Sponsored by AfterShock Comics.
The year is 2084 and the world has changed. Wracked by calamities and crawling with monsters, the last remaining humans face a dangerous existence. And now, the Earth has been sent a message from the deepest reaches of space – a dark countdown to the extinction of all humanity. But there is hope! Five thousand children will be rescued by these mysterious message-senders. This is the journey of Hototo, one of the lucky five thousand – but only if his teenage sister, Tala, can safely deliver him to the nearest Extraction Beacon before time runs out.
Welcome to Read This Book, the newsletter where I recommend one book for your TBR that I think you’re going to love! Genre fiction is my wheelhouse, and about 90% of my personal TBR, so if you’re looking for recommendations in horror, fantasy, or romance, I’ve got you covered!
This week’s book is a recent release that is an absolutely perfect read for a stormy summer day, curled up with a cup of something hot and listening to the rain. A short horror novel that is surprisingly cozy with a healthy dose of Gothic, ghostly goodness, it’s a must have for your summer TBR.
The Whispering Dead by Darcy Coates
Kiera wakes up alone on the forest floor, in the dark, with no memories of her past and the sound of nearby gunshots ringing in her ears. While fleeing from her pursuers, she takes shelter with the local pastor who offers to let her stay in the abandoned groundskeeper’s cottage next to the cemetery until she finds out who she is. The Whispering Dead is the first book in Coates’ new Gravekeeper series, which means that we haven’t yet found out who Keira is, who was chasing her, and why she has a head full of covert training that she can’t explain. She’s a bit of a Bourne character, with the notable exception that one of Keira’s inexplicable talents is the ability to see and communicate with the dead.
While we aren’t yet privy to all of Keira’s secrets, it turns out that there is plenty of plot to be had in the picturesque town of Blighty. Soon after Keira arrives she becomes entangled with the ghost of a woman who, according to a grisly chapter in local history, was torn away from the man she loved and murdered by his cruel, overbearing father. But the man who killed Emma was caught, and is himself long dead. So what is keeping her here, roaming the cemetery outside Keira’s cabin? With the help from some new friends, Keira sets out to solve the mystery, and unearths a few of Blighty’s darker secrets in the process.
Though I would definitely still categorize The Whispering Dead as horror, it would be a great crossover recommendation for frequent cozy mystery readers who are looking to make the jump to horror. It has plenty of suspense and ghostly goings on to satisfy horror fans, but it has the obligatory “unusual small town” setting, quirky secondary ensemble cast, and general feeling of a cozy mystery. And while Kiera’s missing past hints that darker things may be waiting later in the series, for now we have budding friendships, the promising of a blossoming romance, and one very, very cute black cat.
Happy Reading!
Jessica