Myself, Dave, Angie and Joe have decided to share our top 10 reads of 2019! The rules were simple - can be any book you read this year, didn’t HAVE to come out in 2019. So, there’s some diverse horror on here for ya’ll to check out and add to you TBR lists for 2020.

JOE’S TOP 10 READS OF THE YEAR

I don’t need to talk too much about any of these because I’ve written an in-depth review for each one (check the links below). I’ve read more than 130 books this year, about half of which were published this year, and feel I have some knowledge about what has been put out this year. However, I can say unequivocally that there is still so much good horror being put out by tremendous authors every week that I haven’t had the chance to read yet. There were many incredible releases in 2019 but these were by far my favorite.

The Reddening - Adam Nevill: This is folk-horror at its finest. On par with the best Nevill has put out. (Check out my review HERE)

To Be Devoured - Sara Tantlinger: A poetic and gruesome novella. A story of love and fear. (Check out my review HERE)

Doll Crimes - Karen Runge: This book broke my heart. It’s about the all too real horrors that unfortunately still have a place in our world. (Check out my review HERE)

Will Haunt You - Brian Kirk: Of everything on this list, this is the weirdest of the group. Read this book, but you do it at your own risk. (Check out my review HERE)

Echoes - Edited Ellen Datlow: This will be an all-time classic for modern ghost stories. Not a bad story in it. (Check out my review HERE)

Coyote Songs by Gabino Igesias. Devastatingly beautiful and fantastically horrible. The story of life, death, and horror on the US-Mexico border. (Check out a small review HERE)

Dark Tower III: The Wastelands by Stephen King. The third, and best book in the series. You can check out my deep dive review HERE.

Windeye by Brian Evenson: This is the best short story collection I’ve ever read. I don’t anticipate it being unseated any time soon.

The Scar by China Mieville: the second in his Bas-lag trilogy. It is more fantasy than straight-up horror, but it takes a dark turn.

Little Black Spots By John FD Taff: incredible collection by one of my favorite short-story writers. Check out my review HERE.

DAVE’S TOP 10 READS OF THE YEAR

This was an off-year for me. My 26 books read this year was my lowest total in 5 years since I finished my last degree. Yeah, it was a year of changes and I focused a little more on my fiction writing, but I still feel I slacked on reading words rather than writing them. I expect to have more for you next year, or at least a larger sample size and I have big goals to read a more diverse range of authors as well. So here you go, my 10 ten books I have read in 2019:

My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due

It’s a story of immortality, hard choices, and perilous consequences. It shows that all the things we think we do for love may incredibly backfire and leave us with more questions than answers. I picked this one up after watching Tananarive Due on Horror Noire, a documentary on Shudder (check out our coverage HERE) on which she was Executive Producer. Horror Noire is hands down one of the best documentaries I have ever watched, and I seriously recommend it. As far as My Soul to Keep is concerned, it is the beginning of a series that I will continue to read. Due is a great storyteller giving the reader a history lesson in the narrative and showing the reader that real life is just as, if not scarier, than fiction.

The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker

This is the first time I have read this one. The source material for Hellraiser, this novella also gives insight into the things that we humans do for love, even if it’s misguided. Barker is a master of horror storytelling and The Hellbound Heart is an early peek into his world. (Check out Joe’s review HERE)

Hunt for the Skinwalker: Science Confronts the Unexplained by Colm Kelleher

This book has everything. Poltergeist activity? Check. Creepy cryptids? Check. Alien encounters? Check. Bigfoot? Check. Secret government military installations? (Redacted). This is an account of several investigators and their experiences at a remote Utah ranch know as Skinwalker Ranch. I wasn’t kidding about it having everything and if you are interested in that stuff, I highly recommend this book and hunting down any and all info you can find. It’s a trip.

Till the Score is Paid by Gemma Amor

I just finished this one and you can find my review here. As I said in my review, this is the first year that I read a lot of anthologies and I think this may be the best one. Gemma leaves it all on the page and there is not one story I would say is skippable. You can check out my review HERE.

Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mallory O’Meara

The story of Milicent Patrick and her time in Hollywood creating arguably the most iconic Universal monster – The Creature. I feel this is a must-read for any creator out there that feels marginalized in any way.

Rabbits in the Garden by Jessica McHugh

I am a big fan of Jessica McHugh. I have heard a ton of her stories narrated on podcasts, but this is the first book I have read of hers. She is one of the hardest working artists out there. I highly recommend starting with this one and then finding more of her stuff, particularly from The Wicked Library podcast where I believe she has the distinction of being the only author featured at least once in every season (9th season coming soon). From the very beginning of Rabbits in the Garden, the tone is set and the mood evident. It is a story of youth lost, manipulation by the person that we are supposed to be able to trust the most, and revenge.

The Ritual by Adam Nevill

This is a master class in setting, environment, and storytelling. Nevill has a way of dropping you into his world and making you feel what his characters feel. I did a book vs. movie comparison earlier this year. Check it out here. This book put Nevill on my list of to read all of his work.

HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt

Oh boy, this was a wild ride. Joe and I did a dual review on it here. Masterful storytelling, great ability to hold the tension between beats and scenes, and just when you think he’s telegraphed something, and you know what’s coming – SLAP – he hits you with something out of nowhere. Great read.

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Bet you didn’t see this one coming, did you? I don’t have much to say about this book other than it is amazing and a MUST read for any author or creative type that has any inkling of doubt about their art. Imposter syndrome and our inner-editor/critic are very real things. Gilbert helps you fight through all of that and come out on the other end recharged and ready to keep fighting. And it’s not just for creatives. The lessons learned can be adapted to life outside your creative endeavors. Now I read a lot of great craft books this year that probably could have made this list like Jessica Brody’s Save the Cat Writes a Novel and Chuck Wendig’s Damn Fine Story (I highly recommend both of these), but if I had to choose one (which I did) it would be Big Magic.

So, there you have it, my top ten books devoured by me this year. I look forward to reading a lot more next year and providing all you lovely readers with some more reviews. If you have any suggestions on what I should read in this upcoming year, give me shout over on twitter, or email us over at the site. Until then, go read something spooky.

ANGIE’S TOP 10 READS OF THE YEAR

The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters – Kids killing kids, urban legends, haunting and stalking.

Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered by Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark – A dual memoir by the hosts of My Favorite Murder. Funny and informative.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty – Caitlin’s memoir about her life working in a crematory, but also a meditation on our society’s incredible fear of death.

The Unsuitable by Molly Pohlig – A Gothic ghost story that requires trigger warnings for self-harm/suicide. It’s equal turns sad and horrifying.

Circe by Madeline Miller – Just the best book. A re-telling of the myth of Circes, the Titan-witch-goddess/daughter of Helios.

Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor – Aliens land in Lagos, Nigeria and send out an ambassador to introduce them to the locals. The aliens alter a lot of the life around them, with some pretty incredible results.

Alien Vault: The Definitive Story Behind the Film by Ian Nathan – Exactly what it sounds like. It’s sort of like written special features, with a bunch of photographs included.

Wild Country by Anne Bishop – The latest entry into Bishop’s The Others series which is a sort of urban fantasy in which monsters and humans live VERY tenuously side by side.

Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow – The story of a girl who discovers she can write her way into different worlds.

The Almanack by Martine Bailey – Part book of riddles, part spooky murder mystery.

CHARLOTTE’S TOP 10 READS OF THE YEAR

The Institute - Stephen King. Ya’ll know it wouldn’t be a Charlotte list without King attached. King’s 2019 book The Institute made me very happy, it was super entertaining and very RIGHT NOW. It also won the best horror book of the year in the Good Read Reader’s Choice Awards. You can check out my full spoilery review HERE.

Inspection - Josh Malerman. We were so blessed with new books from all the greats this year, Inspection was no exception. A twisted tale about a boy’s school and a girl’s school that ends in a violent bloody revenge battle. It’s incredible. Check out Tyler’s review HERE.

The Luminous Dead - Caitlin Starling. HOT DAMN I LOVED THIS BOOK Y'ALL. Anytime I see someone tweeting about it I just jump in screaming about it. It’s so fucking good. Just read it. We don’t deserve Caitlin Starling, she’s too good. Check out my full review HERE.

The Lost Man - Jane Harper. I had never read Harper before this year, and then this year I devoured all three of her books and was devastated when they were over. A new favorite author of mine, all of her books are incredible, but there was something special about this one. Check out my full review HERE.

Growing Things by Paul Tremblay was my first foray into Tremblay’s work and this quickly became one of the best short story collections I had ever read. I then dived into the rest of his books. But Growing Things was an incredible feat and probably the first time I read a short story collection and liked every story.

Vessel by Lisa A. Nichols is a horror sci-fi with a mystery that will have you speed reading as you try to figure it out. I’m not a big sci-fi person, but I love me some horror sci-fi and this was perfect. This was Nichols’ debut novel and HOT DAMN she nailed it. An exploration ship went missing in space over a decade ago, but suddenly it returns with everyone missing except for one astronaut who has no memory of what happened or where her crew went.

No Exit by Taylor Adams is one of my favorite thrillers of the year. A woman is stranded at a highway rest stop in the middle of a blizzard with four other unlucky people. When she heads outside to try and get a signal on her cell phone she happens to look inside a van in the parking lot and sees a child in a cage in the back. She must now try and save the child while figuring out which of the four strangers has kidnapped this poor kid. It’s so twisted, so well done, and very snowy!

My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite is an outstanding debut that you can read really quickly as it’s quite short, and it’s also so intense you can’t put it down. Such a unique and terrifying story. I can’t wait to read what Braithwaite puts out next. This follows the story of exactly what the title tells you. Korede spends her life working in the hospital, and in her spare time, cleaning up after her sister has killed someone.

Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan is bloody and dark and cold and rich with an awesome magic system and tones of Gods and creatures. An absolutely incredible dark fantasy that you’ll want to devour as soon as you can.

And there you have it! Let us know what your favorite reads were this year!

Don’t want to miss anything on the site? Sign up for our newsletter HERE

Want more spooky reads? Just search below: