Let’s face it, it’s been a great few years for horror.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the classics, and the big guns, and the names that grace the shelves in (pretty much) all brick and mortar bookstores. But, WOW! there are some amazing horror books in circulation these days.
This year I set myself a target to read 50 books. I knew it was ambitious, as the first few months of this year was anything but smooth sailing (from a personal standpoint). Still, I managed to smash through 51 books (and may hit the 52 before New Year tomorrow night).
Along the way I have discovered some amazing fresh talent to add to my library. Names like T. Kingfisher, Tananarive Due, and Rachel Harrison have left a lasting impression.
I have also had the joy of revisiting favoured companions—Nick Cutter, Stephen King, and Tim Lebbon, to name a few.
And now, featured for you below, are my top ten horror reads of 2024. Some were published this year. Others are those I had yet to read, but all of them have wowed me and left me yearning to become a better writer.
(You’ll also find a full list of this year’s reads at the end of this post).
#10. Full Immersion, Gemma Amor
A lingering read that I acquired back in 2021, I was overjoyed to finally get a chance to sink my teeth into one of Amor’s most personal, and brutal reads. “Full Immersion” is a hauntingly real examination of the journey that many women undertake in the post-natal years of childbearing. Combining technological advancements with a psychological journey through warped perception, this book touches nerves, hits reality dead in the eye, and maintains Gemma’s spark of personality, fun, and brutality throughout each page.
#9. It Waits on the Top Floor, Ben Farthing
I’ve become a sucker for a good cosmic story, and this doesn’t fail to deliver. Hitting you with a killer concept and well-crafted execution from the first page, I was gripped from the start. “It Waits on the Top Floor” is a story that sees an adoptive father chasing his adventurous son to the top floor of a skyscraper that appeared on the skyline overnight. What awaits when they get there? And who’s chasing them along the way? These were the questions that hooked me and made this one of my fastest reads of 2024.
#8. Last Night of Freedom, Dan Howarth
If there’s one thing Dan Howarth excels on in this book, it’s dialogue, and realism. Never before have I known an author to capture the essence of British “lad culture” with such accuracy. Taking place in a quaint English village, two stag parties (one local, and one from out in the big city) clash in a game that becomes deadly in the click of the fingers. Not only are the characters competing for their lives, they’re also dealing with the emotional and personal changes that have taken place within, what used to be, their closest friendship group. Party politics, and survival techniques are thrown together in an elegant blend that keeps you shifting your opinion on who should survive.
#7. The Queen, Nick Cutter
Those who know me know that I’m a sucker for anything Cutter writes. “The Queen” is Cutter’s latest novel, and it does not disappoint. Following the narrative of two best school friends who are dealing with the social and hormonal changes that often turn our best friends into strangers, are thrown into a high school in which strange occurrings have caused children to go missing, and somewhere nearby a crazed maniac is trying to reign in his wild experiments. If you love anything else Cutter has written, you will love this.
#6.What Moves the Dead, T. Kingfisher
Short, sweet, deadly, beautifully written. “What Moves the Dead” was one of my last reads, and tickled every one of my personal preference bones. A haunting retelling of Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Kingfisher delivers a gripping, dark, atmospheric read that plays with all of my favourite tropes. We’ve got late-Victorian characters with a gothic feel. We’ve got deadly mushrooms and spores. We’ve got a “Who dun it” thrown into the mix. Honestly, there wasn’t a thing I’d change.
#5.Bride of the Tornado, James Kennedy
I’ll be honest, this one surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. “The Bride of the Tornado” as a fantastical whirlwind (excuse the pun) that centres around a small town fenced in by plains of endless tornados. Defending the town is the “Tornado Killer”—a young boy with great powers and a whole lot of mystery. This book tells the story of a young girl who finds herself inexplicably drawn to the Tornado Killer, despite warnings of the repercussions of her curiosities. Mix Clive Barker’s fantasy works with King’s characters, and you’re halfway to understanding this book.
#4. The Ballad of Black Tom, Victor LaValle
I can’t tell you how long this one has been on my list to read, and finally I can understand why it keeps showing up in every list of the best books of cosmic horror. “The Ballad of Black Tom” is LaValle’s reworking of H.P Lovecraft’s “The Horror of Red Hook.” It’s a compact read, shrouded in mystery, in which you can feel the importance of every word on the page. Exquisitely written, with a story that sinks beneath your skin and leaves you wondering who the “good guys” are, this book leaves you thinking about the story long after you’ve turned the final page.
#3. The Reformatory, Tananarive Due
It’s no surprise that this book won a Stoker Award in 2023. One of the most impactful books I’ve read this year, The Reformatory evokes the best of Stephen King’s storytelling. Set in the first half of the 20th century, this novel offers a chilling exploration of the historical treatment of Black families in the American South. The story follows the sentencing of a young boy to The Reformatory—a correctional institution for boys—and Tananarive Due delves into the complex social and political dynamics of the time. The novel also examines the intersection of paranormal elements with the harsh realities of systemic injustice, highlighting the struggles many individuals faced in their pursuit of justice and dignity.
#2. The Redemption of Morgan Bright, Chris Panatier
Following the theme of institutes comes Chris Panatiers “The Redemption of Morgan Bright.” I have seen few books that have so successfully captured the dizzying experience of a protagonist losing their mind. In this book, the protagonist sets forth under a fake pseudonym to enter the very insane asylum where her sister was mistreated (and eventually passed) a year prior. Her mission: to uncover the truth of what drove her sister to her inevitable demise. Along the way we meet twisted characters, experience horrific punishments, and fall into narrative traps that keep us wondering just what the hell is happening to Morgan Bright.
#1. My Throat An Open Grave, Tory Bovalino
This one felt somewhat like fate. I hadn’t planned to buy a book that day, I just did. I have never read any Bovalino—had never heard of any of her works, but plucked this one from the shelf. I read it in two days, lapping up the fantastical mystery of a small town living under the shadow of the woods that lines their borders. Somewhere in the trees stalks the Lord of the Woods—a terrifying creature who has never been fully seen in all his glory. One day, the protagonist finds the Lord has visiter her home, and stolen her baby brother. It’s on her to enter the woods and reclaim him, but what she discovers changes everything she’s ever known about her town and her history.
It’s hard to sum up everything I loved about this book. There was fantasy, there was romance, there was horror, and each page subverted expectations. At the heart of this, though, was a true moral message that I didn’t see coming, but which hit my like a punch to the throat. The prose was smooth, the characters were rounded, and if there’s one thing I hope that I achieve from writing this list, it’s that more people pick this book up and give it a read. Sensational.
Dan’s 2024 Bibliography:
Fiction:
- All the White Spaces, Ally Wilkes
- I Found a Circus Tent in the Woods Behind My House, Ben Farthing
- It Waits on the Top Floor, Ben Farthing
- Infested, C.M. Forest
- The Roots Run Deep, C.M. Forest
- The Gathering, C.J. Tudor
- Bury Your Gays, Chuck Tingle
- What Kind of Mother, Clay McLeod Chapman
- The Redemption of Morgan Bright, Chris Panatier
- Road of Bones, Christopher Golden
- Verity, Colleen Hoover
- Banished, D.S. Bailey
- Last Night of Freedom, Dan Howarth
- The Jam, Dan Soule
- Everything the Darkness Eats, Eric Larocca
- Full Immersion, Gemma Amor
- The Hotel, Georgia Cook
- Bride of the Tornado, James Kennedy
- Edge of Magic, Jayne Faith
- Air Bound, Jess Mountifield
- It Waits in the Woods, Josh Malerman
- Fear of Clowns A Horror Anthology, Kenneth W. Cain
- Court of Winter, Krista Street
- In the Valley of the Headless Men, L.P. Hernandez
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman
- The Queen, Nick Cutter
- Horror Movie, Paul Tremblay
- Boys in the Valley, Philip Fracassi
- The Haunted Mask, R.L. Stine
- Night of the Living Dummy I, R.L. Stine
- Cursed Coven, R.P. Howley
- Soul Harvest, R.P. Howley
- Black Sheep, Rachel Harrison
- So Thirsty, Rachel Harrison
- Drafted, Renée Jaggér
- Bite Risk, S.J. Wills
- Bolts of Fiction, Sam Frost & Daniel Willcocks
- Beware!, Richard Laymon
- What Moves the Dead, T. Kingfisher
- The Reformatory, Tananarive Due
- My Throat an Open Grave, Tory Bovalino
- The Ballad of Black Tom, Victor LaValle
Non-Fiction:
- Feel-Good Productivity, Ali Abdaal
- Quit, Annie Duke
- Lost & Found, Kathryn Schulz
- Courage is Calling, Ryan Holiday
- Discipline is Destiny, Ryan Holiday
- Right Thing Right Now, Ryan Holiday
Here’s to a fear-filled 2025. If you’ve got any recommendations to throw my way, please get in touch and let me know! For now, I hope that whoever is reading this has an amazing New Year.
AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you. My opinions are my own.
