Book picks similar to
Don't Read by Matt Shaw
horror
thriller
hardcore-extreme-horror
novellas-short-stories
Masters of Horror
Matt ShawAdam Millard - 2017
A book put together with the sole purpose of reminding readers what the horror genre is really about. Each author was told they could write about any subject matter they wanted so long as it was set in a world of horror. The only rule they had: No Paranormal Romance. Vampires do not sparkle, werewolves do not date, Witches do not scour Tinder for Virgins and ghosts do not declare their undying love whilst tidying the apartment... This is horror... Featuring work from: Brian Lumley, Adam Nevill, Guy N. Smith Ramsey Campbell, Gary McMahon, Shaun Hutson, J. R Park, Peter McKeirnon, Jim Goforth, Wrath James White, Craig Saunders, Matt Hickman, Sam West, Kit Power, Daniel Marc Chant, Matt Shaw, Adam Millard, Anton Palmer, Clare Riley Whitfield, Jaime Johnesee, Jeff Strand, Andrew Freudenberg, Michael Bray Shane McKenzie.
Survivor
J.F. Gonzalez - 2004
Lisa was looking forward to spending time alone with her husband, and telling him that they were going to have a baby. Instead, it became a nightmare when her husband was arrested and Lisa was kidnapped. But the kidnappers aren't asking for ransom. They want Lisa herself. They're going to make her a star . . . in a snuff film.
Grin
Stuart Keane - 2015
With a low chance of survival, and her life in ruins, Dani becomes a mere statistic, just another innocent victim of the escalating mob crime in London.However, Dani survives.Haunted by that traumatic night, and unable to escape her own personal hell, Dani dedicates her life to a new vendetta; violent, bloody revenge on each of those who did her wrong. With nothing to lose, and a new desire for bloodshed, the teenager will stop at nothing to avenge her family.
New Year Island
Paul Draker - 2013
One dies in a horrible accident.Nine realize they are all past survivors, alive only because they’ve beaten incredible odds once before. One by one, their hidden secrets are revealed.Eight discover they are trapped. Caught in a game so deadly that the most terrifying experiences of their lives were only its qualifying round, they must now face the greatest danger on the island… each other. There’s nothing deadlier than a survivor-type whose back is against the wall. And one of them is not who he or she claims.Seven fight to escape. Six try to solve the mystery of who lured them there and why.Five… Four… Will anyone survive New Year Island?
Pressure
Jeff Strand - 2005
A pocketknife owned by somebody he hadn't seen in years …CHILDRENThey met first in boarding school at age twelve. Alex Fletcher, shy and scared. Darren Rust, always furiously scribbling away in a private journal. It was not an immediate friendship, but then one night Darren convinced his roommate to sneak off school grounds to see something glorious. There was a sleazy strip club, you see, and every once in a while the back door opened just long enough to maybe catch a quick glimpse …Though a bond was formed from their pre-pubescent interest in naked women, Darren had another interest. A morbid curiosity about death. A curiosity that turned into something much more sinister.FRIENDSThey crossed paths again in college and became the best of friends. But Darren wasn't just looking for a friend. He had dark, ghastly urges squirming around in his head, and he believed he saw the same things—the urge to hurt, the urge to kill—in Alex. He was looking for somebody who understood. A partner. But Alex could never become a monster. Not even when Darren tried to bring out his friend's most deeply buried feelings of rage. Not even when Darren tried to show him the euphoria of having that much power over another human being. It just couldn't happen … right?ENEMIESNow Alex has a wife and a daughter. And Darren is back. He's hiding. He's patient. His mind is twisted in the worst possible way.And he's seeking a soul mate.PRESSURE is a defining moment in Jeff Strand's career as an author, and an unforgettable psychological thriller you do not want to miss.
Triage
Jack Ketchum - 1990
Each story begins with the setup of someone walking into a workplace with a gun. From there each author takes the tale wherever his twisted imagination leads him. Original.
The Uninvited #1
Mike Evans - 2016
The Uninvited will leave you checking your doors, locking your windows and skipping the weekend camping trip. Meet the stranger, a killer who is unbiased about who it chooses to be the victim, and never tires of the killing. If Dexter and Leather face had a baby The Uninvited would be their offspring. Smart, dark, twisted and disturbing is The Uninvited
The Bone Parade
Mark Nykanen - 2004
He has been wildly praised for a series of bronze sculptures that group families together, depicting them in moments of excruciating physical and emotional pain-but the art world has no clue as to how he creates such authentic, gruesome, seemingly tortured human representations. He assigns each family a number, and now he's up to number nine. What's in store for family #9? Cruelty and savagery that you can't even imagine.... The Bone Parade introduces a villain who is as methodical, calculating, and detached as any found in the best fiction. It's gripping. It's chilling. You might be too afraid to read on, but you'll never be able to tear your eyes away.
House of Sighs
Aaron Dries - 2011
They don’t know that she began her day planning to kill herself. But they know that she’s threatening to kill them. They began the ride as her passengers, but now they’re her captives. She’s already shown she won’t hesitate to use that gun in her hand, and no one wants to be the next to die. They have no idea where she’s taking them, who will be left alive when they get there, or what‘s in store for the survivors. With a madwoman at the wheel, the bus has gone far off its route, deep into insanity. And for most of the passengers, the next stop will be their last.
No One Can Hear You Scream
A.B. Whelan - 2021
After divorcing her husband of eighteen years, Jennifer dives right into a new relationship despite her children’s disapproval.Jennifer’s boyfriend, Tyler, is a middle school English teacher and a mama’s boy. To prove to Jennifer that he can be as outdoorsy as her ex-husband, he suggests going on an off-the-grid vacation in a yurt in Montana. The idea of not having cell phone reception and running water for days doesn’t appeal to Jennifer. Reluctantly, she agrees to the trip because she envisions this unique retreat as an opportunity for her children to connect with her new boyfriend.Jennifer’s subscribers are excited about following their favorite online vlogger on an adventure in the wilderness. But one follower sees her vacation as the perfect opportunity to get close to her and act out his twisted and sick fantasies. Alone on the mountain, where no one can hear her scream, Jennifer realizes that it wasn’t the deep, dark woods she had to fear after all.
The Flowers in the Attic Series: The Dollangangers
V.C. Andrews - 2012
The Schwarzschild Radius
Gustavo Florentin - 2014
Rachel, an 18-year-old Columbia University student, descends into the netherworld of runaways and predators to find her sister, Olivia, who has suddenly disappeared.After getting a job in a strip joint where Olivia worked, then doing private shows in the homes of rich clients, Rachel discovers that Olivia has been abducted by a killer who auctions the deaths of young girls in an eBay of agony.As she closes in on the killer who has taken Olivia, Rachel becomes his next target.
Houses of Death (True Crime)
Gordon Kerr - 2008
a notorious "murder house" which was once the scene of a brutal and bloody crime. If the walls of number 25 Cromwell Street had ears, what horrifying acts would they have overheard during the occupancy of serial killers Fred and Rose West? Brutal torture sessions and grisly murders were a regular occurrence. Even after the evidence has been removed and the perpetrators imprisoned or executed, an aura of horror, fear and disgust can linger on for decades. Houses of Death provides an incredible insight into ordinary homes and institutional buildings that have played host to extraordinary events. It explores the infamous buildings, the murderers and victims who called them ‘home’, as well as the bizarre and bloody events that took place behind their closed doors.Contents including:Countess Erzsebet Bathory,Castle Csejthe; Eastern State Penitentiary; The Bender family log cabin; Sing Sing;Lizzie Borden, 92 Second Street, Fall River; H H Holmes, The Murder Castle, Chicago; Newgate Prison; Lemp Mansion, St Louis; Bangkwang Prison, Thailand; Collingwood Manor Massacre; Washington State Penitentiary; John Christie, 10 Rillington Place; Ed Gein, Gein’s Farm, Plainfield, Wisconsin; Holloway Prison; Alcatraz; The Manson Family, 10050 Cielo Drive, Los Angeles; Jonestown; Fred and Rose West, 25 Cromwell Street; Jeffrey Dahmer, 213 Oxford Apartments;Gary Heidnik, 3520 North Marshall Street; Ian Huntley, 5 College Close, Soham.
The Inside Dark
James Hankins - 2017
Just when death seems inevitable, Jason, with the help of another captive, manages to kill the madman and escape.Hailed as a hero, Jason reaps the benefits of his newfound fame: a book deal, a possible reconciliation with his estranged wife, and reward money he can use to pay for his son's costly medical treatments. But he soon realizes the nightmare that began in the deserted stable is far from over, as he is drawn into a twisted game where the darkest terror may not be the psychopath manipulating his every move, but what Jason may have to do to survive...