What I'm Reading: My Library Journal April Horror Review Column

Global pandemics are no match for my horror review column; in fact, for many readers these titles will be just what they need in the coming weeks and months. Start filling your pre-order carts now, or face the wrath of horror readers later.

Below you can find a list of the titles that appear in my April 2020 horror review column. I have added my "Three Words" here on the blog. All will also be indexed on the Horror blog soon.

I highly recommend all of these titles for a general library audience. I am very careful about what I pick to review in this column for exactly that reason. Please consider preordering these for your patrons. At the very least, 4x a year I am suggesting 7-8 titles to beef up your horror offerings. 32 titles is not that many in the grand scheme of things.

If you have a limited horror budget, consider ordering the starred titles, I am also very serious about what I give a star for this exact reason.

I would like to also point you to the interview I did with Daniel Kraus, co-author of one of the Starred titles in this column, The Living Dead, about his posthumous collaboration with George A. Romero. He also shared some of his insights about the state of the horror genre and why it is so popular right now. Kraus is especially attuned to the genre as a prolific, best selling author of horror for all age levels.

And now, here are the titles, links to the reviews, and my "three words"

Eight Spring Horror Titles To Scare Your (Winter) Socks Off

Barnes, J.S. Dracula’s Child. Titan. May 2020. 576p. ISBN 9781789093391. pap. $14.95. HORROR

• Three Words That Describe This Book: atmospheric, fast paced, epistolatory 

Brooks, Max. Devolution: A Firsthand ­Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre. Del Rey: Ballantine. May 2020. 304p. ISBN 9781984826787. $28. HORROR

• Three Words That Describe This Book: stellar world building, fictional true crime frame, claustrophobic 

Carey, M.R. The Book of Koli. Orbit: Hachette. (Rampart Trilogy, Bk. 1). Apr. 2020. 416p. ISBN 9780356509556. pap. $13.74. HORROR

• Three Words That Describe This Book: menacing, thought-provoking, dystopia

Ford, Jeffrey. Out of Body. Tor.com. May 2020. 176p. ISBN 9781250250155. pap. $14.99. HORROR

• Three Words That Describe This Book: librarian main character, captivating, character centered

Pohlig, Molly. The Unsuitable. Holt. Apr. 2020. 288p. ISBN 9781250246288. $26.99. HORROR

• Three Words That Describe This Book: body horror, psychological, modern take on Gothic ghost story

Romero, George A. & Daniel Kraus. The Living Dead. Tor. Aug. 2020. 656p. ISBN 9781250305121. $27.99. HORROR

• Three Words That Describe This Book: compellingly paced, character centered, classic updated and completed

Stage, Zoje. Wonderland. Mulholland: Little, Brown. Jun. 2020. 368p. ISBN 9780316458498. $28. HORROR

• Three Words That Describe This Book: oppressive atmosphere, haunted house, traumatic

Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles. Anchor. Jun. 2020. 480p. ed. by Ellen Datlow. ISBN 9780525565758. pap. $16.95. HORROR

• Three Words That Describe This Book: inclusive, full range of horror, shared frame