Witchcraft, ghosts, cults, and romance! I was stressed out at every turn, worried about this teen friend group’s safety and sanity.
A Spell to Wake the Dead by Nicole Lesperance, (List Price: $19.99, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 9780593856338, August 2025)
Reviewed by Eden Haymon, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, Louisiana
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Lucky Day is a ROLLER COASTER. An existential CRISIS. A foray through the blood and guts of reality itself to the abyss at the heart of it all, where you just have to ask yourself one question: “Do I feel lucky?” Well? Do ya? •••••• I loved this scifi-heavy romp of a story where the true horror is existence itself. Or is it? Chuck Tingle weaves an intricate web of sharp nihilism, absurdity, and genuinely creepy moments, building a structure upon which rests the ultimate truth: life is chaos, and existence is precious. I laughed, I shuddered, I cried. I finished this book at 2:00 a.m. this morning and am still processing all its truths. In fact, I’ll be thinking about it for a very long time. 5/5 stars, 10/10 recommend.
Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle, (List Price: $27.99, Tor Nightfire, 9781250398659, August 2025)
Reviewed by Rachel Derise, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas
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This was a fresh take on zombie horror. While zombies have been eradicated, the main character has chosen to secretly harbor her zombie husband in her apartment. As you can imagine, this does not go well! I loved the exploration of what the main character would do for her partner.
One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford, (List Price: $28.99, Gallery Books, 9781668081211, July 2025)
Reviewed by Jackie Davison, The Lynx in Gainesville, Florida
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A roiling and intense debut featuring an untamable traveling freak show and the small, narrow-minded Scottish town it invades. What follows are unpredictable celebrations of freakishness, intoxicating forays into carnivals unknown, and the flickering flames of brutality. A furious mob is looming. Which side will you be on?
Freakslaw by Jane Flett, (List Price: $28, Zando, 9781638932666, April 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Lambie, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia
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Definitely reminded me of all of those cult classic 80’s horror movies. I figured out some things earlier than the characters did, but I was hooked to the end, wanting to find out what happens. Would recommend to booksellers, co-workers, friends and family.
Polybius by Collin Armstrong, (List Price: $28.99, Gallery Books, 9781668044971, April 2025)
Reviewed by Stacey Schwartz, Murder On the Beach Mystery Bookstore in Delray Beach, Florida
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SGJ has once again opened his veins and spilled himself onto the page, giving us a dense, heart-breaking, and revenge-filled vampire novel — one that stabs deep and drinks fully.
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones, (List Price: $29.99, S&S/Saga Press, 9781668075081, March 2025)
Reviewed by Adam Fall, Underbrush Books in Rogers, Arkansas
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Get ready for some major creepy, serial killer vibes with this new YA horror novel! CJ’s hometown has the nickname Slasherville for a reason. It’s been the site of two mass killings, several years apart. The town has embraced the nickname, but CJ is less than thrilled, since their dad barely survived the first one and was killed in the second. And Moon Satter, the mysterious author who penned novelizations of both events, isn’t helping matters. But when CJ receives a new manuscript, with real names of her classmates, she’s not sure if it’s a prank or something scarier.
How to Survive a Slasher by Justine Pucella Winans, (List Price: $19.99, Bloomsbury YA, 9781547616312, March 2025)
Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
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To be honest, every book [I write] has different origins. I remember reading a lot about recruitment videos for Al Qaeda. TikTok and Facebook were being used as recruitment tools for terrorist cells. It was rare, but there was a lot of pearl-clutching when some young suburban white woman was radicalized. To me, that was so fascinating, because on some level, regardless of where these radicalizations came from, there was always a moment where the common refrain from family members was that they weren’t like themselves anymore. They were possessed. You could start listing instances that were said about someone. It was never one thing. It was never just Fox News, or just Facebook. I’ve had family members caught up in the wellness craze that existed before Goop. There’s a mistrust in conventional medicine, where people leap over doctors into untested, unregulated [medicine]. To me, that was alarming, because it was all coming from Facebook ads and memes. It’s like a sinkhole. From doing the deep dive, it’s like wellness culture leads to right-wing extremism. It’s so apparent. There’s like a digital paper trail to maneuver. It’s easy for an outside observer to see it, but if you’re caught in that rabbit hole, it’s terrifying, because you’re just not aware of it.
It makes me think “what’s going to be MY rabbit hole?”
― Clay McLeod Chapman, Interview, Macabre Daily
What booksellers are saying about Wake Up and Open Your Eyes
About Clay McLeod Chapman
Clay McLeod Chapman writes novels, comic books, and children’s books, as well as for film and TV. He is the author of the horror novels The Remaking, Whisper Down the Lane, Ghost Eaters, and What Kind of Mother. He also co-wrote Quiet Part Loud, a horror podcast produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw for Spotify. Visit him at claymcleodchapman.com.
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FAX news is brainwashing our nation. Noah Fairchild no longer recognizes his parents. Literally. Did he really just unhinge his dad’s jaw by shoving the remote control down his throat sideways? “The Great Reawakening” has invaded far-right news and social media in the most terrifying way possible as family turns on family, neighbor on neighbor. Part apocalyptic but mostly slap-you-in-the-face metaphorical, this book is 1000% my jam! If I am looking for grotesque, shocking, controversial, skin-crawling imagery, then I have to look no further than the modern horror master, Clay McLeod Chapman.
Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay Chapman, (List Price: $24.99, Quirk Books, 9781683693956, January 2025)
Reviewed by Suzanne Carnes, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia
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I’ve been trying to think of words to describe Virginia Feito’s Victorian Psycho, and I’ve come up with: propulsive, visceral, disorienting, and riveting. The writing barrels you toward an ending that I was prepared to find shocking, but still managed to surprise me. I was amazed at how funny Feito is in the midst of the absolute chaos on the page and how big of a punch she managed to pack into a novella. You know exactly what you are getting into from page one: Virginia Feito grabs you by the neck (with her teeth) and does not relent until long after you’ve finished the book. Winifred Notty will haunt you, and since she can’t kill you, she will have to settle for that.
Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito, (List Price: $24.99, Liveright, 9781631498633, February 2025)
Reviewed by Chelsea Bauer, Union Avenue Books in Knoxville, Tennessee
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I am not the most familiar with the conventions of horror novels, so they always seem to startle and surprise me when I make my way to one! Old Soul is everything you could desire from the genre: spooky and thrilling, gory and macabre, the mystery at its core kept me reading into the night even as I burrowed under the covers (for protection, ya know). I need you to read this one so we can talk about it!
Old Soul by Susan Barker, (List Price: $29, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 9780593718292, January 2025)
Reviewed by Michelle Cavalier, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, Louisiana
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Wow. If there’s one thing Grady Hendrix is going to do, it’s researching a topic thoroughly. This is a beautifully haunting thought-provoking story about societal views and motherhood while also dabbling with witchcraft. There are moments where you laugh, feel scared, and even cry. That’s the beauty of this book, everything comes with a price.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix, (List Price: $30, Berkley, 9780593548981, January 2025)
Reviewed by Caylee Wilson, Midtown Reader in Tallahassee, Florida
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Hendrix weaves together the harsh facts of homes for single, pregnant teenagers with the fantasy of magic spells. Equally heartbreaking, funny, and terrifying!
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix, (List Price: $30, Berkley, 9780593548981, January 2025)
Reviewed by Teresa Dampier, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
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Chase and Guthrie are two sisters who essentially grew up traveling the country with their parents and living in a renovated school bus after a tragedy occurred in their lives. After another accident happens to Guthrie, the family decides they need stability. Settling in Pando, they take up residence in a fire lookout in the middle of a forest. Not long after, Guthrie becomes obsessed with some of the trees and begins talking to herself. The significance? Guthrie’s past tragedy rendered her mute. Trying to save money for college and escape from the “hippie” lifestyle, Chase takes a summer job at a nearby camp. Even though she tries to resist, she soon makes friends and has a summer crush. Throughout the summer, strange things continue to occur in the forest – trees appear to have faces, Guthrie brings home collections of bones, and the summer is overshadowed by the story of a girl who went missing in the same forest decades ago. Next – Guthrie goes missing, and the family must find her before it’s too late. To find Guthrie, Chase and her family must face their past and the trauma that brought them to Pando. Lonely Places is a “slow burn” YA horror novel that mixes the past with the present and presents a psychological plot twist that will keep the reader guessing to the very end.
Lonely Places by Kate Anderson, (List Price: $14.99, Flux, 9781635831016, October 2024)
Reviewed by Marcia Honeycutt Roseman, Editions Book Store in Kannapolis, North Carolina
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It was an idea I’d been kicking around for a long time. I wanted to write a story that took place in just one night, but it didn’t feel like a whole novel. When my publisher asked if I had anything in the story drawer that might work for a novella, I thought of it immediately. The story grew from there, drawing on a lot of things in my academic past—including the graveyard behind my dorm where I hung out as an undergrad and my own experience of chronic insomnia and the desperation that it causes. Because I also work in the medical humanities, I was eager to try putting a sci-fi spin on something. With the length in mind, I wanted something fast-paced and fun, so I did kind of take Scooby Doo as a model. I’d like to think it’s a grown-up version of that—same wacky energy but with a little more intellectual substance.
― M. L. Rio, Interview, Los Angeles Public Library
What booksellers are saying about Graveyard Shift: A Novella
About M. L. Rio
M. L. Rio is the author of international bestseller If We Were Villains, which has been published in twenty countries and eighteen languages. She holds an MA in Shakespeare studies from King’s College London and Shakespeare’s Globe and a PhD in English from the University of Maryland, College Park. Graveyard Shift is her first novella.
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