2024 Horror and Nordic Noir Book Clubs

Trapped by Camilla Lackberg & Henrik Fexeus

A shocking murder…
It’s a case unlike anything Detective Mina Dabiri has seen before. A woman trapped inside a magician’s box, with swords pierced through. But it’s not a magic trick. It’s murder.

A case which twists and turns…
Mina enlists the help of celebrity mentalist, Vincent Walter. Only he can give her an insight into the secret world of magic and illusions.

A ticking clock to stop a serial killer…
Mina and Vincent soon discover that the killer is counting down. There are going to be three more murders. And time is running out to stop them.

The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell

At The Mercury Theatre in London’s West End, rumours are circulating of a curse. It is said that the lead actress Lilith has made a pact with Melpomene, the tragic muse of Greek mythology, to become the greatest actress to ever grace the stage. Suspicious of Lilith, the jealous wife of the theatre owner sends dresser Jenny to spy on her.

What Jenny finds is a woman as astonishing in her performance as she is provocative in her nature. On stage, it’s as though Lilith is possessed by the characters she plays, yet off stage she is as tragic as the muse who inspires her. But when strange events begin to take place around the theatre, Jenny fears that when the muse comes calling for payment, the cost will be too high.

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the old mining town, dubbed “The Lost Village,” since she was a little girl. In 1959, her grandmother’s entire family disappeared, and ever since, the unanswered questions have plagued her. She’s gathered a small crew in the remote village to make a film about what happened.

Not long after they’ve set up camp, mysterious things begin to happen. Equipment is destroyed. People go missing. As doubt breeds fear and their very minds begin to crack, one thing becomes startlingly clear to Alice: They are not alone.

The Daughters of Block Island by Christa Carmen

After arriving on Block Island to find her birth mother, Blake Bronson becomes convinced she’s the heroine of a gothic novel―the kind that allowed her intermittent escape from a traumatic childhood. But before Blake can discern the novel’s ending, she’s found dead, murdered in a claw-foot tub.

Summoned by a letter sent from Blake before she died, Thalia Mills returns to the island she swore she’d left for good. She finds that Blake wasn’t the first to die at White Hall under suspicious circumstances. Thalia must uncover the real reason for Blake’s demise before the forces rise to consume her too.

The Night House by Jo Nesbø

In the wake of his parents’ tragic deaths, 14-year-old Richard has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in a remote town. When a classmate named Tom goes missing, everyone suspects Richard is responsible. No one believes him when he says a telephone booth sucked Tom into the receiver like something out of a horror movie. No one except Karen, a fellow outsider who encourages Richard to investigate.

When another classmate disappears, Richard must find a way to prove his innocence—and preserve his sanity.

The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson

Growing up in 1980s Niagara Falls, Jake spends most of his time with his uncle Calvin, an enthusiast of occult artifacts and conspiracy theories. The summer Jake turns 12, he befriends a pair of siblings new to town, and Calvin initiates them all into the “Saturday Night Ghost Club.”

But as the summer goes on, what begins as a seemingly lighthearted project may uncover more than they had imagined. The Saturday Night Ghost Club examines the haunting mutability of memory and storytelling, as well as the experiences that form the people we become.

Death In Summer by Lina Areklew

In 1994, 13-year-old Fredrik Fröding lost his entire family in the shipwreck of MS Estonia. 25 years later, he remains convinced that his younger brother survived. When Fredrik thinks he sees him in a Stockholm hotel, he follows the hotel’s owner to find out the truth. But a drunken Midsummer Eve leaves Fredrik unable to remember what happened.
 
A murder at the height of tourist season puts pressure on Det. Sofia Hjortén to solve the case. As Sofia circles Fredrik, his desperate attempt to clear his name resurrects a summer camp tragedy from 1979. Flowing from the past, a current of deception and lies threatens to drag Sofia and Fredrik under.

You’re Not Supposed To Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

Charity Curtis has the summer job of her dreams, playing the “final girl” at Camp Mirror Lake. Guests pay to be scared in this full-contact terror game, as Charity and her summer crew recreate scenes from a classic slasher film, Curse of Camp Mirror Lake.

But then Charity’s co-workers begin disappearing. And when one ends up dead, Charity’s role as the final girl suddenly becomes all too real. If Charity and her girlfriend Bezi hope to survive the night, they’ll need figure out what this killer is after. Is there is more to the story of Mirror Lake and its dangerous past?

The Prey by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

Jóhanna is working with the search and rescue team in Höfn to find two couples from Reykjavik. In a harsh winter, the journey is treacherous, and they soon find the first body. More troubling, Johanna senses her team is being tracked through the snow.

Hjörvar works at the Stokksnes Radar Station in the highlands. He’s alone when the phone connected to the gate rings. When he answeres, he can only hear interference, and what sounds like a child’s voice asking for her mother.

How are these events connected? And what may be searching for its prey out on the ice?

Incidents Around The House by Josh Malerman

To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth. But there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day: “Can I go inside your heart?” 

When horrifying incidents around the house signal that Other Mommy is growing tired of asking Bela the question over and over, Bela understands that unless she says yes, her family will soon pay. Other Mommy is getting restless, stronger, bolder. Only the bonds of family can keep Bela safe, but other incidents show cracks in her parents’ marriage. The safety Bela relies on is about to unravel. But Other Mommy needs an answer.