Transom’s Spooky Season Staff Picks
We read horror, thriller, and gothic all year—but cherish the opportunity to celebrate the darker genres with our customers in October. Read on for a wide range of genre picks, sure to twist the knife in the side of any reader.
» CHRIS’ PICKS «
Vigil
by George Saunders
The non-horror literary ghost story of the year, Saunders delivers the unique brand of heartfelt, thoughtful, and whip-smart social satire that has secured his place among American's best modern writers. Small but mighty, Vigil is a masterclass in empathy, and a tender rumination on life's Big Questions.
I, Lucifer
by Glen Duncan
Here’s one of those rare writers who can transcend genre to achieve literary heights while still paying proper attention to what we all love about the genre itself. In I, Lucifer, Glen Duncan gives us a modern-day Paradise Lost that’s darkly funny, sexy, sentimental, and supernatural all at once.
Devil Inside
by Clay McLeod Chapman
Horror meets heartbreak in this swirl of a horror/romance (horrormance?!) novel from genre stalwart and bestseller Chapman (Ghost Eaters). A devastating story of love run amok when a demon falls in love with a person who tasted death. Yes, it’s happily ever after—but not for everyone.
» CARA’S PICKS «
Murder Bimbo
by Rebecca Novack
A sex worker is duped into killing a problematic rising star in the political sphere. Clever, propulsive and deeply topical, it's simply impossible not to devour.
Sign Here
by Claudia Lux
Peyote Trip works in Hell...literally. He's inches away from a big promotion, all he has to do is get one last member of an enormously wealthy and powerful family to sell their soul. Equal parts horror, mystery and comedy, Claudia Lux's debut novel is a one-of-a-kind thrill ride from start to finish
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone
by Benjamin Stevenson
Stevenson’s uncanny ability to blend tragedy and comedy is on display in this funny, captivating, and self-aware murder mystery that simultaneously calls out and celebrates the tropes of the genre.
The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey
by Astrid Dahl
The insufferable yet inexplicably endearing cast of the fictionalized hit reality show "Garden State Goddesses" are dropping dead left and right. Eden, the show's fiercely ambitious showrunner, finds herself at the center of it. A perfect satire of the real-life reality TV franchise with equal parts absurdity, shock, and humor.
» MICHAEL’S PICKS «
Japanese Gothic
by Kylie Lee Baker
A combination thriller, historical fiction, and gothic horror with some Japanese mythology thrown in the mix, this singular work of fiction follows Lee and Sen, who live in the same house in the Japanese countryside 150 years apart, stumble upon a door to each other's worlds at pivotal moments in their lives. A wild ride!
Strange Pictures
by Uketsu
Four seemingly discrete mysteries are unlocked through the use of sketches and drawings that at first appear innocuous. Increasingly creepy, sinister and macabre, this murder-mystery-cum-psychological-horror is like no other thriller I’ve read (and I’ve read a LOT of thrillers).
» LUCY’S PICKS «
The Unknown
by Riley Sager
Delightfully chilling, The Unknown follows an out-of-work actress as she books a breakout role in a famous director’s new movie. This is a perfect spooky read that pulls in classic themes of horror in a way that feels novel and familiar at the same time.
Not Quite Dead Yet
by Holly Jackson
What would you do if someone tried and failed to murder you, leaving you with a week before the injury killed you? You’d try your hardest to solve your own murder, of course! Jet’s race against the clock to find out who killed her is a twisty, fast-paced adventure that kept me on the edge of my seat for the whole book.
