Horrid by Katrina Leno
Expected publication: September 15th 2020 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
From the author of You Must Not Miss comes a haunting contemporary horror novel that explores themes of mental illness, rage, and grief, twisted with spine-chilling elements of Stephen King and Agatha Christie.
Following her father's death, Jane North-Robinson and her mom move from sunny California to the dreary, dilapidated old house in Maine where her mother grew up. All they want is a fresh start, but behind North Manor's doors lurks a history that leaves them feeling more alone...and more tormented.
As the cold New England autumn arrives, and Jane settles in to her new home, she finds solace in old books and memories of her dad. She steadily begins making new friends, but also faces bullying from the resident "bad seed," struggling to tamp down her own worst nature in response. Jane's mom also seems to be spiraling with the return of her childhood home, but she won't reveal why. Then Jane discovers that the "storage room" her mom has kept locked isn't for storage at all--it's a little girl's bedroom, left untouched for years and not quite as empty of inhabitants as it appears....
Is it grief? Mental illness? Or something more...horrid?
Any time Stephen King meets Agatha Christie I am there. You aren't keeping me away from this book.
Yellow Jessamine by Caitlin Starling
Expected publication: September 5th 2020 by Neon Hemlock Press
Powerful shipping magnate Evelyn Perdanu lives a tight, contained life, holding herself at a distance from all who would get close to her. Her family is dead, her country is dying, and when something foul comes to the city of Delphinium, the brittle, perilous existence she's built for herself is strained to breaking.
When one of her ships arrives in dock, she counts herself lucky that it made it through the military blockades slowly strangling her city. But one by one, the crew fall ill with a mysterious sickness: an intense light in their eyes and obsessive behavior, followed by a catatonic stupor. Even as Evelyn works to exonerate her company of bringing plague into her besieged capital city, more and more cases develop, and the afflicted all share one singular obsession: her.
Panicked and paranoid, she retreats to her estate, which rests on a foundation of secrets: the deaths of her family, the poisons and cures that hasten the dissolution of the remaining upper classes, and a rebel soldier, incapacitated and held hostage in a desperate bid for information. But the afflicted are closing in on her, and bringing the attention of the law with them. Evelyn must unearth her connection to the spreading illness, and fast, before it takes root inside her home and destroys all that she has built.
I absolutely loved The Luminous Dead so I can't wait to read Yellow Jessamine!
We Hear Voices by Evie Green
Expected publication: October 6th 2020 by Berkley Books
An eerie debut about a little boy who recovers from a sickness and inherits an imaginary friend who makes him do violent things...
Kids have imaginary friends. Rachel knows this. So when her young son, Billy, miraculously recovers from a horrible flu that has proven fatal for many, she thinks nothing of Delfy, his new invisible friend. After all, her family is healthy and that's all that matters.
But soon Delfy is telling Billy what to do, and the boy is acting up and lashing out in ways he never has before. As Delfy's influence is growing stranger and more sinister by the day, and rising tensions threaten to tear Rachel's family apart, she clings to one purpose: to protect her children at any cost--even from themselves.
We Hear Voices is a mischievously gripping near-future horror novel that tests the fragility of family and the terrifying gray area between fear and love.
Have you read or are you planning to read any of these? What books have recently made it onto your wishlist?
This post is being shared as part of Can't-Wait Wednesday over at Wishful Endings.
A big YES to all of these! For some reason I didn't connect the author of Yellow Jessamine to The Luminous Dead, but now I need to add it immediately!
ReplyDeleteI love the cover of Horrid by Katrina Leno. And the summary - holy smokes. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteYes please to all three. And I will never tire of looking at the cover for Horrid!
ReplyDeleteI am curious about the Leno book. I have read several of her books, but that one is a bit of a departure from her norm.
ReplyDeleteI love books that are set in Maine, so Horrid is particularly appealing. :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of these but we tend to read different kinds of books.
ReplyDeleteOooh! I love the cover to Horrid! Great picks!
ReplyDeleteHere’s my WoW!
Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog
Definitely have my eye on Horrid and We Hear Voices!
ReplyDelete~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum
All of these have great covers, and Horrid is on my TBR as well! Great picks!
ReplyDeleteLisa Loves Literature's Wednesday post
These all sound good! I have seen Horrid a lot lately, and it is one I have my on. The other two are new to me. I hope you love these when you read them!
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