Pretty much the title. I would love to know more about books that you personally think deserve more recognition than what they have gotten so far. Any genre suggestions are welcome but I would love to know more about such books in the psychological thriller/psychological horror category.
by zephyrunchained
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Fiend by Peter Stenson was so much fun to read.
The Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson
Ada by Vladimir Nabokov
Pussy, King of the Pirates by Kathy Acker
The Quick and the Dead by Joy Williams
Dictee by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha
*Dragon(e) Baby Gone* by Robert Gainey.
Only a few dozen reviews online but it’s about the (underfunded)FBI department that deals with dangerous magical stuff. Really fun and the third book just came out.
Dark Harvest by Josh Reynolds. It’s a warhammer fantasy book, but you don’t need any connection to the system to enjoy it.
It’s a slow burning horror story placed in a swampy village with some Lovecraft vibes. Really good for rainy October evenings I thought.
The Dante Club
**Days without End** by Sebastian Barry.
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. My absolute favorite!
Fitzpatrick’s War by Theodore Judson
After Tonight, Everything Will Be Different by Adam Gnade
_The Infinity Concerto_ and _The Serpent Mage_ by Greg Bear
Diary of Helena Morely
The Chronicles of Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander.
The series that inspired the Disney “Black Cauldron” movie. Exceptional fantasy with very well developed characters, and the books aren’t as dark as the Disney movie but have a lot more depth
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton.
Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered. The narrator inhabits 8 witnesses over the course of reliving the same day 8 times through their unique perspectives to find the killer
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D Jackson.
A girl named Monday goes missing and her friend Claudia seems to be the only person who seems to care. Heart-wrenching and beautiful
We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz.
More in the psychological thriller vein, 2 friends go on holiday and 1 kills a man in self-defense and they cover it up. But the friend that helped doesn’t trust the killing was self-defense
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.
Self-explanitory from the title
World War Z got all the attention (not knocking, it’s fantastic!) but Max Brooks’ newer book Devolution blew me out of the water. It came out right before/during the pandemic but is is a gangbusters read!
The Sign of the Dragon by Mary Soon Lee
Dead Silence by SA Barnes
Little Eve by Catriona Ward
I Remember You by Yrsa Siguroadottir
The Wave – Todd Strasser
*The Book of Unholy Mischief*, by Elle Newmark.
The Bridge Over the Drina. I know it’s popular in the Balkans/a lot of Europe, but relatively unknown here in the states.
Everyone knows Scott Westerfeld’s popular Uglies series which led the dystopian craze of the early 2010s. But he also has a series called Leviathan that is incredible and no one ever talks about it.
Leviathan is an alternative history with a sci-fi twist set during WW1 if it included biological and technological warfare. Basically, mutants vs steampunk war machines. It’s somewhat historically accurate with a lot of the politics falling in the same timeline despite taking place in an unrecognizable world. The characters are great, the writing is excellent, and the twists are chef’s kiss. One of my all time faves.
Kokoro by Natsume Sosekei
The Thief
Mimus
Attica
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones by Paul Reps
The Sybil by Pär Lagerkvist
The Feast of Love. By Charles Baxter.
It’s sumptuous. I think they made an ‘under the radar’ movie out of it. Skip it-read this.
The Contortionist’s Handbook by Craig Clevenger (thriller about a man trying to outrun his past while he’s questioned by a psychiatrist following an overdose. Clevenger’s other two books are great as well)
Whiteout Conditions by Tariq Shah (grim, short crime novel about a man violently coping with the loss of a friend)
Skullcrack City by Jeremy Robert Johnson (truly bizarre, delightful body-horror novel with a dash of humor)
Treasure Island!!! by Sara Levine (funny, moving story of struggling twentysomething woman who reorients her life around the classic Robert Louis Stevenson story)
[**A Short Stay In Hell** by Steven L. Peck](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13456414)
someone on here recommended this a few days ago and i had never heard of the book or author, but i checked out a copy of it from libby, and it was AMAZING!! i gave it 5 stars.
it’s only 104 pages but holy shit does this book pack a punch. PLEASE give this one a chance!
and thank you to whoever recommended this! i tried going back in my comments to thank you but can’t find it.
READ THIS BOOK!
I’ve been reading Antlers of Water which is edited by Kathleen Jamie, it’s fantastic!
My Summer Friend by Ophelia Rue
A Dark Horn Blowing by Dahlov Ipcar
The Hollow Places – T. kingfisher
The Carnivorous Lamb by Agustin Gomez-Arcos
Two I mentioned, that are on my would-love-to-see-them-on-TV list
Death in Bloodhound Red, by Virginia Lanier – This was the first in a 5 book series, a terrific mystery series featuring a woman who trains bloodhounds for search and rescue. Just full of personality. Sadly, the series ended with the death of the author, who began the series when she was 65.
Hidden Fires: A Holmes Before Baker Street Adventure, by Jane Rubino – A terrific take on a Holmes in his mid-20s taking on the case of a very intriguing woman who is accused of murder. Based on a mention of the case made in one of Doyle’s stories. Great plot twists.
Others –
Finn, by Jon Clinch – A dark, beautifully written, imaginative take on Huckleberry Finn’s father, that brings in matters of race, class, justice – really the kind of ambitious work you don’t see written anymore.
Wide Sargasso Sea, by Jean Rhys – A prequel to Jane Eyre, it is about the love affair and marriage of a young Rochester to a rich creole woman, Antoinette (who he renames) from their meeting in the Caribbean to her fate when she’s transplanted to England.
The Dress Lodger, by Shari Holman – In mid-century Victorian England, a teenage prostitute who is desperate to feed her infant during England’s cholera epidemic meets a struggling young surgeon who is linked to Burke and Hare (“resurrection men who killed people to supply surgeons with cadavers) Dark, atmospheric, a very brutal portrait of poverty in the era – wonderful writing.
The Honk and Holler Opening Soon–Billie Letts
I randomly came across it on here, but The Darkness Outside Us is one of the best sci-fi books I’ve read in a while. And I’d never heard of it, and I’m like an expert! The cover makes it look a certain kind of way, but trust me. It has aspects of thriller/horror/romance/mystery and I don’t want to give away any plot points by saying more.
These days I don’t think enough people know about Richard Brautigan. He was a fairly prolific author in the 60’s and 70’s. A couple of my favorite books of his are A Confederate General From Big Sur, and The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western. He was a strange one.
Ice by Anna Kavan
Drivers Seat by Muriel Spark
It’s hard to define lesser known, but I would definitely say that Titus Groan and Gormenghast are underappreciated. They are my two very favorite books (the last book of the trilogy, Titus Alone, not so much, it can be skipped). I couldn’t recommend these two enough, they have really stayed with me for decades and they are in the select group of books that I’ve read more than once. The name of the author is Mervyn Peake.
Smack by Melvin Burgess
It’s a fictional take on the effects of drugs to someone and the people around them. I read it over 20 years ago and have kept the book on my bookshelf since then so I can read it all the time
Journeyer by Gary Jennings
Creation by Gore Vidal
Whom The Gods Would Destroy by Richard Powell
Lords Of Discipline by Pat Conroy
Flashman by George MacDonald Fraser
American Assassin by Vince Flynn
Aztec by Gary Jennings
Cuba Libre by Elmore Leonard
Djibouti by Elmore Leonard
The Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard
Pike, by Augie Machine. It is about dragon combat in space. Specially trained riders called “pikers” try to stab other dragons. Spaceships without dragon/piker escorts are vulnerable to attack.
A lot of the book centered the training of these pikers. In that way it kind of reminded me a little of Ender’s Game. It was a really cool book.
Night Film!
For fiction there is the book Airborne by Kenneth opal which is basically Treasure Island set in the sky with flying airships. Great ya title.
For nonfiction, a really great story that is probably not super well known is alive! The story of the Andes survivors
There’s an author named Etgar Keret and I’ve read two short story compilations. Nimrod Flipout and Suddenly, a Knock on the Door. Both were incredible. They show a bit of darker side of the human existence with some humor thrown in. Love it
Anything Can Happen by George and Helen Papashivly
A beautiful story of a man who immigrates from Georgia to the United States and his journey.
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (and that whole series).
The Cathedral of Mist by Paul Willems was recommended on here a few years ago and it has stuck with me ever since. It’s not easy to get a copy, but it’s worth physically owning. The imagery is just beautiful and haunting. You can see everything he writes. I have been passing my copy around through other literature lovers ever since.
Hunger by Knut Hamsun and Justin or the misfortunes of virtue by De Sade
* Big Girl by Mecca Jamilah Sullivan – A girl grows up in 1990s Harlem.
* Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony – Dual timelines involving a contemporary U.S. politician, an 1800s British taxidermist, an aardvark, and a ghost
* Monarch by Candice Wuehle – Literary 1990s teen beauty queen coming-of-age meets campy sci-fi thriller.
* We Play Ourselves by Jen Silverman – A playwright flees a scandal involving her professional rival.
Hard Rain Falling. Was really incredible.
The Deverry Cycle series by Katherine Kerr. It’s an older fantasy with my favorite depiction of dwarf females. Very few reviews I’ve never met anyone online that’s read or heard of it. One of my top 5 favorite series I’ve read multiple times.
The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan