The inciting moment in 12 Hours by L. Marie Wood starts not just from the 1st page, but from the 1st sentence. Transfixed, we watch the horror unraveling around a cab driver, first disoriented, then frightened, then saddened by grief. A powerful emersion. A masterpiece as always.

I’m finishing Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt on the shore of Lake Zurich and oh, dear. I’ll never be able to look at the Swiss Alps without shuddering again as Mt. Maudit is hiding there. Echo is a mountaineering gothic with a unique voice & heart-breaking love story. Delightfully macabre

A touching story about a mother-and-son’s bond & devotion, delivered as a modern Gothic. Great social commentary on ‘being different’ & ‘raising special children’ in a patriarchal society where everyone is expected to play a predefined role. Entertaining & thought-provoking

It’s scary how you read the book written in 2006 only to find that many of its geopolitical ‘predictions’ are actually materializing. It looks like the history of the WWZ and the whole of the 21st century might have been written by Max Brooks already. Time to learn lessons

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel starts as a mystery, develops into a sci-fi thriller, and culminates as a pacifist memorandum. In today’s world, it’s an important reminder about collaboration and a warning against warmongering. Great read.

In my youth (a century ago), I trekked Ararat. The novel by Christopher Golden brought so many memories from the legendary site, believed to be the resting place of Noah’s Ark. Gripping till the last page, the story makes readers dizzy from its high-altitude drama & terror. Epic.

Horror should exist in all forms: each book has its reader. The viral story by Eric LaRocca might not be for everyone with its shock scenes a-la The Sluts by Dennis Cooper, but it definitely makes us reflect on obsession (and for how long worms can survive in a body). Unique.

Some things are best left undisturbed. This is what the twins Tim and Abi learn before one of them vanishes. A chilling gothic mystery by William Maclean made me sleep with the my lights on. A modern rendition of Haunted England and a must-read.

The Tibetan Book of the Dead by Robert A.F. Thurman 🌏 unlocks the wisdom of the 8th-century Tibetan teaching on life, death & in between. Accessible and yet thought-provoking writing on the indestructible drop, or our soul, or the subtle energy of our mind, transcends time and geographies

There’s a famous saying: more people have been to the moon than to the bottom of the ocean. Julia Armfield used the phrase in her novel, though no ocean monsters can compete with the horror of letting go of our loved ones. A touching story of love, loss, & loneliness.

Why have one claustrophobic setting in a novel when you can master two? The White Road by S.L. Grey whisks us away from the Welsh caves right to the base camp of Everest, providing room for thrills and reflections. Beautifully crafted, it scares and inspires at the same time

If Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and Helen Oyeyemi’s White is for Witching could have a baby, it’d be a punk kid, unashamedly weird & proudly different. Its name would be Tell Me I’m Worthless by alison rumfitt (same handle on the other site). A hate-&-love manifesto of Albion, the Voice of many.

As a fan of London’s Natural History Museum, I often wondered (but never had the courage to find out, despite the Dino Snores sleepovers offered) about the Dinosaur Hall at night. Well, The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas reveals the secrets. A gift to all dino geeks & horror fans

You know you read a special book when its characters continue living rent free in your head for days . Finished Station Eleven by Emily St. J. Mandel, but its protagonists keep visiting me in my dreams. A nostalgic dystopia with reflections on life & survival, and memories of the past.

What a delight to open my 2024 reading with Thin Air by Michelle Paver. I’ve been a fan since falling in love with Dark Matter, and this high-altitude gothic didn’t disappoint. A mix of historic fiction & paranormal, the book whisks us away to the Himallayas & its sacred mountain

I’m finishing the year re-reading The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - the story I’ll never get tired of. Just the perfect novel for the last day of the year, when one gets a bit of time to think about forgiveness, kindness, and (a found) family. Thank you for this gift. 💛

Shadows in the Asylum by D. A. Stern is epistolary horror presented as diary entries, newspaper articles, handwritten notes, and even death certificates. It tricks readers with this astonishing sense of realism that intensifies the experience. A wonderful read for gothic Xmas :)

After I devoured The Open Book by L. Marie Wood, I had to read more. Telecommuting is delightfully disturbing like Tarkovsky’s movies. The sense of claustrophobic dread is so palpable it’s unsettling to read. But hence the beauty of the book. A masterclass in psychological horror

I delved into The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins believing it’s literary horror. I stayed, addictively turning pages, cos it turned out to be a mind-blowing mix of sci-fi, military fantasy & a guide on how to become a god. Confusing at first, it flourishes into an epic🖤

“I couldn’t tell whether I was beginning to like him & wanted to be with him, or whether I was hungry and wanted to eat him.” Woman Eating by Claire Kohda is a fresh take on the v-trope where humanity & bestiality clashes in a mixed-race woman, looking to reclaim her identity