Here’s the full list of horror titles heading your way in July!
Keep track of all the new SFF releases here. All title summaries are taken and/or summarized from copy provided by the publisher. Release dates are subject to change.
July 7
The Brides — Charlotte Cross (Hanover Square Press)
1884. When Mafalda journeys to Budapest to care for her grieving aunt, her secret love, Lucy, hurries from London to comfort her, with chaperone and lady’s maid in tow. But lady’s maid Alice, blessed and cursed with the Sight, is tormented by terrifying visions. When chaperone Eliza falls prey to a disturbing wasting illness, the women hope to seek the healing waters of Transylvania. At a nobleman’s invitation, they set out for Castle Dracula. In the depths of the forest, miles from civilization, their host reveals his true intentions; a monstrous ambition which will tear the women apart. And not all of them will survive.
The Red Sacrament — Sara Hinkley (Titan Books)
Paris, 1869. The Théâtre Saint-Siméon is the place to be, if you can get in. The black slips of paper that guarantee entry are rare and highly desired, and given only to certain persons. The actors on stage are magnetic and ageless, performing only at midnight and never seen during the day… Arnault and his clan of vampires have survived for as long as they have by observing a rigid set of rules. At night, they perform on stage at the Théâtre Saint-Siméon, picking off just enough people in the audience to survive. But they understand the city, and how to live in it without being noticed. Their peace is shattered first with a visit from Béatrice, a witch who forms a strange connection to Arnault; then with the arrival of Victor de Rouvray and his sister Françoise, vampires from a very different world. And, as Arnault grows closer and closer to the beautiful, enigmatic Victor, he risks becoming distracted from the constant bickering of his immortal friends, from the daily running of the theatre, and worse, from the premonitions of blood, death and starvation that he receives at night. For a terrible change is on the horizon, revolt and revolution are brewing in the streets and soon, the city, and Arnault will never be the same again.
Fabulous Bodies — Chuck Tingle (Tor Nightfire)
Poppy Stringer was born to be a star. An aspiring fashion influencer by day, Poppy moonlights as a grave robber to make ends meet, wheeling and dealing dead bodies across Palm Springs. When her hero, the flamboyant, piano-slamming rockstar Eddie Michaels, unexpectedly dies, Poppy gets a call to retrieve his body from the medical examiner’s office for a lucrative sum. It could be the last job she’ll ever need—if everything goes to plan. But the night’s delivery quickly veers off course when Eddie wakes up. Now Poppy must fight for her life if she hopes to survive this blood-soaked joyride of carnage and extravagant entertainment.
July 14
The Sea Hides Its Dead — Megan Bontrager (Run For It)
Grad student Caro has no idea what she wants to do with her life, but when the opportunity arises to act as a research assistant on an anthropological expedition for her professor and lover, Edward Beck, she doesn’t hesitate. Beck assembles a team of academics and professionals to study the ancient sea-based Cult of the Leviathan, and the expedition descends into the sea caves where the cult is said to have dwelt. But when the cave entrance collapses, trapping them inside, the expedition will find they are not alone in the darkness. An ancient trial has been set in motion. One by one, the members of the expedition will be tested and forced to atone for their greatest sins… or die.
Lovecraft’s Brood: Nineteen Tales of Cosmic Horror — Ellen Datlow, Editor (Tachyon Publications)
A prison guard and a convict have an affair fueled by the hallucinations of fungal spores. Squatters arrive in a weird train station, where they unearth a strange idol. Researchers discover skin thieves instead of normal turtles. A mezcal-tasting tour turns utterly terrifying. An old woman stitches a portal that is disrupted by a nameless cat. Discover the Mythos as you’ve never experienced it before. These dizzying new spins on classic Lovecraftian themes will leave you disoriented, but sane (we hope—we make no promises).
Home Sick — Rhiannon Grist (Solaris)
After a violent incident at work, Tamsin goes looking for a fresh start in a remote cottage far away from her old life. Here she could make real friends, find a job she loves, become a whole new person, even. But the solitary cottage is actually a semi-detached, with only a thin wall separating her from a total stranger. Her neighbour is an enigma. Dowdy one moment, vivacious the next, but always wearing an unnerving smile. Tamsin can’t shake the feeling that there’s something wrong with her, especially when she starts experiencing disturbances in her own home. As the locals share strange stories about her house, and her barely contained paranoia spirals out of control, Tamsin begins to suspect that the past she was so desperate to escape might never let her go.
July 21
We Sent Them Down Singing — Libby Edwardson (Page Street Horror)
In the small coal camp of Jubilee, West Virginia, Phinnie “Skinny” Caldwell has been plagued with nightmares of the last time she ever saw her mama alive and the man responsible for stealing her away: Zell Dorsey. When Zell Dorsey returns thirteen years later, alone, Skinny is determined to find out what really happened. As she uncovers disturbing truths about her mama’s fate and Zell’s sinister plan, she turns to Happy Walker, her school bus driver and the closest thing she has to a father. However, nothing can prepare them for what they find: Behind Zell Dorsey’s charming veneer, is a creature both older and far more evil than any devil, and he’s hellbent on turning everyone Skinny loves into oil-slicked monsters.
Carry Me to My Grave — Christopher Golden (St. Martin’s Press)
Maggie Wise will take your eyes. When Malcolm was growing up, the local kids made up that chant about his mother, claiming she was a witch. He and his siblings did their best to ignore it. Now, Maggie is dying, and those same siblings have left Malcolm and his sister-in-law Violet to hold a vigil at her bedside. But they’re not as alone as they think they are. A dark figure waits and watches from beneath the willow tree across the street. Hundreds of miles away, an ancient evil stirs in its burrow under a farmer’s cornfield. Across the country, other buried things begin to dream in anticipation of Maggie’s demise. On her deathbed, the old woman elicits a promise from Malcolm, her youngest child—when she dies, he and Violet must return her body to her birthplace in Shediak, Maine. From the moment she takes her last breath, before her remains are even loaded aboard the baggage car of the Imperial Limited, there are forces trying to stop Malcolm from fulfilling that promise. Violence erupts on the train, evil preys on its passengers, and once the sun goes down, those long-buried things are coming to make Maggie Wise pay for her past. God help anyone who stands in their way.
A Fate Worse Than Drowning — Sarah L. Hawthorn (Poisoned Pen Press)
A year ago, Elle made a deal with the devil to save her sister. Now, they live on a desolate spit of land beyond Halifax harbor. Elle, as lighthouse keeper, steers unsuspecting sailors to their destruction; those are the terms of her bargain. Liney need never know the cost. Her safety is worth every drop of blood. But a sinner’s pact is not so simple. When the devil returns, demanding more—more shipwrecks, no survivors—Elle knows what she must do to keep Liney safe…
The Winter Folk — Jen Julian (Run For It)
This is the story of Moth, who earned her name working for the Winter Folk. Every year, the mythical Winter Folk gather at a secret lodge, a place known only as Deerhaven. Moth was a housekeeper there once. A trusted confidant of Mr. Oslin, the enigmatic master of the house. But Deerhaven is dangerous. The rules are exacting. The consequences for break them are dire. Moth has not been allowed back in decades. Still, she feels its call. She will finder her way back. She needs to see him again. No matter the cost.
The Flayed Man — Chloe Lauter (Soft Skull)
Ellis Karsten spends nights working triage in the ER and days having the same conversation with her mom. The early onset dementia is exhausting, but the real challenge is their curse—Ellis’s family must feed daily on blood, or risk becoming mindless, skinless killing machines. When Ellis’s uncle, who supplies their blood, vanishes, she takes it upon herself to find a new source, aided by a prickly paramedic who’s equal parts unpredictable and intoxicating. But as Ellis fights to balance her bloodthirsty nature with a new relationship, her mom’s impossible demands transform into panicked warnings that a fabled monster, “The Flayed Man,” is stalking them. As she traverses the desert in search of blood, Ellis risks her safety and her family’s secret, until it becomes clear that her mom is right: something ancient and hungry is hunting them, and it has come for her mom. Blood hunger begins to overtake Ellis, transforming her body into something ghoulish and frightening—exactly what The Flayed Man wants. In the end, she must decide who to trust, what she’s willing to sacrifice, and whether she is worthy of a life, and love, beyond her curse—or if she’s going to succumb to instinct and ravage the world.
Offerings for Ordinary Gods — Ali Trotta (CLASH Books)
Rooted in archetypes, magick, and myths, this poetry collection takes on real-world issues and feminist constraints, echoing the still-pertinent issues that women face today. Whether it’s a fresh take on the Persephone myth or recasting Medusa’s trite traditional depiction as a villain, these pages unfold with an unflinching look at love, grief, loss, risk, and finding strength when you need it the most. This collection conjures hope and heartbreak in equal measure—a reminder that life is not meant to be lived neatly. Offerings for Ordinary Gods is a spell for celebrating the self, unleashing the witch in us all.
July 28
The Whisper — Chelsea Iversen (Sourcebooks Landmark)
Rule 1: When the trees whisper, listen. Rule 2: Don’t go into the woods alone. In the small mountain town of Whisper Ridge, the girls were inseparable. Joey, Quinn, Sophie, and Elena. Together, they channeled magic in the woods, living by six simple rules. The first being: when the trees whisper, listen. But all rules are forgotten, all bonds broken, when Quinn is found dead in the trees. In the aftermath, the friends scattered. All except Joey, who still can’t move on. Until now, over a decade later, she again hears the trees whisper. Those woods remember some of Quinn’s last words, and for the first time, Joey realizes she may learn the truth of what happened to her best friend. And so, the friends return to Whisper Ridge, to the woods that once held their magic and their secrets. But unearthing the truth about Quinn puts them all in danger, and in order to survive they’ll need to channel their power for the first time in fifteen years to finally put the past to rest.
A Penance for Crows — Shannon Morgan (Kensington)
Off the southern tip of the Beara Peninsula lies Beanna Dubh, an island of savage beauty, its jagged cliffs lashed by Atlantic winds and infested by thousands of crows. Untouched by 21st-century advances, the islanders live under the strict rule of the church, while clinging to old superstitions of the crows as harbingers of disaster. To this desolate, unforgiving place Grizela Urquhart fled, seeking sanctuary from brutal bullying in her native Glasgow. 40 years on, Grizela still remains an outsider—the eccentric painter viewed with distrust and barely tolerated. The feelings are mutual, for she has discovered there are as many secrets on Beanna Dubh as there are crows. When she stumbles upon the body of a young priest with a diabolical symbol drawn on his chest, the crows darken the skies, and Grizela is plagued by demonic whispers only she can hear. The islanders’ suspicions fall on her, but she fears the answers lie in her tortured past. As mass hysteria grows, Grizela scrambles to protect the innocent—a quartet of young girls she has taken under her wing. When she uncovers dark truths behind the girls’ mysterious midnight gatherings, her grip on reality unravels and she is faced with an impossible choice: do the unthinkable to protect the girls as the whispers urge, or come out of hiding to face the sins of her past.
