Summer may be winding down, but horror is heating up — and this month’s offerings are proof that nothing pairs better with late-season dread than a dash of madness, obsession, and the occasional missing husband. From cursed cookbooks to cosmic king, apocalyptic odds to haunted retreats, these terrifying new releases deliver seven courses of high-stakes chills with razor-sharp precision.
The Dead Husband Cookbook by Danielle Valentine
(Sourcebooks, August 5)
When a ghostwriter is invited to pen the memoir of a notorious chef long suspected of murdering her husband, she quickly realizes the family’s secrets are far darker than the rumors. Stranded on their isolated farm, she uncovers a legacy of disappearances, rot, and one terrifying recipe kept buried for decades.
A Game In Yellow by Hailey Piper
(Saga Press, August 12)
A couple’s search for erotic thrill leads them to a forbidden play that warps reality and temps the mind with madness in this hallucinatory descent into lust and lunacy. Blending horror, erotica, and psychological suspense, this is a razor-edged tale of desire gone deliriously wrong.
Just Another Dead Author by Katarina Bivald
(Poisoned Pen Press, August 12)
When a literary legend drops dead at a writers’ retreat in the French countryside, a mystery author finds herself caught in a real-life whodunit teeming with jealous rivals, buried secrets, and a killer hiding in plain sight. With a reluctant commissaire, a meddling journalist, and a mounting body count, one author must solve the mystery of another’s death before her idyllic getaway turns into her final chapter.
Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle
(Tor Nightfire, August 19)
In the wake of a surreal catastrophe that killed millions through improbably freak accidents, a former statistics professor is pulled into an investigation that suggests it wasn’t random — it was orchestrated. With luck itself weaponized, Tingle’s latest is a razor-sharp existential horror that asks what happens when the odds turn against reality itself.
The End Of The World As We Know It by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene (editors)
(Gallery Books, August 19)
Authorized by Stephen King himself, The End of the World as We Know It is a powerhouse anthology of all-new stories set in the world of The Stand, featuring some of the most visionary voices in horror today. From haunting aftermaths to chilling alternate paths, these tales expand the legacy of King’s apocalyptic masterpiece with fresh terror, heart, and humanity.
The Unseen by Ania Ahlborn
(Gallery Books, August 19)
In the aftermath of unspeakable loss, Isla Hansen finds new purpose when a mysterious child appears on her remote Colorado property. But the child’s presence begins to unravel the very fabric of the family’s reality in this mind-bending descent into grief, motherhood, and the horrors that hide just beyond perception.
Secret Lives Of The Dead by Tim Lebbon
(Titan Books, August 26)
When three friends break into a crumbling country estate, they stumble into a centuries-old curse furled by blood, relics, and revenge. As storms rage and secrets unravel, a dark folk horror tale unfolds — one where belief alone may be enough to seal their fate.
The Chill Quill is a monthly roundup of thriller, horror, mystery, and dark fantasy titles released each month by Lindy Ryan. Read previous editions here.
