What I'm Reading: April 2026 Booklist

I have three reviews in the April 2026 issue of Booklist. One is starred and the others are very good and should be added to your library. Below is the draft review I turned in to Booklist and then I add a bunch of extra appeal info here for you.

Tomorrow, I am going to highlight the Spotlight information in this issue as well because it is chocked full of awesome RA goodness. But that is tomorrow. Let's get to those review.

First up, a spectacular short story collection from multiple Bram Stoker Award winner Gwendolyn Kiste. 

STAR
The Haunted House She Calls Her Own
By Gwendolyn Kiste
Apr. 2026. 168p. Raw Dog Screaming, $29.95  (9798900580036); Raw Dog Screaming, paper, $18.95  (9798900580043); e-book (9798900580050). 
First published April 1, 2026 (Booklist).

Fresh off her Bram Stoker Award for the The Haunting of Velkwood, Kiste returns with an excellent collection of 16 stories (3 new) further solidifying her place as the standard bearer for immersive, beautifully terrifying feminist horror. Populated by forgotten women existing on the margins often subjected to violence link in a haunting story of sisters told through the rules of a sinister board game in “Sister Glitter Blood” or how a side character in Dracula gets her revenge on the violence done to all women, throughout history in “The Eight People Who Murdered Me” or the visceral, magical, body horror inflicted upon fashion designer’s latest muse in “Her Skin a Grim Canvas” or an annual murder, thought provoking and upsetting, beautiful and horrible, repeated near the end of the world “Ides”, in Kiste’s deft hands these women come out of the shadows, overlooked no more. Readers are oriented and  invested immediately, even in the weirdest and darkest of stories. They feel the narrator’s fear, anger, rage and yearning right alongside them. It is a remarkable feat sustained from cover to cover. Readers who want more (and they will) should try Hailey Piper, Cassandra Khaw, and Rachel Eve Moulton. 

Three Words That Describe This Book: Weird, Beautiful, Terrifying

Further Appeal: Real talk before we get started here. I kept waiting for there to be a story that wasn't one of theist I have read in a while. It did not happen, hence the starred review. Seriously, I am very tough on collections. There needs to be ZERO misses for me to give it a star. Add into this equation, when I already love an author and know they can deliver, when they do not give me starred material, I will not give them a star based on past achievement. I have been reading Kiste since her very first novel, The Rust Maidens, and I have loved every thing she has written since. This collection is no exception. But it is also objectively a great horror story collection.

Unforgettable is the other big word here. Unforgettable narrators, unforgettable stories, unforgettable feeling while reading these stories. But it is also underscored by a terrifying tone throughout. Readers are never given the chance to calm down, we are always on edge here. That is awesome and very hard to sustain across distinct stories.

Her main themes are always the women on the margins, forgotten women, the ones the rest fo the world doesn't notice. People overlook them, but they shouldn't. Sometimes they are the monster, sometimes they are the one who is able to defeat or get revenge on the monster (those are my favorites). 

Her prose is always beautiful without being difficult to read. The cadence of her narrators is easy to fall into. Here in the 16 stories -- 13 of which were previously published across the horror landscape-- every narrator directly connects with the reader-- speaks directly to them, even when not first person. 

A few of these stories are with a second person narration such as the story of 2 sisters across their life hidden in the rules of a haunted house game "Sister Glitter Blood" or in the annotations of a booklet for a cult female film makers retrospective "The Eleven Films of Oona Cashford." Both are very sinister stories. But even with that more detached narration-- readers are drawn in immediately.

And that is a huge feature of every story-- the reader is a participant. No matter how short or long the story is the exact correct length for that story. Readers are invested immediately, which means they feel the unease, dread, fear, terror, whatever the preferred emotion Kiste wants to wring out from that story, you as a reader are there. It is really quite remarkable.

The characters here are women-- almost exclusively. The men who appear are in the background or mentioned by physically absent. One story-- "In the Belly of the Wolf" centers around a young man, but he is not a hero.

The Bram Stoker Award winning story "The Eight People Who Murdered Me (Excerpt from Lucy Westenra's Diary)" is stellar and I am so glad more readers will be able to find it. If you enjoyed RELUCTANT IMMORTALS you have to read this story. It is a Dracula retelling from one of the forgotten side characters pov, but it can be enjoyed without knowing that. It is a story about the violence done to all women always and at all times in history but in Kiste's hands-- the women get revenge on the monsters.

A few more notes. I could have written about every story.

The Sea Witch at the Worlds Fair-- a sea monster comes on shore as a woman and makes a best friend. This one is full of atmosphere.

Her Skin a Grim Canvas-- a young woman is a male fashion designers newest muse. SO GOOD! It is visceral and magical but also terrifying body horror. And there is revenge. For fans of The Rust Maidens for sure.

Ides-- yes it is type of Ides of march story but not like you would expect. Apocalyptic and a woman has to kill another woman every single year on the Ides of March. I do not want to say more but it is not what you think. This might be the best story to describe everything in this collection-- unsettling at first but moving to terrifying, thought provoking, original, beautiful and horrible, a story that will stay with you long after you finish it.

The Mad Monk of Motor City-- A Rasputin retelling -- again I a way you would never expect. 

Best Friends Forever is new to this collection and is a great toxic girl friendship story.

This is from Raw Dog Screaming Press, a smaller press but an established and trusted one, plus they are easily available through Ingram so you don't have to do anything special to get this one.

Readalikes: Kiste's work in any format is the standard for the weird, terrifying, feminist horror. She won the Bram Stoker Award for The Haunting of Velkwood last year beating Tremblay, Malerman, SGJ, and Iglesias. She is the foundation that you can use to send readers to authors like Hailey Piper, Cassandra Khaw, and Rachel Eve Moulton as I mentioned above.

I have another strong story collection up next. When I read it, I thought about Kiste's work as well. This is also by a trusted small press but you will need to work a little harder to order this one. Click here and do that right now.

Unsettled Score: A Mixtape of Psychological, Transgressive, and Art House Horror

By Rebecca Rowland

June 2026. 272p. Lethe, paper, $19  (9781590217887). 
First published April 1, 2026 (Booklist).

Presenting her collection as a musical mixtape complete with 13 earworm inducing “tracks” on two “sides” including a “hidden track” tucked in after the acknowledgments, Shirley Jackson Award finalist Rowland gives readers a fun frame that effortlessly draws them into each story before she violently knocks them off center employing well executed, visceral and psychologically unmooring twists that, in story after story, work in tandem to rhythmically unsettle the reader. Some threats are human, some are supernatural, but all are monsters. For example, in “Mrs. Robinson” an unassuming middle aged woman closing up at work leaves readers speechless by the story’s end, while in “Turn Me Loose,” 80s nostalgia and a creepy doll provide a terrifying bite. With an introduction by horror short story master John Langan, Rowland has announced herself as an author to keep an eye on. For fans of collections with strong, flawed protagonists and a squirm inducing discomfiting tone such as by Gwendolyn Kiste or Clay McLeod Chapman or like in the tales gathered by Ellen Datlow for Screams from the Dark. 

Three Words That Describe This Book: music/album frame, extremely unsettling, horrible but sympathetic main characters

13 tracks (14 actually). Introduction is John Langan who is a master of the Horror short story.

Visceral. Writing draws you in immediately.

The musical frame is fun, the story titles will give readers an ear worm– on purpose. That part is fun, but then the things that happen in these stories are awful. The reader must reckon with that and it enhances the unease– makes everything even more awful, unsettling. And it makes it all feel more real as a result.

Like a great album there is a hidden track. Twists. Rowland keeps you on your toes. But also the way she tells a story has a rhythm– like a great album.

Musical titles. Music is part of many stories. It is the music of the 80s and 90s mostly

Humans AND  supernatural monsters. Some threats human, some supernatural, all monsters

Plays with your emotions and very psychological– the main characters are awful, many criminals, killers, very flawed at least. And yet, with each story, reader is drawn in and attaches to that MC. It is shocking when they betray us and yet, we liked the reading experience. 

And then it repeats– like songs on the same album– each is distinct but together they are united. As a reader you know better but get the horrible twist over and over again. Nothing ends up well here. The first story sets that tone– it is the longest– and it never lets up.

Rock of Ages Longest– sets the weird, unsettling, and uncomfortable tone both in what happens and how Rowland tells a story.

In my opinion, the shortest of the stories are the best here. Favorites include:

• Crash Course in Brain Surgery– a “coven” of women, all friends, who want to feel younger. The last one in their group to try to snare a younger man, but why? Human monsters.
• Wolf Like Me– an inmate’s letter to a long time Boston Globe reporter Human monster but not who you think
• Mrs Robinson– the best one probably. Human monster but man does it sneak up on you!
• Turn Me Loose– a GREAT evil doll story

Critically acclaimed already– look for more from Rowland.

Readalikes: I worked a bunch in up above and linked them. Also a great choice for fans of stories with charming but flawed protagonists like Philip Fracassi, who also has excellent story collections

through Lethe Press here and here.

Also Human Monsters by Hartmann and Saywers would appeal here as well.

Finally a short book that can be read in a sitting or two that will creep you out in a few different ways.

Morsel

by Carter Keane

Apr. 2026. 208p. Tor Nightfire, $24.99  (9781250392459); Tor Nightfire, e-book (9781250392466). 

REVIEW. First published April 1, 2026 (Booklist). 

Generational poverty and a monster in the woods collide viscerally and emotionally in Keane’s debut set in the dense forests of Southeastern Ohio amidst a cicada brood emergence. With her first office job, Lou can finally pull herself and her sick mother into the middle class. Trying to fit in with her coworkers, Lou spent money she didn’t have to attend a conference for a group they all enthusiastically support, and now she is sent off the grid to assess a property for her boss’ not-for-profit. Upon arrival, Lou and her dog Ripley encounter strange charms, are chased by a rabid coyote, and have their escape thwarted when her car won’t start. But Lou is determined to survive no matter who or what is trying to kill them. Text conversations and podcast transcripts about an unsolved disappearance in the same woods, enhance the overall unease and allow the dread to steadily close in, without forecasting the menacing twist, which when set loose, will both terrify and empower. A great choice for fans of The Ritual by Nevill or The Twisted Ones by Kingfisher.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Monster in the Woods, horror of generational poverty, immersive dread

Further Appeal: I will start with-- the dog makes it. This is not a spoiler as readers are promised by the author at the start so I didn’t waste my time saying it in the review.

Other words: debut, folk horror, cicadas, use of texts and podcast transcripts to enhance the dread, Appalachian Noir, human and supernatural monsters, Multi-Level Marketing as a cult, visceral.

Overall feel-- menacing the entire time, terrifying at others, but ultimately empowering.

Lou has finally "made it." Her mom worked as a medical assistant, raising Lou. They figured out a way fro Lou to go to Ohio State -- barely affording it and with lots of sacrifice. Now Lou got the office job she hopes will pull her and her mom out of generational poverty. But Lou is close to losing her job at a property assessment company in the Columbus Ohio area because of her mom being sick.

She doesn't really fit in at work either. Her boss is kind but her co-workers are really agreesive about about the self help MLM they want her to join.

Her boss gives Lou the chance to keep her job by doing a property assessment deed in the forest of Lawrence County OH for his not for profit land conservancy.

These same woods are known for the people who have gone missing in them. Lou and her dog go to do this job, and well....this is a horror novel so things go badly from the start. Weird charms are hung on the fence, her phone doesn't work, a rabid coyote with strange black stuff on its fur chases them, her car won't start. And this is all just the beginning.

The inclusion of texts between Lou and her mom, Lou and her best friend Emma, and the transcripts of a podcast about a hiker who has gone missing in these same woods add to the dread. 

The monster in the woods trope is not easy to pull off well. Keane does a solid job here with their debut. The disorientation and dread are done well at the start. It is a short book and the first third is the set up of Lou, her life, and the human problems here. Then the second third is the danger growing and the terror rising. The final third brings the visceral action and emotional reckoning. 

I can see promise here and would read more by Keane. 

Readalikes: 2 above but also Girl in the Creek by Wendy Wagner is a great readalike. I had to cut it because the other two are better overall, but this readalike hints at another part of the story. This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer, 8114 by Joshua Hull, and The Long Low Whistle by Laurel Hightower are also solid comps.