Fiction Five: New chills & thrills
From crimes of invasion and abduction come tales of revenge and evasion. A killer is on the loose and a ghost may be peeking through your window. Don’t worry, it’s all part of this month’s Fiction Five. Settle in for a nail-biting scary good time with these five new releases in suspense and horror.
Molka by Monika Kim
Dahye can't believe she's in a whirlwind romance with handsome, charismatic Hyukjoon, the heir to a multi-million dollar fortune. When spycam video from their dalliance hits the internet Hyukioon flees the country to avoid public scrutiny. Dahye is left to face the ramifications that bring up demons from her past.
Amid the chaos she catches the attention of Junyoung, an introverted tech at work. Junyoung has been spying on women with his own hidden cameras. As Dahye's life begins to unravel she becomes the sole target of Junyoung's perverse obsession.
When the facts surrounding the invasion of her privacy come to light Dahye is faced with the humiliating truth. Her pain and hurt turn to rage as she faces her past. Her desire for vengeance is insatiable, and she will not rest until the men who have wronged her have paid in blood.
“Molka is a harrowing, ghastly, page-turning revenge tale that unflinchingly shines a bright light on the evil of an all-too-real, misogynistic, uniquely 21st century horror.” — Paul Tremblay, New York Times Bestselling author of A Head Full of Ghosts
The Insomniacs by Allison Winn Scotch
Huddled over coffee and pancakes in an all-night diner a lonely middle-aged mom, an injured baseball pro, an elusive retiree and a young waitress examine the thoughts that plague them in the middle of the night.
Empty-nester Sybil spearheads the efforts to turn this group of strangers into friends. Aimless after an injury threatens to ruin his career, Zeke finds genuine connection among the unlikely group. Tight-lipped Julian, who’s adrift in retirement and attempting to rebuild a relationship with his daughter, expands their circle when he takes their cagey waitress, Betty, under his wing. Betty, cautious about strangers and uncertain about strokes of good luck, entertains the trio in an attempt to resolve her own concealed problem.
Within a few restless months the group of strangers have become a fragile family. When one of them goes missing they’re thrust into a propulsive mystery pulled straight from the true-crime podcasts Sybil obsesses over. Though ill-prepared and unequipped for the job, they begin to piece together the clues. They uncover a reason for their friend’s disappearance and wrestle with the question of how well you can really know anyone. How much are you willing to risk to save them?
“Sharp, engaging, and warm. You won’t be able to put this down.” — #1 New York Times bestselling author Laura Dave
Dark Is When the Devil Comes by Daisy Pearce
Hazel has been gone from her small hometown in the English countryside for years. Now returned in the wake of a traumatic divorce and crumbling personal life, her simple plans are to lay low at her parents’ vacated house, reconnect with her prickly sister Cathy and slowly get back on her feet.
Cathy is surprised when Hazel doesn’t show. Their relationship is strained from a fallout half a decade ago so she didn’t expect them to get back into a sisterly rhythm, but she hadn’t counted on Hazel bailing.
Something isn’t adding up. Other people in town whisper of a threat that can’t be shaken. The woods are known for being restless. Cathy knows the old saying: If you go looking for trouble, you just might find it.
“Daisy Pearce has taken a horrific abduction story and twisted it into something even more dark and terrifying, an insidious tale that will burrow deeper beneath your skin with each turned page before twining around your heart like blackened string. But DEVIL is also a story about family, and guilt, and the bond between two sisters fractured by a malevolent force, one that won’t rest until it’s torn them apart.” ― Philip Fracassi, USA Today bestselling author of The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre
Murder Mindfully by Karsten Dusse, translated by Florian Duijsens
Criminal defense lawyer Björn Diemel has been given an ultimatum: repair his work-life balance or his wife will leave him and take their daughter.
He reluctantly starts a mindfulness course and to his surprise it’s a revelation. He becomes calmer, happier and more focused as he starts to understand what’s really important in life. When his worst client, brutal kingpin Dragan Sergowicz, tries to interfere with his precious family time Björn will stop at nothing — not even killing — to protect his peace.
“Dusse pairs brisk plotting with a sardonic send-up of self-help culture, keeping the suspense taut while supplying plenty of laughs. The result is an inventive, endlessly surprising comic thriller.” — Publishers Weekly
Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker
October 2026: Lee Turner doesn’t remember how or why he killed his college roommate. All he knows is he has to flee New York and go to the one place that might offer refuge — his father’s new home in Japan. It's a house hidden by sword ferns and wild ginger. But something is terribly wrong with the house. No animals will come near it, the bedroom window isn't always a window, and a woman with a sword appears in the yard when night falls.
October 1877: Sen is a young samurai in exile hiding from the imperial soldiers in a house behind the sword ferns. A monster came home from war wearing her father’s face, but Sen would do anything to please him, even turn her sword on her own mother. She knows the soldiers will soon slaughter her whole family when she sees a terrible omen: a young foreign man who appears outside her window.
One of these people is a ghost, and one of these stories is a lie. Something is hiding beneath the house of sword ferns. Lee and Sen will soon wish they never unburied it.
“A breathless collision of timelines, cultures, and destinies in this impressive horror outing.... In wrenching prose, Baker renders her characters both deeply flawed and profoundly human.... It’s as gruesome as it is un-put-downable." — Publishers Weekly, starred review
