2024 has been an absolute treat for any horror reader, but, most importantly (as I am the plucky and charismatic final girl in terms of my own horror consumption) it’s been a spectacular reading year for me. In theory this should be an equally spectacular list. Here’s the deal though, narrowing down the 100+ books I read this year is an ordeal. They’re all like my demonic little children, vying for my love- I don’t have favourites (yes I do). Four (count them, FOUR) books, achieved the rarefied pantheon of 5 star status, a record year for me, and I hope to some degree I am exiting the year a more appreciative, and nuanced creature of the night/ reviewer. That being said, I am actively procrastinating starting this list. We’ll figure this out together as we go, so take my hand, don’t worry, it’s only sticky with enthusiasm, and allow me to guide you through my favourites of the year. Whether you’re here for some recommendations, or simply to marvel at my impeccable taste, what follows is sure to be a horrible and delightful time. Without further ado, and in no particular order:
The Dissonance by Shaun Hamill:
Why not start with one of those coveted 5 star reads? Shaun Hamill’s “The Dissonance,” is a horror fantasy that made me re-evaluate where exactly I stand with the sub-genre. If this book were a song, it’d be a mix of John Carpenter synth and Tchaikovsky on acid. In short we follow a group of lacklustre adults, including, to my endless, childish amusement, one who conducts sex magic seminars, haunted by their discovery of a strange magic system named “The Dissonance,” 25 years ago. We also have botched demonic seances, zombie abductors and a fiery post-apocalyptic world. Myself and fantasy are not so much lifelong friends as we are uneasy neighbours, I enter fantasy novels with the enthusiasm of a cat at bath time, yet “The Dissonance,” is the only book I’ve read in a good long while, that has brought me the same childish joy as Narnia, Harry Potter, or Enid Blyton’s “The Magic Faraway Tree.” What that says about me, and how my tastes have evolved, is questionable, but as far as the book… epic. I gush effusively about this book further in my full review. Hamill, take a bow.
A Nest of Nightmares by Lisa Tuttle:
1986 wasn’t just about shoulder-pads and synth-pop, because it also gave us “A Nest of Nightmares,” by Lisa Tuttle. This was one of my first reads of the year, and is again of 5 star calibre. It is the only short story collection that I believe is consistently perfect, back to back from start to finish, all 13 stories. The first story “Bug House,” is one I’ve reread probably 2 or 3 times since, and is a contender for the best short story ever, of course not something I take lightly. It crawls into your brain and lays eggs there. “Dollburger,” is utterly skin-crawling, and frankly, creepy as fuck, is the only real way to put it. “Treading the maze,” is meta, disorienting and truly genius. I am truly disappointed to say I’ve not read Tuttle since, an oversight of criminal proportions, and something I plan to make up for next year. Valancourt Books are to thank for making this one readily available once again as a part of their Paperbacks from Hell series, which I adore, so much so that I implore you to order it directly from them here.
Author Spotlight: Clay McLeod Chapman:
Our first author spotlight was truly a no-brainer for me. Clay is probably one step away from slapping a restraining order on me, because I have read and reviewed him a whopping 5 times this year. If unwavering enthusiasm was a crime, I’d be in solitary. He is the swiss army knife of horror, versatile, sharp, and capable of cutting you in many different ways. I started off strong in January with “Whisper Down The Lane,” a dual time-line thriller inspired by the McMartin pre-school trials and ensuing satanic panic- that comments on memory, manipulation, parenthood and cause and effect. All you should know about “Kill Your Darling,” is that it ripped my heart from my chest, stomped on it a few times and offered it back to me in pieces. You should also know that the editorial reviews are made up of our own Anna Dupre, Alma Katsu, and little old me, which is both unbelievable and truly epic. Clay really indulged us this year because another 2024 release from him was Shortwave’s “Stay on the Line,” which is, (running theme) also heart-breaking, and follows a demon phone box, so, there’s that. As a book-club read I FINALLY got to “Ghost Eaters,” this year, which was the grief-laden and spectacular sporror novel I’d been assured that it was, and I loved and resented it at the same time. DRUGS AND GHOSTS AND FUNGI, oh my. My most recent read from Clay is of course the vastly different, really quite provocative and genuinely disgusting “Wake Up and Open Your Eyes,” which releases on the 7th of January, and follows the Fairchild family attempting to combat “The Great Reawakening.” If I do not get my grubby mitts on that “Wake Up And Open Your Eyes,” branded pizza cutter immediately, I will shove my hand in a blender. Any of these 5 novels would be well justified in being on this list, thus I’m just gonna leave them all here. My list, my rules… this counts as 1 particularly epic entry.
The Queen by Nick Cutter:
I think the most exciting thing that’s happened to me this year was the opportunity to chat with Nick Cutter, which frankly, was absolutely wild, somebody please pinch me, what on earth. It will come as no surprise to absolutely anyone at all that one of my favourite releases this year was his novel “The Queen.” We follow Margaret whose life has been turned completely upside down by the disappearance of her friend Charity. Parallel to this, certified evil scientist/ Elon Musk equivalent Rudyard Crate is working on his twisted lovechild “Project Athena,” a deep-seated compulsion grounded in a rather traumatic childhood experience. This is a nasty book that should only be read in a cold shower, so you scrub yourself raw as you read. Brutal, unrelenting, excellent and insect horror heavy.
Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay:
Paul Tremblay’s “Horror Movie,” will likely appear on many fearforall best of lists, and that’s not because we all make up one almighty horror entity, or indeed because I (Charlie Battison) also write under the pseudonym George, but because it is just a truly sensational horror novel. Ambiguous, meta, and featuring one particularly cinematic and terrifying scene in which everything goes quiet and Tremblay allows an utter, concentrated sense of dread to seep in, this book is impeccable. It follows an enigmatic narrator who appeared in a budget slasher flick as “The Thin Kid.” Filming does not go as planned, but based upon the snippets that do make it onto the internet, it gains a cult following. He’s been approached to aid the production of a remake before, but now he’s finally found the director to pull it off, the time to revive “The Thin Kid,” may finally be upon us. I am, months later, still in recovery, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. My only complaint is that there is no promotional popcorn bucket.
Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward:
Following such a fever dream of a novel (Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay) I learnt the hard way that one needs time to rest and recuperate, digest and assimilate, heal. Instead of doing that, I deepened the wound by picking up Catriona Ward’s “Looking Glass Sound.” Whilst this coming-of-age story is vastly different in terms of plot, and general atmosphere, it has the same completely debilitating, existential effect. It follows Wilder Harlow through 3 stages of his life, his formative years in which he meets Nat and Harper whilst holidaying in Whistler Bay, his time at college in which he writes and loses that story to an amateur novelist Sky, and finally his return to the seaside town as a man ready to enact his revenge upon him. It’s a book within a book within a book, and it will give you a migraine, as I find the best horror novels do. It’s nostalgic and uneasy and a simultaneously terrible and brilliant time. “Swallows and Amazons,” meets “It,” meets “House of Leaves,” in this beautiful, balmy and meta novel… I can’t believe I waited until this year to pick it up, but am forever grateful that I finally did.
Author Spotlight: Brian McAuley:
Another author who completely reconfigured my brain chemistry this year, to the extent that I simply can’t pick a favourite, would be Brian McAuley, who left me slack-jawed in the latter half of 2024. I haven’t closed my mouth for months, help. For fans of the aforementioned “Horror Movie,” by Paul Tremblay, McAuley’s “Curse of The Reaper,” is a complete reinvention of the slasher genre we all know and love. We follow Howard Browning who plays the quintessential “Reaper,” in the “Curse The Reaper,” franchise. As so many horror classics have been, a reboot comes along, and poor Howie is completely shunned in favour of a younger model, who is completely uninterested in the movie. Browning is fuming. Mad as fuck. Chaos ensues. Full of the signature one-liners that belong in a sitcom (which makes sense considering Brian is credited on “Fuller House,”) as well as slasher-y goodness aplenty, “Curse of The Reaper,” is also a meticulous commentary on Hollywood, horror itself and the legacy of it. Of course, to elevate a slasher, you need to be able to write a good one in the first place, and Brian proves he can do this by going back to basics with his compulsively readable, and unashamedly camp duology, “Candy Cain Kills,” and “Candy Cain Kills Again,” which I read last week. How festive. To say I am looking forward to his upcoming release “Breathe In, Bleed Out,” is the understatement of the year, and I need it immediately, yesterday if possible.
So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison:
Rachel Harrison’s take on the vampire was a concept I was desperate to sink my teeth into, and let me tell you that it did not disappoint in the slightest. There is so much depravity and hopelessness on this list, dead children, and worse yet, dead dogs. There is so much blood, gore and bodily fluids, and I’m not implying that there’s none of that in “So Thirsty,” (it’s a sexy vampire novel, there is no shortage of bodily fluids) but there’s also an undeniable joyfulness and liberation to it, that at least slightly tempers the grotesque that it’s got going on. A novel that promotes the pursuit of happiness, and dumping no good men, “So Thirsty,” aligns itself fully with the greatness I have come to expect from Rachel. We follow Sloane and Naomi who are polar opposites, best friends, and now, the Thelma and Louise of the vampire genre following a rather wild night out. It’s snappy, compulsive, and relatable, and I am already craving Rachel’s upcoming haunted house/ demon novel “Play Nice,” which is hitting shelves in SEPTEMBER next year. Rachel, if you’re reading this, I will trade you my spleen.
Coup de Grâce by Sofia Ajram:
I’ve known about the talent that is Sofia Ajram for too long, and can’t put into words just how thrilled I am that the rest of the world is becoming aware of what a literary superforce they are. That’s not to say that I wasn’t taken aback completely by the stake through the heart that is “Coup de Grâce.” All of the books on this list have left an impression upon me, or they wouldn’t be here, but “Coup de Grâce,” has clawed its way into my very soul and is refusing to leave. We follow Vicken, who has decided that he is going to kill himself by drowning in the Saint Lawrence river… that is until he gets off of the train, and is unable to find his way out of the station. In my full review I described it as Kafka meets Lynch meets Dante, and at risk of tooting my own horn a little, I nailed it. Simultaneously homogenous and depressing, yet hopeful and appreciative, “Coup de Grăce,” is probably the book that affected me most deeply this year, because it is absolutely the rawest. Whatever you’re expecting, it is more heart-breaking, more brutalist, more surreal, and there is no way in which you can prepare yourself for the punches Sofia is swinging wildly at you other than to curl up, take them, and spend the next few weeks feeling emotionally flayed.
8114 by Joshua Hull:
I’ll tell you what, 2025 is shaping up to be a bloody great year in horror too, at least if Joshua Hull’s “8114,” is any indication of what’s to come. Just when you think the haunted house sub-genre has been wrung dry, Hull comes along and paints it in fresh blood. In this debut novel (a fact that completely blows my mind) we follow podcaster Paul Early who has gotten himself and the elusive Adam Benny in a proper pickle. He returns home, partly to escape the backlash he is facing for revealing the whereabouts of his childhood friend (witness. protection.) but what awaits him at number 8114, is decidedly worse than bad PR. If “Coup de Grậce,” was the most devastating read of the year, then “8114,” was the scariest… it’s not often I’m actually horrified by the horror I read, so when I come across a novel that makes me sprint from the bathroom back under the covers, paranoid to enter any dark room, and really really scared to ever record a podcast, I have to give it credit. For fans of Marasco’s “Burnt Offerings,” King’s “Pet Sematary,” and the works of Paul Tremblay, 8114 is a must read when it’s unleashed in Spring.
Author Spotlight: Ronald Malfi:
Ronald Malfi. What a machine. I indulged in 4 Malfi novels this year, kicking off with “Come With Me.” An intimate and epic story revolving around identity, particularly in relation to grief, we follow Aaron, and the secrets he unravels about his wife following her death. It’s meta and devastating and reads like Karin Slaughter’s “Pretty Girls,” had a lovechild with Gus Moreno’s “This Thing Between Us,” (which FYI was also a strong contender for this list). Then came “Small Town Horror,” which frankly, is my favourite Malfi release to date (although I have a copy of “Senseless which I’m yet to dive into) we follow Andrew Larimer, his return to the small town of “Kingsport,” and how a devastating secret that he shares with his friends, gradually eats away at him before inevitably unravelling. Truly masterful. “Bone White,” is highbrow, doppelganger, isolation horror perfect for fans of Henry James’ “The Jolly Corner.” It follows Paul Gallo who travels to Deadhand Alaska in his relentless pursuit of his missing twin Danny, after a handful of murders come to light. I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s absolutely bloody freezing outside, and thus is the perfect time to curl up with this one- you feel every icy gust and shadowy creak. I concluded my 2024 Malfi reading with the re-release of “The Narrows,” which is an excellent take on the vampire, rivalled only by Rachel Harrison, following the small town of Stillwater, in which a whole bunch of creepy small town things happen… dead cattle, missing kids, enough said.
That just about brings us to the end of a rather long and chaotic list, so kudos to you if you’re still with me. I’d like to take the opportunity to wish all of you a terrifying Christmas, and a dreadful new year. Let’s all manifest more ghosts, demons, and dread-inducing delights for 2025. Personally, I wouldn’t say no to a satanic unicorn or an army of evil garden gnomes, but hey, I’m flexible. Horror is a genre with infinite possibilities, and I’m here for all of it, because running out is the only prospect that truly keeps me up at night.
If you’re looking for a faster paced and more comprehensive list, focused solely on 2024 releases, you can see mine and Anna’s summary of a year in horror below:
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