Seven Southern Gothic titles set in small towns

Tennessee Hill holds an MFA from North Carolina State University. Her work has been featured in Poetry magazine, Best New Poets, Southern Humanities Review, Adroit Journal, Arkansas International, and elsewhere. She is a native of South Texas, where she still lives and teaches with her husband and their dog.

Hill's new novel is Girls with Long Shadows.

At Electric Lit she tagged seven "books about the small-town Southern Gothic and the creature comforts and ghosts that inhabit it." One title on the list:

Ferris Beach by Jill McCorkle

NC Literary Hall of Fame-er Jill McCorkle’s Ferris Beach catalogues the teenage years of only-child Katie Burns, who lives with her family in Ferris Beach. Katie grows close to a new girl in the neighborhood, and warily nurses a curiosity for a local misfit boy. In orbiting coming-of-independence and youthful curiosity, Ferris Beach considers the sanctity of the family unit, the family home, and the hometown. Nobody captures the small-town south like McCorkle.

I read this book for the first time last July in the middle of a hundred-degree summer and a five-day power outage after a hurricane. It buoyed me.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven top works of cross-genre Gothic fiction

Paulette Kennedy is the author of The Artist of Blackberry Grange (2025), The Devil and Mrs. Davenport (2024), The Witch of Tin Mountain (2023), and Parting the Veil (2021), which received the HNS Review Editor’s Choice Award. Her work has been featured in People Magazine, The Mary Sue, Paste Magazine, and BookBub. Originally from the Missouri Ozarks, she now lives with her family and a menagerie of rescue pets in sunny Southern California, where sometimes, on the very best days, the mountains are wreathed in gothic fog.

[The Page 69 Test: Parting the Veil; The Page 69 Test: The Devil and Mrs. Davenport; My Book, The Movie: The Artist of Blackberry Grange]

At CrimeReads Kennedy tagged "seven novels [that] combine aspects of sci-fi, romance, magic, and fantasy with the traditional conventions of the Gothic genre to create something new and fresh." One title on the list:

When The Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen

In this novel of Southern Gothic horror, LaTanya McQueen tackles the problematic nature of plantation weddings, whitewashed history, and the balance between honoring the lessons of the past without erasing the violent nature of its sins. When childhood friends Mira, Jesse, and Celine reunite for Celine’s wedding at the Woodsman Plantation, old scars and grievances reemerge as the injustices and prejudices of their small, southern town coalesce. The plantation, newly renovated as an event venue, stands as a monument to its oppressive, racist history. The service staff is mostly Black, and disturbing antebellum reenactments provide guests with “entertainment.” But when Mira begins to witness horrific visions from the past on the plantation grounds, she and her friends are forced to reckon with the blood-soaked history of the Woodsman Plantation and the righteous fury of its ghosts. Important, powerful, and unforgettable, with shades of Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Octavia Butler’s Kindred, McQueen’s debut should be required reading.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five novels that explore and center female friendship

Disha Bose is the author of Dirty Laundry, which was a Good Morning America Book Club pick and named one of the best books of the year by Harper’s Bazaar and Elle. She received a master’s in creative writing at University College Dublin, where she was mentored by Booker Prize winner Anne Enright. She has been shortlisted for the DNA Short Story Prize, and her poetry and short stories have appeared in The Incubator Journal, The Galway Review, Cultured Vultures, and HeadStuff. Her travel pieces have appeared in The Economic Times and Coldnoon. Bose was born and raised in India and now lives in Ireland with her husband and daughter.

Her new novel is I Will Blossom Anyway.

At Lit Hub Bose tagged five titles that explore and center female friendship, including:

RF Kuang, Yellowface

In most romances, the bad boy is desirable, a part of the fantasy. In books about friendship, the bad girl is someone you have your guard up against.

This is a far more realistic lesson to learn from a book, than pining for a soulmate who will probably never meet all your emotional needs.

In Yellowface, June and Athena, both aspiring writers, have been friends since college. Their friendship is based on intense rivalry and envy, and their dynamic felt so real while I read this book, that it seemed like only a heightened version of what most women have experienced in their own lives with their female friends.

There is something delicious about rooting for the un-happy ending of all the characters in a book.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Yellowface is among Taylor Hutton's five top novels with tantalizing anti-heroes, Elizabeth Staple's eight books about youthful mistakes that come back to haunt you, Lauren Kuhl's eight top novels about toxic relationships, Elly Griffiths's top ten books about books, Toby Lloyd's seven books that show storytelling has consequences, Sophie Wan's seven top titles with women behaving badly, Leah Konen's six top friends-to-frenemies thrillers, and Garnett Cohen's seven novels about characters driven by their cravings.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven novels that celebrate autistic voices

Casper Orr is a trans disabled writer and artist specializing in memoir, cultural and societal critique, and lyric essays. He’s a Senior Editor and Nonfiction Section Editor for Fruitslice and Managing Editor and contributor of Noise Made By living on the east coast. He has work published or forthcoming in Archer Magazine, t’ART Press, Querencia Press, and more.

At Electric Lit Orr tagged "seven novels [that] celebrate authentic autistic storytellers and their divergence from allistic archetypes." One title on the list:

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

Matt Haig’s most recent novel is what one may call a “feel good” philosophical work, but don’t let that categorization fool you; it is far from the dull theory taught in Philosophy 101. Much like his New York Times Bestseller, The Midnight Library, Haig interweaves philosophical quandaries throughout the book, but this time, it’s an active contemplation on grief. The narrative follows a middle aged woman named Christina who’s recently been widowed and has long been burdened by guilt after the death of her child. She tries to avoid grief around every corner, until a friend mysteriously dies and leaves Christina her house in her will.

The healing process isn’t linear, an idea that Haig fully dissects within the novel. While the beginning of The Life Impossible can neatly be defined as literary fiction, there is a drastic shift in tone and genre near the midway point, when the cause of the friend’s death begins to pose imminent danger to the island. By turning grief and loss into something magical and surreal, Haig creates an environment in which we can find purpose in our pain and make sense of the senseless.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Life Impossible is among Anna Montague's seven top novels featuring protagonists over 70.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven novels set in supernatural hotels

Molly Odintz is the managing editor for CrimeReads and the editor of Austin Noir. She grew up in Austin and worked as a bookseller before becoming a Very Professional Internet Person. She lives in central Texas with her cat, Fritz Lang.

At CrimeReads Odintz tagged seven recently released or upcoming novels set in supernatural hotels, including:

Ivy Pochoda, Ecstasy

Ivy Pochoda’s new horror novel, Ecstasy, takes place at an exclusive new establishment that may also be home to an ancient Greek god. Pochoda’s protagonist arrives muted and depressed; a group of women engaged in strange rituals may just be the pick-me-up she needs to get out of her funk (and into the service of the aforementioned deity).

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven books that turn social media into a plot twist

Liann Zhang is a second-generation Chinese Canadian who splits her time between Vancouver, British Columbia and Toronto, Ontario. After a short stint as a skincare content creator, she graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in psychology and criminology.

Julie Chan Is Dead is her first novel.

At Electric Lit Zhang tagged seven books that "discuss the realities of being online, and how social media impacts our lives." One title on the list:

Siri, Who Am I? by Sam Tschida

Mia has short term amnesia after an accident, and she can’t remember anything about herself–even her own name. Thank goodness her phone is on her. With one question to Siri, her phone provides her basic information, and also spills that many people seem to have a vengeance against her. Enough for Mia to question if her accident was really an accident at all. With the help of her Instagram posts, Mia starts to piece her life together, one photo of a time, in order to find the truth of what happened.

Most people have likely gone onto another person’s social feeds and tried to diagnose who they were from a few pictures and posts. This book poses an interesting question of how much of ourselves we can really learn from what we present online through a fluffy escapist novel.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five books that shake up conventional views of school

Susan D. Blum is Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame. She is the author of I Love Learning; I Hate School and My Word!, as well as the editor of Ungrading.

Blum's latest book is Schoolishness: Alienated Education and the Quest for Authentic, Joyful Learning.

[The Page 99 Test: Schoolishness]

At Shepherd she tagged five of the best books that shake up conventional views of school, including:

The Book of Learning and Forgetting by Frank Smith

I love this book because Frank Smith, with the forgettable name, dares to point out the unmentionable: students forget almost everything they learn in school, at least the things they learn through coercion. I love the way he takes on all the orthodoxies about the necessity of teachers and schools, and instead shows the absolutely breathtaking learning that happens through connections with others in meaningful contexts.

I love his use of language learning as an exemplar of how learning works, because we anthropologists know so much about how it really occurs, without direct instruction, and through meaningful interaction with others, and it is so contrary to widely held, erroneous beliefs.

I love books like this, which take on received wisdom, especially when written beautifully and accessibleibly—and in just about a hundred pages.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven titles about unparented Gen-X heroes

Nicola Kraus has coauthored, with Emma McLaughlin, ten novels, including the international #1 bestseller The Nanny Diaries, Citizen Girl, Dedication, and The Real Real. Kraus has contributed to the Times (of London), the New York Times, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Town & Country, and Maxim, as well as two short story collections to benefit the War Child fund: Big Night Out and Girls’ Night Out. In 2015 she co-founded the creative consulting firm The Finished Thought, which helps the next generation of aspiring authors find their voice and audience. Through her work there, she has collaborated on several New York Times nonfiction bestsellers.

Kraus's new novel is The Best We Could Hope For.

At The Nerd Daily Kraus tagged seven favorite books about unparented Gen-X heroes, including:

How To Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran

Inspired by her own life story, Moran’s novel centers on a girl who moves to London at fifteen years old to make her fortune as a music critic. Sex, drugs, rock-and-roll and one very memorable UTI ensue. And while the book is hilarious, Moran also has some scathing insights about being “home-schooled” with seven siblings her parents could neither afford to clothe nor feed. Unsurprisingly, Moran grew up to be a vocal birth control advocate.

Read about the other entries on the list.

How To Build a Girl is among Emma Thompson's six top funny books by women.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven titles about long-lost sisters

Morgan Dick is a writer from Calgary, Canada. Her short fiction has appeared in Grain, Geist, CAROUSEL, Cloud Lake Literary, The Prairie Journal, Vagabond City Lit, and The Humber Literary Review.

Her debut novel, Favorite Daughter, draws from her time working in the mental health field.

At Electric Lit Dick tagged "seven books that show the many ways a 'long-lost' sister can be found." One title on the list:

We Should Not Be Afraid of the Sky by Emma Hooper

An immersive work of historical fiction, Emma Hooper’s third novel follows five young girls growing up in a small Portuguese fishing village at the edge of the Roman Empire. Though raised in different households, the girls are actually sisters, and as they grow up picking lemons together in the village orchards, sharing gossip and whispering secrets, they develop a fierce bond. When the girls are abducted and brought to the home of the local commander, they must part ways. Will their connection persist despite the separation?

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven terrifying tales examining the nature of fear itself

Nat Cassidy writes horror for the page, stage, and screen. His acclaimed novels, including Mary: An Awakening of Terror and Nestlings, have been featured in best-of lists from Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, NPR, the Chicago Review of Books, the NY Public Library, and more, and he was named one of the "writers shaping horror’s next golden age" by Esquire. His award-winning horror plays have been produced throughout New York City and across the United States. He won the NY Innovative Theatre Award for his one-man show about H. P. Lovecraft, another for his play about Caligula, and was commissioned by the Kennedy Center to write the libretto for a short opera (about the end of the world, of course). You've also likely seen Nat on your TV, playing various Bad Guys of the Week on shows such as Law & Order: SVU, Blue Bloods, Bull, Quantico, FBI, and many others ... but that's a topic for a different bio. He lives in New York City with his wife.

Cassidy's new novel is When the Wolf Comes Home.

At CrimeReads the author tagged seven "books with similar preoccupations as Wolf—not just books that induce fear, but books that specifically examine the phenomenon of Fear itself." One title on the list:

Bird Box, by Josh Malerman

“Just don’t look. Whatever you do. Don’t. Look.” The answer to most people’s fear response since we first grew eyelids. But sometimes, even when you know you mustn’t . . . you still have to look. Fear evolved with us as a survival tactic to keep us alive in the midst of threat. But a strange death drive evolved with us, too. A curiosity that fear can’t always override. And it’s that doomed tension which pulls the strings taut enough for Josh Malerman to play in his iconic hit. Sometimes, as that primal instinct is constantly trying to remind us, facing your fear in the wrong kind of way can also mean your doom.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Bird Box is among Elsa Sjunneson-Henry's seven horror stories in which women are more than victims and Sherman Alexie's six favorite books about identity.

--Marshal Zeringue

Eight books that feature the ballet world

Nina Laurin studied Creative Writing at Concordia University in Montreal. She arrived there when she was just twelve years old, and she speaks and reads in Russian, French, and English but writes her novels in English.

Laurin's novel include A Woman Alone, The Last Beautiful Girl, What My Sister Knew, and The Last Thing She Saw.

At The Strand Magazine the author tagged eight "ballet reads that helped me pull back the curtain of that mythical world." One title on the list:

Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay

A retired Russian ballerina sells her jewels, each one unveiling the secrets of her defection from the USSR—and what led her to such a dramatic leap of faith. At the same time, a middle-aged man is looking for his birth parents, a piece of amber jewelry his only clue. Russian Winter is part ballet, part historical fiction, part glittering mystery, and while it searches for a bit to find its true focus, it all comes beautifully together in the final act.

Read about the other books on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Eight Irish novels about the rise and fall of Big Houses

Louise Hegarty’s work has appeared in Banshee, the Tangerine, the Stinging Fly, and the Dublin Review, and has been featured on BBC Radio 4’s Short Works. She was the inaugural winner of the Sunday Business Post/Penguin Ireland Short Story Prize. Her short story “Getting the Electric” has been optioned by Fíbín Media. She lives in Cork, Ireland.

Hegarty's debut novel is Fair Play.

[The Page 69 Test: Fair Play; Q&A with Louise Hegarty]

At Electric Lit Hegarty tagged eight Irish novels about the rise and fall of Big Houses—a specifically Irish term meaning a rural country mansion. One title on the list:

Snow by John Banville

Detective Inspector St John Strafford is called out to investigate a murder at Ballyglass House, County Wexford, where the local Catholic priest has been found brutally murdered. The crime causes, or exacerbates, a divide between the Protestant occupants of the Big House and the wider Catholic community. As St John Strafford, himself a Protestant, digs deeper into the case, he uncovers layers of family secrets, political intrigue, and religious tensions, all set against the backdrop of the divided local community.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Snow is among Denzil Meyrick's five top Christmas crime novels.

--Marshal Zeringue