'I love horror books and these are the five best I've read recently'

Everyone has their favourite genre of media, whether you’re a fan of binge-watching crime dramas, watching sci-fi films, or burying your nose in romance books. For me, it’s horror books.

I could never sit through a horror film without hiding behind the sofa and wanting to burst into tears, but books are entirely different. There’s no tense music unless that’s what you choose to listen to in the background, and nothing is going to jump out from the pages and actually scare you.

Instead, you’re left with interesting tales about things that go bump in the night and plot twists that make your jaw drop. Whether it’s monsters, ghosts, or a creepy mind-controlling fungus, I’m here for it.

I actually wasn’t a big reader before the beginning of 2024, when I set myself the humble challenge of reading 10 books in a year. I always found it difficult to focus, and my mind would wander too easily. But now, armed with my newfound favourite genre and a hunger to see what else is out there, I’m steamrolling my way through at least two books a month.

Now with some sort of expertise in the area under my belt, I’m ready to share some of the most bone-chilling books I’ve read in the past year.

This list includes five books by five different authors, all published since 2020, and all of which I personally read between the start of 2024 and now. There’s also no Stephen King on this list, despite him being the undisputed king (no pun intended) of horror, as I have to admit I’ve not read his post-2020 works yet. That, and I hoped to introduce you to some lesser-known authors.

So without further ado, here are some seriously spooky books I think you should sink your teeth into this year.

1. My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen (2024)

Published in May last year, this is one of the most recent novels on my list. It was also the final book I read last year, bringing me just over the line to 11 books in my 10-book goal. This year so far, I’m eight books into a modest 12-book goal.

My Darling Dreadful Thing is both a horror story and a love story. It tells the tale of Roos Beckman and Ruth, the ghostly spirit companion that only she can see. Roos is soon whisked away by a wealthy young widow named Agnes Knoop, but when someone is murdered, all signs point to the “hysterical” Roos.

The novel draws inspiration from Edgar Allen Poe and adds sapphic romance, which I especially appreciated. It explores love in all its raw forms and the lengths someone might go to to protect those they care for.

My Darling Dreadful Thing was Johanna van Veen’s first novel, and in April this year, she published her second, Blood on Her Tongue, which is next on my list to read.

2. Where He Can’t Find You by Darcy Coates (2023)

Easily one of my favourite authors that I’ve stumbled across in the past year, Darcy Coates’ eerie horror, Where He Can’t Find You, was one of my first reads of 2025.

The novel follows a group of friends living in a small town that is victim to a serial killer known as The Stitcher. When people in the town vanish, they are often gone for days or weeks before they turn up with their bodies severely dismembered and sewn back together in unnatural ways with red thread.

The lives of the friends take a drastic turn when one of them disappears, and they start to uncover the truth behind who, or what, The Stitcher really is.

Darcy’s writing style is easy to follow and captures the fear and tension of her characters and the situations they are put in perfectly. I’ve already got many of her other works lined up for the year ahead, and I can’t recommend her enough.

3. Don’t Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews (2024)

Have you ever read a horror story that made you cry? Not from fear, but from genuine anguish over the characters’ pain? This is the reaction I had to reading C.G. Drews’ Don’t Let the Forest In – which is somewhat unfortunate, given that I read most of it on a coach journey to London.

Another LGBTQ+ friendly horror story, this novel is classed as Young Adult (YA) fiction, meaning it’s aimed at readers aged 12-18. Don’t let that put you off, however, as some of the best (and most emotionally harrowing) books are YA novels, and they can be enjoyed by anyone of any age.

Don’t Let the Forest In tells the story of a boy named Andrew and his best friend Thomas. Things start to get spooky when Thomas returns to school after his parents have mysteriously vanished, and the mysterious boy seems “haunted” by something.

Saying anything more about this book would spoil it, as it truly has one of the most unique plots I’ve ever read. It blends the worlds of horror, fantasy, and romance together into something beautiful, and it deserves to be read and not spoilt.

4. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2020)

One of the most popular books on my list, Mexican Gothic, has several literary awards and made its author, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a bestseller. Set in 1950s Mexico, it tells the story of Noemi Taboada as she investigates her cousin’s claims that her English husband is trying to murder her.

The book is a gothic horror masterpiece that’s full of twists and turns, and is probably the novel that creeped me out the most on this list. It’s got everything from men who are a little too charming to bizarre family dynamics, and it all builds up to a very unsettling final few chapters that left me reeling for days.

5. What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher (2022)

This is the only series on my list, as I’m normally a single-book kind of person. However, I sank my teeth into What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher – the penname of author Ursula Vernon – in 2024, not knowing there was a sequel on the way a few months later. The second book, What Feasts at Night, is also worthy of a mention, while a third instalment is due out later this year.

What Moves the Dead is another book influenced by Edgar Allen Poe, and follows retired soldier Alex Easton as they visit their dying friend Madeline Usher and find her home overrun by fungal growths and possessed wildlife. Alex must then unravel the secrets of the Usher family home before it consumes them all.

So there you have it, my top five horror reads post-2020. I do have a couple of honourable mentions to give out to The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones and Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes, which I very much enjoyed, but they narrowly missed making the cut.

I hope this gives you some inspiration for your next adventure. Happy reading!