I read fairly broadly every year but my December LibFaves are always horror focused. While EarlyWord has changed to a spreadsheet for this year (see their website for details), I thought I would curate my list here of what were my favorite horror reads in 2023. Are they the best of the year? I don't know! That's someone else's list. Also, a few people do have more than one entry. I couldn't decide and it's my list. They aren't in any order.
Bad Cree by Jessica Johns (Doubleday): A story filled with complex female relationships as Mackenzie, a young Cree woman, tries to deal with her sister Sabrina's death. Eventually, her intense dreams, filled with violence, drive her home to Alberta where she and her family must face their guilt and grief. This is coming of age horror and grief horror. I love a story with a core of female relationships not built around the men in their lives. With this debut, Jessica Johns shows great promise.
Chapman Chapbooks #1-3 (Shortwave Media) and What Kind of Mother (Quirk Books) by Clay McLeod Chapman: Becky Spratford (RA for All and RA for All: Horror) has said that for this year it's WTF for the win. Clay's books are definitely filled with moments that will make you question what you just read as well as what kind of mind could create the story you are reading. In What Kind of Mother, Madi, a palm reader, has been forced to return to her hometown in the Chesapeake Bay Area with her teenage daughter. While working a farmer's market, she is reintroduced to her high school boyfriend, Henry. He's been searching for his missing infant son for 5 years. As Madi grows more unsure of what happened and if Henry was involved, the reader is drawn deeper and deeper into a story that starts with unease and ends with terror.
The Chapbooks are three short stories that are quick shots of Clay storytelling. They are all three terrifying and will leave you terrified at the idea that someone would write these. It's as if someone went ahead with one of those "Can you imagine..." ideas that you have with your friends late at night. Baby carrots become horrifying in his hands. . .
What Clay is especially skilled at doing is taking small ordinary events and moments and infusing them with emotion and horror as part of revealing what could happen next. With his books, it's difficult to predict what is going to happen next. He's perfect for that person who thinks that they have read everything and is feeling kind of jaded.
Loteria (Agora Books) and The Shoemaker's Magician by Cina Pelayo(Agora Books): From my Goodreads review of Loteria: Rich collection of poetry, short stories and a novella. There are ghosts and monsters within the text, both human and supernatural. Great for fans of Latin American folktales, horror, or for breaking a reading slump. As with all of her work, Cina Pelayo digs deeply into the human heart and shows us our pain and love and hatred and joy.
In The Shoemaker's Magician, Pelayo has another genre blend of mystery/police procedural with horror and fairy tale retellings. This is book 2 in the Chicago Saga which began with The Children of Chicago. What you will get immediately is a sense of Chicago as a real place and how much love its residents have for it, complicated history and all. Paloma Ramos has a YouTube show discussing classic horror. Her neurodivergent son, Bela, occupies a lot of her remaining time. Her husband Sebastian, a homicide detective, is called to case in which a poster from a 1920's film is attached to the body. This starts a mystery Paloma and Sebastian try to solve together. It's tied to a horror TV host, Grand, and a lost silent film. This book is perfect for a mystery/thriller fan who is open to some horror and supernatural touches. It's a gripping story that is driven by complex characters and their relationships.
Whalefall by Daniel Kraus (MTV Books): From my Goodreads review- Scientifically accurate and stands as a terrifying story of a diver being swallowed by a sperm whale. Jay, feeling guilty about his father's suicide and his refusal to visit before, attempts a dive to find his father's remains. An accidental encounter with a giant squid puts Jay in real jeopardy when a hungry sperm whale swallows the squid. Jay is dragged along and has one hour to find a way out before he runs out of oxygen.
Jay's descent into the whale is entangled with a descent into his complicated feelings about his father, a local diving legend. Coming to terms with his father and his feelings is an important to Jay's survival as is finding a way out of the whale. Kraus uses the alien, claustrophobic environment of the deep sea to mirror how unprocessed trauma and grief have trapped Jay. His real physical danger is reflected in the flashbacks to his childhood, which show the emotional cost of having a father like his.
Recommended for fans of Jaws and deep sea terror and survivor stories as well as fans of complicated family stories and those about death and grief.
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix (Penguin Random House): Best selling author Grady Hendrix has written another book deserving of its attention and praise. Louise reluctantly leaves her daughter with her ex and travels to Charleston after the death of her parents. Her father and her mother left a house filled with memories and the puppets and dolls which occupied so much of their mother's time. Mark has never left his hometown and fails at one enterprise after another. While Louise intends on selling the house as quickly as possible, she learns the truth about the house and its plans for them... Grady is so very good at describing and getting to the heart of relationships. His description of complicated sibling relationships is so dead on accurate. This is one of those books that everyone I suggest it to adores.
Hungers As Old As This Land by Zachary Rosenberg (Brigids Gate Press, LLC): From my Goodreads review-This horror western is a fast read and it's a testament to Rosenberg's talents that readers seem to be left wanting more of both the world he's created and his characters. What could be a typical western plot of a good town facing invasion by bad men is made fresh with strong female characters, a town established as a haven for Jewish settlers, and bargain between a small town and monsters hiding in the nearby mountains. There is great character development with the two main characters being tough women who can take care of themselves and hold their ground. It's a rich novella that packs a lot into its pages. I can't wait to read something else from this author.
Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison (Berkley): From my Goodreads review - Vesper is living a listless existence as a waitress at a chain restaurant in New York City. Disaffected and sarcastic, she has fled the authoritarian religious group she grew up in, knowing that if you leave, you can never return. She's surprised to receive an invitation to the wedding of her childhood best friend and her first love, both of whom stayed loyal to the cult and remained in their tiny New Jersey town. Despite a tense relationship with her cold, detached scream queen mother, a star of b horror films, Vesper's curiosity gets the better of her and she returns for the wedding, the prodigal child.
Vesper learns secrets about her family and childhood faith that she struggles to accept. It's a darkly humorous book that still manages to wrestle with themes of faith, memory, family, and identity. How much of one's identity is tied to one's past? Can you escape who you used to be or who other people wanted you to be? Harrison has written a book that is fast paced and filled with great characters. If you are a fan of fiction about cults, family tension, or strained parent/child relationships you will enjoy this release. There are twists and turns that will keep you reading.Nestlings by Nat Cassidy (Tor Nightfire): This is another recent horror novel that has a 70-80's horror movie feel that I love. The comparison to Rosemary's Baby is apt and New York City is drawn so that readers will have a real sense of the city. Ana and her husband Reid win a lottery for an apartment in a desirable New York City building. While Ana grows increasingly disturbed by strange happenings at the building, Reid dismisses her sense of unease but the couple and their baby are drawn deeper and deeper into whatever is wrong with their new home. The sense of unease grows into terror as the couple realize what is really going on at the Depford building.
Ana's postpartum depression and disability are woven into the story as she tries to move forward. Antisemitism is also deftly handled by Cassidy. A reader that doesn't always feel drawn to horror but loves horror movies will enjoy this book.
Lone Women by Victor LaValle (One World): Another genre blending book with historical fiction and horror combined, Lone Women is the story of Adelaide Henry in the Montana of 1915. She has fled her home in California with only a mysterious trunk that must never be opened. The book is fast paced and even after the secret of the trunk is revealed, the reader is compelled to read on. There are some great female characters and relationships in the book. Issues of sexism, racism, and classism are woven into the story as Adelaide struggles to find her place in the world and escape her family's past. She is a wonderfully complex character who kept me reading.
Another book to recommend to those readers who are open to horror when blended with a genre they already love. It should be showcased on any list or display of historical fiction.
The Reformatory by Tananrive Due (Saga Press): I was partially familiar with the history of the Dozier School for Boys in Florida. (TampaBay Times story can be read here.) Set in fictional, Gracetown, Florida, this book was inspired by the real-life horrors of the Dozier School as well as what Due's relative experienced there. There are real world terrors blended in the supernatural throughout the book. Robby Stephens Jr. is sent to Gracetown School for Boys after kicking the son of a powerful man while defending his sister, Gloria. Robby can see "haints" or ghosts, a talent that allowed him to see his beloved mother after she died. In the reformatory, Robby is haunted by boys who died terrible deaths at the hands of sadistic staff members. He makes friends while at the school with Redbone and Blue who try to help him learn how to survive. His sister, burdened by the reputation of their father whose activism forced him to flee to Chicago, works tirelessly to get Robby released, harnessing connections to the NAACP and activist lawyers.
Tying the horrors of the Jim Crow south to those of restless souls tied to where they were unjustly murdered, Due has written one of the best books of the year. Robert and Gloria are multidimensional characters, dealing with tragedy upon tragedy. The supporting cast of their friends and supporters is given depth and Due narrates their struggles with racism and poverty as both a collective struggle while also allowing each character to face them as individuals. Historical fiction fans who love books like The Nickel Boys by Colton Whitehead should love this book.
Spin a Black Yarn by Josh Malerman (Del Rey): Imagine that you are sitting on a plane and a seemingly nice guy sits down next to you and begins to tell you a story. The story, while normal at first, becomes increasingly more disturbing and horrifying as it proceeds. You are trapped until the plane lands. This guy is Josh Malerman. Spin a Black Yarn is five completely different stories, each a unique take on something we think we know about - sibling relationships or deathbed confessions, for example. This compelling collection is disquieting and the terror creeps up on the reader, no mean feat given that these are shorter works. This collection really showcases Malerman's talent with characters and dialogue.
There were a ton more great books published this year. I am still working through them all. It's not a comprehensive list. Check Becky's blog for more lists of great 2023 books. I hope 2024 brings us more genre blended stories as well as more Jewish horror!
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