Book picks similar to
Pest by Matt Shaw


horror
ebook
novella
extreme-horror

Darkness Under the Sun


Dean Koontz - 2010
    There once was a killer who knew the night, its secrets and rhythms. How to hide within its shadows. When to hunt. He roamed from town to town, city to city, choosing his prey for their beauty and innocence. His cruelties were infinite, his humanity long since forfeit. But still . . . he had not yet discovered how to make his special mark among monsters, how to come fully alive as Death. This is the story of how he learned those things, and of what we might do to ensure that he does not visit us.

Dead to Writes


Tim Miller - 2014
    From off the grid in Texas Hill Country, he publishes his first novel. Saddened to see the horrible and insulting reviews, he decides to take action. The unfortunate reviewers had no idea who they were dealing with. With the help of his deranged mom and homicidal brother, Marty sets out to create a whole new horror story at the expense of his critics. One by one the bizarre family takes out their anger on the group. In the process, one of their victims, April, learns something about herself no one thought possible. What ensues is a circus of bloody mayhem unlike anything seen before.

The Sad Man (Novella): A Dani Lancing Story


P.D. Viner - 2013
    As a Family Liaison Officer he is always the bearer of bad news - it is his job to tell the friends and family of victims the fate of their loved ones.But Tom is weighted down by crimes both old and new - haunted by the death of his best friend Dani, whose murder has never been solved.When a rare opportunity emerges for Tom to take the lead in a horrific murder investigation, he is determined to get justice for the victim. A young girl has been found in her own home, cut so badly - and so carefully - that she has bled to death, leaving a deliberate pool of blood in the shape of angel wings....

Gone to See the River Man


Kristopher Triana - 2020
    Groupies. Stalkers.These people will give anything for the idols they worship, be they rock stars, actors or authors. Or even serial killers.Lori is just such a fanatic. Her obsession is with Edmund Cox, a man of sadistic cruelty who butchered more than twenty women. She’s gone so far as to forge a relationship with him, visiting him in prison and sending him letters on a regular basis. She will do anything to get close to him, so when he gives her a task, she eagerly accepts it.She has no idea of the horror that awaits her.Edmund tells her she must go to his cabin in the woods of Killen and retrieve a key to deliver to a mysterious figure known only as The River Man.In her quest, she brings along her handicapped sister, and they journey through the deep, dark valley, beginning their trip upriver. The trip quickly becomes a surreal nightmare, one that digs up Lori’s personal demons, the ones she feels bonds her to Edmund. The river runs with flesh, the cabin is a vault of horrors, and ghostly blues music echoes through the mountains. Soon they will learn that The River Man is not quite fact or folklore, and definitely not human -- at least, not anymore. And the key is just the beginning of what is required of Lori to prove she’s worthy of a madman’s love.

Dead Inside


Chandler Morrison - 2015
    Along the way, lines will be crossed, taboos will be violated, and common decency will take an extended leave of absence. This is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. Or anyone who enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey. A young hospital security guard with a disturbingly unique taste in women. A maternity doctor with a horrifically unusual appetite. When the two of them meet, they embark on a journey of self-discovery as they shatter societal norms while engaging in destructive and abhorrent behavior. As they unwittingly help each other understand a world in which neither of them seems to belong, they begin to realize what it truly means to be alive...and that it might not always be a good thing.

Lucky Day


Barry Lyga - 2014
    Two murders: just a coincidence, or something more sinister? One thing's for sure -- it was definitely inconvenient in a year when Sheriff G. William Tanner, a mourning widower, had to run for reelection.With a trail gone cold, it's only luck that links the murders to the most notorious serial killer in memory. And in a town like Lobo's Nod, the killer must be someone Tanner already knows....

12 Steps: A Novel of Suspense


Iain Rob Wright - 2019
    A storm incoming. A group of alcoholics trying to stay clean. But staying clean is impossible when you have blood on your hands. Justice will always catch up with you. Adam lost his entire life to alcohol, but tonight he is one year sober. While he never expects to ever again be happy, he is at least back in control of his life. That is until a ghostly face appears at the window and turns his world into a nightmare. Now the only people he can rely on are his fellow drunks, and some of them are keeping secrets.

Calm Before The Storm


Ryan Mullaney - 2015
    To get away and relax with friends, forget everything happened, get her life back on track.A stop to seek shelter from a passing storm changes everything. With the weather too intense to continue travel, they pull their Jeep up to the only home around in hopes that the farmhouse's owner would let them rest awhile until the tornado warning passes and the winds and rain have settled. But when the owner of the property answers the door with a shotgun aimed to fire and orders them inside, Samantha can only watch, unseen, as her friends are taken inside to meet an unknown fate.As the only hope for her friends getting out alive, Samantha must figure out what to do, and do it soon. The storm is only getting worse.CALM BEFORE THE STORM is a suspense thriller, a fast-paced journey of horror for a dark and stormy night.

The Night Walk Men


Jason McIntyre - 2010
    Blind sax man, Braille the Rail, meets with an old, old friend. The earth rumbles beneath them all: the promise of an approaching locomotive. Now, two mysterious strangers, both of them acting in the interest of an otherworldly sense of duty, will decide their fate over a cup of tea.

The Estate Hauntings Boxset: A Riveting Haunted House Mystery


Hazel Holmes - 2021
    What was thought to be a new beginning for Julia soon devolves into an endless nightmare of hidden secrets and a troubled past best left unturned.The Haunting of Abram MansionA riveting new haunted house mystery that will keep you guessing until the end!When Peyton and Benjamin Fletcher inherit a dilapidated house in the quiet town of Falconwood, Connecticut from Peyton’s grandfather, all they want to do is get rid of it. Unfortunately, the will stipulates that the couple must live in the house for a minimum of six months before they sell it. As Peyton and Ben try to make the best of the situation, Peyton discovers the house is inhabited by ghosts, and they aren’t happy with the mansion’s new occupants.

Ali's Pretty Little Lies


Sara Shepard - 2013
    Boys wanted to date her, girls wanted to be her, and somebody wanted her dead. . . .It's the end of seventh grade, and Alison DiLaurentis and her friends are the girls of Rosewood Day. Ali runs her clique with an iron fist, and she's got enough dirt on Hanna, Emily, Aria, and Spencer to keep them in line. But Ali's hiding a dark secret of her own, something so huge it would destroy everything if it ever got out. She's desperate to keep the perfect life she's worked so hard to build, but in Rosewood deadly secrets have deadly consequences. . . .Set in the weeks leading up to Ali's murder, this special Pretty Little Liars tale is told by the prettiest little liar of all: Ali herself. For the first time ever, we see how the mystery began . . . and how Alison DiLaurentis's life ended.

After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall


Nancy Kress - 2012
    After ecological disasters nearly destroyed the Earth, 26 survivors—the last of humanity—are trapped by an alien race in a sterile enclosure known as the Shell. Fifteen-year-old Pete is one of the Six—children who were born deformed or sterile and raised in the Shell. As, one by one, the survivors grow sick and die, Pete and the Six struggle to put aside their anger at the alien Tesslies in order to find the means to rebuild the earth together. Their only hope lies within brief time-portals into the recent past, where they bring back children to replenish their disappearing gene pool. Meanwhile, in 2013, brilliant mathematician Julie Kahn works with the FBI to solve a series of inexplicable kidnappings. Suddenly her predictive algorithms begin to reveal more than just criminal activity. As she begins to realize her role in the impending catastrophe, simultaneously affecting the Earth and the Shell, Julie closes in on the truth. She and Pete are converging in time upon the future of humanity—a future which might never unfold. Weaving three consecutive time lines to unravel both the mystery of the Earth's destruction and the key to its salvation, this taut post-apocalyptic thriller offers a topical plot with a satisfying twist.

Treasure


Oyinkan Braithwaite - 2020
    She shows off a luxurious life in a gated community that her almost five thousand followers can only dream of. @Sho4Sure is determined to be part of it. The macho mechanic is Treasure’s number one fan, and double taps and blushing emojis are no longer enough. He needs to meet her in the flesh. If only Treasure were more prepared for destiny.Oyinkan Braithwaite’s Treasure is part of Hush, a collection of six stories, ranging from political mysteries to psychological thrillers, in which deception can be a matter of life and death. Each piece can be read or listened to in one truly chilling sitting.

The Dulwich Horror of 1927


David Hambling - 2013
    To William Blake and his friends, the mystery of an underground chamber where no chamber should exist is an adventure to punctuate their round of champagne picnics and cocktail parties. But something dark and alien is seeping into this bright world, and shadows from the distant past are rising over Blake's glittering future. The church's congregation are being preyed on, body and soul. A deserted house reveals a disturbing secret. An unnatural and insatiable creature is lurking, madness is afoot...and a whirlwind of chaos and destruction is about to be unleashed from another dimensionBlake and his resourceful friends know archaeology, photography, esoteric lore and even non-Euclidean geometry. But can they even begin to understand the eldritch evil they are facing in time? Can they solve the riddle that lies behind the words Cthulu Fthagn before they are picked off one by one?An HP Lovecraft-inspired novella of madness and chaos to appeal to anyone familiar with the Cthulhu Mythos, and is sure to delight new readers and seasoned fans of the Call of Cthulhu alike.

Risk


Jamie Freveletti - 2012
    Sebastian Ryan, the risk analyst for the insurance company, takes one look at her history of winding up in the wrong place at the wrong time and deems her a "statistical nightmare." But for Ryan the nightmare is just beginning, and he'll need Caldridge's assistance if he's going to survive.