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The Ravine by Maia Chance

I went into The Ravine expecting something sharper—something that leaned harder into the horror it so clearly flirts with. Instead, what I found was a slow-burning psychological suspense novel that hovers right at the edge of darkness without ever quite plunging in. The premise is unsettling: a misty, wooded island; a husband returning to his childhood home; a luminous tradwife influencer neighbor who feels just slightly too polished to be real; and a ravine that may, or may not, hold evidence of something unspeakable. On paper, this had all the ingredients for full-bodied horror. In execution, it reads more horror-adjacent than outright terrifying. Harlow is a compelling narrator in her fragility. Her longing for pregnancy, her desire to cement her place in her marriage, and her creeping sense that something is wrong create a steady undercurrent of unease. The tension builds in whispers rather than screams. There are rumors of missing girls, hints of ritual, and the unsettli...

The Bone Queen by Will Shindler

In The Bone Queen , Will Shindler delivers a moody, folklore-laced thriller set against the isolated shores of Athelsea. The novel follows Jenna, a single mother who travels from London to the remote village after her teenage daughter Chloe vanishes without explanation. The only clue? A ferry ticket to a place Jenna has never heard of. From the very first chapter, the atmosphere is thick with unease—coastal isolation, whispered legends, and a mother unraveling under the weight of fear. I’ll admit, I was initially taken aback. The opening chapter felt uncannily similar to my own novel, The Island . Similar enough that I actually pulled my book off the shelf and reread both openings—twice. Thankfully, while the setup echoes familiar territory, the story quickly veers into its own mythology. At the heart of the novel is the legend of the Bone Queen—a vengeful female figure spoken of in hushed tones. The lore surrounding her is structured in a way that feels very modern, almost rem...

Pendergast by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

It’s hard to believe that I was first introduced to the enigmatic Agent Aloysius X. L. Pendergast back in 1995 with the release of Relic. That novel was phenomenal—intelligent, atmospheric, and chilling in all the right ways - and I instantly began reading every book by the authors and waited expectantly for each new release. Life, as it tends to do, intervened, and I eventually fell behind. So when I discovered they had written an origin story for one of my all-time favorite characters, I was beyond thrilled. Pendergast takes us back to the very beginning. The novel opens with Special Agent Dwight Chambers at his lowest point. In six devastating months, he has lost both his partner and his wife. Returning to work in the New Orleans Field Office, grief-stricken and unmoored, he is assigned to mentor a peculiar new recruit: A.X.L. Pendergast. From the start, the dynamic between Chambers and the young Pendergast is electric. Chambers is grounded, wounded, and practical. Penderga...

Eminence Front by Rebecca Rowland

Eminence Front is a chilling winter horror novella that leans heavily into atmosphere, dread, and the slow suffocation of inevitability. Set on a quiet suburban street in New England, the story unfolds as a winter storm descends—bringing with it something far older and far more dangerous than snowdrifts and power outages. This was my first experience reading Rebecca Rowland, and her writing immediately stood out. The opening of the novella does an excellent job establishing both setting and character. Rowland’s prose is clean, controlled, and evocative, grounding the reader firmly in the everyday lives of the residents before unsettling that normalcy piece by piece. The creeping sense that something is wrong —the whispers beneath the snow, the storm that seems to know each resident intimately—is handled with restraint and confidence, echoing the quiet unease found in classic suburban horror. Where Eminence Front truly shines is in its buildup. The tension escalate...

Eradicate by Jarrett Mazza

Eradicate is a fast-paced action thriller centered on Kyle Quinn, a former elite operative turned black-ops mercenary known as a “Custodian.” Tasked with dismantling a child abduction cult hidden within Louisiana’s Cajun underworld, Quinn quickly discovers the mission is far from routine. The deeper he goes, the more personal it becomes—entangling him with a shadowy family, a skilled assassin, and ultimately, the father he fears most. The novel delivers exactly what action-thriller fans expect: relentless momentum, high-stakes confrontations, and a steady stream of danger. Mazza’s writing is solid and competent, and the book moves quickly once it finds its footing. The action sequences are clear and frequent, making this a fairly easy and accessible read. That said, Eradicate was a bit hard to get into at first. While the premise is strong, the characters didn’t fully land for me, which made it difficult to become emotionally invested early on. Kyle Quinn functions we...

Night Terror (Bleak Haven #2) by Vincent Ralph

Night Terror is the second installment in Vincent Ralph’s Bleak Haven series, though chronologically it takes place before Dead Fake . Set in 1987, the novel dives headfirst into the town’s dark past and offers readers a deeper look at the horrors that shaped Bleak Haven long before modern technology entered the picture. The story centers on 17-year-old Noah, a survivor of the town’s most devastating tragedy to date. He works at a bookstore in the local mall—until a robbery quickly turns into something far more sinister. The masked attackers aren’t after money; they’re searching for Bleak Haven’s infamous urban legend, The Burning Book . When something hungry and inhuman crawls from its pages, Noah must rely on his knowledge of the town’s grim history to keep himself and the other hostages alive and prevent Bleak Haven from descending into yet another massacre. Compared to Dead Fake , Night Terror leans much more heavily into traditional horror. Cursed objects, undead threa...