Kemp, J. (2001) a glossary of Literary Gothic Terms. Web

Alexis Henderson, House of Hunger
(Ace)
In this lush reimagining of the Elizabeth Bathory story, a young woman languishing in poverty in an industrial city gets a chance to become a Bloodmaiden to the elite aristocrats whose salacious appetites include a taste for the blood of their own constituents. Some Bloodmaidens go on to lucrative fortunes and comfortable retirements, but as Henderson’s heroine adjusts to her new life as Bloodmaiden to the most powerful aristocratic house in the kingdom, she soon realizes that being slowly consumed by those more powerful than you is rarely a recipe for long-term satisfaction.

Sarai Walker, The Cherry Robbers
(Harper)
Walker’s new novel unspools the history of Sylvia Wren, a New Mexico-based artist who is on the verge of being exposed by a dogged journalist turning up pieces of her past as a firearms heiress outrunning a dangerous family legacy. The story takes one interesting new turn after another, gathering into a heady mix of gothic fiction and incisive art thriller. –DM
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Clay McLeod Chapman, Ghost Eaters
(Quirk)
What if you could take a drug that showed you the souls of those who haunted you? And what if you took too much of that drug, and started seeing the dead everywhere? In Ghost Eaters, a group of college friends is left bereft when one of them overdoses, but taking a drug called Ghost may help them talk with their lost friend once more. Chapman sets his novel in Richmond, Virginia, and this Southern Gothic ghost story uses its setting well to explore the not-even-past history of the South.

Ashton Noone, Vicious Creatures
(Scarlet)
Vicious Creatures is bound to be one of the best debuts of the year. In this moody, atmospheric thriller, a woman returns to her hometown, hoping her ex-husband’s fear of the dark creatures that live in the woods surrounding will protect her and her daughter from his wrath. There, she reconnects with her best friend from high school, and the two grow closer to acknowledging their intense attraction to each other. Rural noir meets folk horror with queer characters? Sign me up!