Summer Chills: The Best Horror and Suspense to Read Now

Seven writers are invited to the manor of the late Mortimer Queen for the reading of his last will and testament. Naturally, they expect to inherit something from the legendary horror author. But the reality is different and altogether more unpleasant: they’re invited to play a deadly game. If they don’t win, the manor will take one of them for itself in a read that Publishers Weekly calls “good, spooky fun”.

Set in the Netherlands in 1887, Lucy’s twin sister Sarah is unwell and becoming sicker. She won’t eat, talks to herself, and is of late preoccupied with corpses unearthed on her husband’s estate. The doctor has sentenced her to a lunatic asylum, but Lucy can’t let that happen. She knows that Sarah is hiding something and decides to unravel the truth behind her sister’s condition. Heralded by Publishers Weekly as a “Gothic horror for the ages,” this is sure to be a read you can sink your teeth into. 

Leonora is a writer who is often solitary. When she’s invited on a weekend trip to the English countryside, she reluctantly decides to say yes. Soon, what was meant to be a cozy getaway with old and new friends takes a turn for the worst. Leonora is disturbed by an unearthed memory, and the group comes to a terrible realization: they are not alone in the woods.

One morning, Kate is walking her dog along the coastal village of Salten when, to her horror, she discovers something in the water. She turns to her three friends: Fatima, Thea, and Isa. The group was once inseparable at boarding school and known for playing the Lying Game, which involved spreading lies among students and faculty alike. What they once thought was a harmless game has come back to haunt them, and this time, they won’t be able to escape the consequences. 

Hal starts her morning like any other, not expecting this to be the day her life changes. She receives a letter leaving her a massive inheritance, but she quickly learns it has been addressed to the wrong person. Still, she thinks she can find a way to keep the money with the skills she has picked up as a tarot card reader. 

But when Hal attends the funeral of the deceased, she soon comes to suspect something about this situation is seriously off, in a read The Wall Street Journal describes as a “captivating and eerie page-turner”.

The discovery of a young woman’s body with wounds on her wrists points to suicide—but Jack Caffery is not so sure that it’s an open-and-shut case. With the appearance of other apparent suicides lining Elf’s Grotto, a web of quarries near the city, Caffery suspects a menacing predator. 

Caffery enlists the help of rough-around-the-edges police officer Flea Marley. But while following a lead, Flea unearths something that strikes way too close to home, and Caffery won’t be able to help her unsee it…

Raised by his mother, a student of her Choctaw tribe’s ancient mysticism, Billy Creekmore was born to be a psychic. He grew up understanding the bridge between life and death—and now uses his gift to help the dead rest. Meanwhile, Wayne Falconer spent his childhood traveling the country with his father, an evangelist with a healing practice. But something was different about Wayne—he could cure people, earning him a reputation as a miracle worker. 

Although on separate journeys, Bill and Wayne share a gift that leads them to a crossroads—one where they have to decide to bask in the light or wade into the darkness. Infused with “creepy, subtle touches throughout [and] splendid Southern-town atmosphere”,  the men will have to wrestle with what it means to hold power (Kirkus Reviews).

Sweeney Cassidy spends her time as every typical first-year student does—drinking and partying. It isn’t until she discovers a cult on campus devoted to subduing the powerful Moon Goddess that her life begins to change. Not only that, her two best friends have been declared the Goddess’ Chosen Ones. Sweeney must find a way to navigate her present life with the complicated, ancient world at a standstill that will have sweeping impacts. 

This anthology presents a collection of never-before-seen stories inspired by the groundbreaking television show The Twilight Zone. The luminaries involved in this work were inspired by the unique style of the series, which seamlessly blended the human themes of love, pride, and, of course, terror.