humans seeking a safe group. And there are so many levels to this, which is fun to tease out in writing. Courtney may be able to scoff at a person who subscribes to Marco’s vitamin MLM subscription, but wasn’t she just as naive when a pretty French woman paid attention to her?

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Vervain Hollow by Catriona Silvey: A haunting cult novel about addiction, belonging, and the price of escape

Sometimes the most unsettling horror novels aren’t about monsters lurking in the dark—they’re about the things we desperately want, even when we know they’ll destroy us. In Vervain Hollow by Catriona Silvey, a burned-out cult, a charismatic leader who may never have been human, and a young woman unable to let go of the power she once possessed combine to create one of the most compelling and emotionally complex horror novels I’ve read this year.

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Two years ago, Laura escaped Vervain Hollow after the sprawling house burned to the ground with its enigmatic leader trapped inside. Since then, she’s returned to a normal life, but “normal” isn’t the same thing as healing. She still longs for Vervain and the extraordinary power he shared with his followers. When her former friend Aliyah contacts her with shocking news—that another former acolyte has returned to the hollow after receiving a message from Vervain himself—Laura sees only one possibility. Somehow, he’s still alive.

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Behind White Picket Fences by Christine Gunderson is a suspense novel caught between aspiration and reality

There’s something deeply compelling about novels that peel back the image of suburban perfection to reveal the ugliness underneath, and Behind White Picket Fences certainly knows how to build that contrast. Releasing June 9, 2026, the novel combines domestic suspense, commentary on modern motherhood, and a mystery rooted in buried neighborhood secrets. At its best, it captures the exhaustion and anxiety of contemporary parenting with sharp observational humor. At other times, though, the story feels so polished and idealized that the emotional truth underneath begins to slip away.

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The novel follows Kiersten Cleaver, who feels crushed beneath the endless expectations of modern motherhood. Travel sports, academic pressure, dyslexia accommodations, and the constant race to ensure children are “successful” have left her emotionally depleted. Alongside her neighbors Rosamund and Piper, she decides to step away from the system entirely for a year, creating a homeschool collective out of Kiersten’s kitchen. The setup taps directly into a cultural fantasy many parents probably recognize: a return to a slower, more intentional childhood where kids play outside, families gather around real dinner tables, and life isn’t dictated by schedules and screens.

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Hunger and Thirst by Claire Fuller: A haunting story about the ache to belong

Some hungers have nothing to do with food. Some thirsts cannot be quenched. In Hunger and Thirst, Claire Fuller builds a quietly unsettling novel about loneliness, guilt, and the dangerous places people wander when they want love badly enough.

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Claire Fuller has long excelled at writing stories that feel atmospheric without sacrificing emotional complexity. Readers familiar with Our Endless Numbered Days (one of my all-time favorites!), Swimming Lessons, or Bitter Orange will recognize her gift for creating settings that feel slightly unsteady, places where human relationships become as unsettling as any ghost story. Hunger and Thirst, releasing June 2, 2026, continues that tradition while leaning more openly into gothic territory.

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The Counting Game by Sinéad Nolan: A haunting debut where myth and fear blur in the Irish woods

Two children walk into the woods, and only one returns. From that chilling premise, The Counting Game by Sinéad Nolan unfolds into an atmospheric psychological mystery that lingers long after the final page. Releasing April 7, 2026, this debut crime novel turns a rural Irish legend into something far more unsettling: a story where the real danger might be human—or something else entirely.

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Set in southwest Ireland in 1995, the novel opens with the disappearance of thirteen-year-old Saoirse Kellough. She vanished while playing the so-called “Counting Game” in the forest with her younger brother, Jack. The rules are simple: go into the woods, count to ten, and stay hidden. The problem is that only Jack comes out. Worse still, he refuses to speak about what happened.

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