Summer’s thermostat may be soaring, but July’s new releases are here to bring the spine-tingling chill back to your beach chair. Whether you’re sneaking away for late-night reads or treating yourself to a poolside gasp, from dark academia to folk horror and multigenerational sagas, first-time collector’s editions to murderous and magical series finales, this month’s new releases promise to make your pulse pound.
Oddbody: Stories by Rose Keating
A captivating debut collection of ten unforgettable stories that explore the weirdness of bodies and existence through the eyes of society’s outsiders and outcasts. Surrealism blends with raw emotion in provocative meditations on sex, shame, womanhood and the fragile beauty of defiance.
How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold
When a group of writers gather at the estate of horror legend Mortimer Queen, they expect an inheritance but are instead forced into a deadly game where every unsolved riddle feeds the house’s hunger. Locked-room thrills beg contemplation of how the best horror stories come to be — and who’s really writing them.
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Three women across three different eras find their lives entangled by a sinister force that refuses to die. As Minerva unravels the truth behind her great-grandmother’s stories and a lost author’s obsession, she realizes the witch that haunted them may now be haunting her in this multigenerational horror saga.
Girl in the Creek by Wendy N. Wagner
Five years ago, Erin’s brother vanished in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Now, she follows his trail to the foothills of Mt. Hood — only to stumble across another corpse and put herself in the crosshairs of powerful forces — and must uncover the truth or risk becoming the next secret swallowed by the woods.
Killer on the Road / The Babysitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones
This collector’s edition pairs two chilling tales — a tense Halloween night descent into a house filled with past horrors, and a high-octane slasher where a runaway and her friends become prey to an interstate killer — delivering a double dose of terror.
House of Beth by Kerry Cullen
After a breakup and career implosion, Cassie marries her high school best friend and slides uneasily into the life his late wife left behind. But as she battles intrusive thoughts and hears a strange voice whispering the house’s secrets, Cassie begins to suspect Beth’s death wasn’t as simple as it seemed — and her new life may not be hers to keep.
One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford
Scientist Kesta Shelley hides her infected husband while racing to find a cure for the zombie virus epidemic that destroyed London. As Tim’s condition worsens and Kesta’s obsession deepens, she must confront how far she’s willing to go to save the man she loves — and what it will cost the world.
The Last Wizards’ Ball by Charlaine Harris
Lizbeth Rose and Felicia face their fates as one sister becomes the belle of the Wizard’s Ball and the other is forced to protect her when the genteel façade of wizard society turns deadly. Charlaine Harris brings her beloved Gunnie Rose series to a thrilling conclusion in this sixth and final installment as the sisters face their fates at the last Wizard’s Ball.
It Was Her House First by Cherie Priest
When grieving renovator Ronnie Mitchell buys a crumbling cliffside mansion sight unseen, she unknowingly steps into the lair of Venita Rost — a vengeful silent film star whose former home has claimed countless lives. As Ronnie fights to survive both a living threat and a malevolent ghost, she discovers too late that the line between life and death in Venita’s house is fatally thin.
The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw
At the Hellebore Technical Institute for the Gifted, students are promised redemption and a normal life — if they survive graduation. When Alessia Li and her classmates discover their teachers’ plan to devour them in a ritual feast, they must band together to escape a school designed to eat them alive.
The Chill Quill is a Horror, Suspense and Speculative Fiction column by Lindy Ryan. Read previous editions here.