by @WakefulNight, curator of HOWLS Book Club nominees for August’s “Horror at the Beach” category
The Forgotten Island by David Sodergren
When Ana Logan agrees to go on holiday to Thailand with her estranged sister Rachel, she hopes it will be a way for them to reconnect after years of drifting apart. But now, stranded on a seemingly deserted island paradise with no radio and no food, reconciliation becomes a desperate fight for survival.
For when night falls on The Forgotten Island, the dark secrets of the jungle reveal themselves. Something is watching them from the trees.
Something ancient. Something evil.
Combining the cosmic horrors of HP Lovecraft with the grimy sensibilities of the Video Nasties, The Forgotten Island is an outrageous old-school horror novel packed with mayhem and violence. (Goodreads)
Goodreads | Amazon
Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse by Otsuichi
Two short novels, including the title story and Black Fairy Tale, plus a bonus short story. Summer is a simple story of a nine-year-old girl who dies while on summer vacation. While her youthful killers try to hide her body, she tells us the story–from the point of view of her dead body–of the childrens’ attempt to get away with murder.
Black Fairy Tale is classic J-horror: a young girl loses an eye in an accident, but receives a transplant. Now she can see again, astonishingly what she sees out of her new left eye is the experiences and memories of its previous owner. Its previous deceased owner. (Goodreads)
Goodreads | Amazon
Kill River by Cameron Robique
In the summer of 1983, thirteen-year-old Cyndi and her three new-found friends Stacy, Zack, and Brad decide to sneak away from their summer camp in the middle of the night by rafting down the nearby rivers. After spending a tense night lost in the woods, the four teenagers stumble into a mysterious water park that appears to be completely empty.
At first, they are thrilled to have the rides all to themselves, at least until one of them disappears. Soon they discover that they are trapped in the park, and a dark figure is stalking them from the shadows, picking them off one by one. Once night falls, Cyndi will have to fight to escape the park, a masked maniac, and a living nightmare.
Kill River is a wild water park ride filled with blood, gore, and ’80s nostalgia. Slasher fans rejoice, old-school horror is back! (Goodreads)
Goodreads | Amazon
Beach House by R. L. Stine
Swim.
Sunbathe.
Die.
The sun is hot. The water’s cold. And the kids are cool. Too cool to live. Because a killer is stalking them, one by one. A killer who never leaves a clue. Who disappears as completely as a footprint in the sand.
A killer who has found a very special place in the sun
for some very special sun…
(Goodreads)
Goodreads | Amazon
And The Winner Is…
Out of these five books, HOWLers voted to read Beach House by R. L. Stine. Join HOWL Society on Monday, August 1, 2022 to begin discussion!
*The HOWLS Bookshop.org affiliate storefront pays a 10% commission to HOWL Society and gives a matching 10% to independent bookstores