What a feast of new fiction we have this month! New books in February from Sara Gran, Richard Chizmar & Stephen King, Marlon James, Delilah Dawson, the late Anne Rice, and more–and of course, the Nightfire publishing machine is back at it this month!
Nightfire has three–count ’em, three–new books out in February: Dead Silence, S.A. Barnes’ space horror epic, Echo, Thomas Olde Heuvelt’s tale of a mountaineering trip gone very wrong, and Gretchen Felker-Martin’s blistering post-apocalypse novel tracking the fight for survival of a group of trans women and men after a gender-based plague brings the world to its knees.
Also, a note: we’re regularly updating release dates and newly announced books both here and on our 2022 horror releases master post. (Missed last year’s list? Right this way!)
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February’s new horror titles:
- Ramses the Damned: The Reign of Osiris, Anne Rice & Christopher Rice (Feb 1): The gilded adventures of Ramses the Damned, iconic creation of the legendary bestselling author, continue in this breathtakingly suspenseful tale of a titanic supernatural power unleashed on the eve of war.
- String Follow, Simon Jacobs (Feb 1): A darkly comic suburban Gothic about a malevolent force that targets a group of Ohio misfits, harnessing their angst for its sinister designs. Eerie, hypnotic, and shot through with dark comedy, String Follow is a razor-sharp story that exposes the sweating, bleeding truth of how kids become adults in twenty-first-century America. Simon Jacobs blends the startlingly original and the uncannily familiar, revealing the dark chaos that lurks beneath the surface of Midwestern suburbia.
- The Violence, Delilah S. Dawson (Feb 1): Three generations of abused women must navigate their chilling new reality as a mysterious epidemic of violence sweeps the nation in this compelling novel of self-discovery, legacy, and hope.
- Terror Peak, Edward J. McFadden III (Feb 4): What was supposed to be a fun week with his old crew turns tragic when former pro snowboarder Chance is caught in an avalanche and barely escapes nature’s fury… and something more. An ancient horror prowls the peak, and Chance’s obsessions shift as he hunts the creatures, and is forced to fight for his life.
- The Book of the Most Precious Substance, Sara Gran (Feb 8): The highly anticipated new thriller from internationally renowned author Sara Gran, author of Come Closer and the Claire DeWitt series, about a rare book dealer’s search for the most powerful occult book ever written.
- Cherish Farrah, Bethany C. Morrow (Feb 8): A slow-burn social horror novel about the only two Black girls in a privileged country club community. Told in Farrah’s chilling, unforgettable voice and weaving in searing commentary on race and class, Cherish Farrah will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page.
- Dead Silence, S.A. Barnes (Feb 8): Titanic meets The Shining in this SF horror in which a woman and her crew board a decades-lost luxury cruiser and find the wreckage of a nightmare that hasn’t yet ended. (A Nightfire title)
- Echo, Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Feb 8): From international bestselling sensation Thomas Olde Heuvelt, author of Hex, comes Echo, a thrilling descent into madness and obsession as one man confronts nature—and something even more ancient and evil answers back. (A Nightfire title)
- Jawbone, Mónica Ojeda (Feb 8): Fernanda and Annelise are so close they are practically sisters: a double image, inseparable. So how does Fernanda end up bound on the floor of a deserted cabin, held hostage by one of her teachers and estranged from Annelise? Interweaving pop culture references and horror concepts drawn from Herman Melville, H. P. Lovecraft, and anonymous “creepypastas,” Jawbone is an ominous, multivocal novel that explores the terror inherent in the pure potentiality of adolescence and the fine line between desire and fear.
- The Queen of the High Fields, Rhiannon Grist (Feb 8): Two misfits, Carys Price and Angharad ‘Hazard’ Evans, strike out from their disenfranchised seaside town to take ownership of the High Fields, a mythical island brimming with world-bending promise. Objecting to the demands of modern society, they hope to find a place where they can live as they choose, but instead they find an ancient power that tears their friendship apart. Ten years later, Carys returns to the collapsing world of the High Fields to face the terrifying power of the friend-turned-goddess she left behind.
- And In Her Smile, The World, Gordon B. White & Rebecca J. Allred (Feb 11): This work of dark fantasy follows Serena and Jeffery, who independently discover a cult of women and an alternate creation myth. When a not-so-chance meeting brings them together, the two have an important decision to make. It also highlights the dangers attendant with telling women to smile.
- The Beyond, Ken Brosky (Feb 15): When Moon Song’s brother goes missing in the town of Blackrock, PA, Moon hires private investigator Ben Sawyer to help her uncover the truth. Together they discover what the people of Blackrock refuse to acknowledge: something terrible has happened inside the coal mine that defies all logical explanation, and it threatens the lives of every single person in town. Bodies are piling up at the funeral home, and many others have seemingly vanished. Moon’s only hope of finding answers rests in the hands of a local professor who knows the mine’s horrible secrets. But the professor has problems of his own, and unless he can confront the creature that’s hunting him, Moon’s chances of making it out of town alive are darker than a seam of coal.
- Gwendy’s Final Task, Richard Chizmar & Stephen King (Feb 15): In Gwendy’s Final Task, the third and final book in the Gwendy’s Button Box trilogy, “horror giants” (Publishers Weekly) Stephen King and Richard Chizmar take us on a journey from Castle Rock to another famous cursed Maine city to the MF-1 space station, where Gwendy must execute a secret mission to save the world. And, maybe, all worlds.
- The Lake of the Dead, André Bjerke (Feb 15): André Bjerke’s The Lake of the Dead (1942) was voted the all-time best Norwegian thriller, and its atmospheric 1958 film adaptation is regarded as one of Norway’s best films. This new translation is the first-ever American publication of Bjerke’s classic, which features an unusual mixture of murder mystery and supernatural horror that will keep readers guessing until the thrilling conclusion.
- Mickey7, Edward Ashton (Feb 15): The Martian meets Dark Matter in Edward Ashton’s high concept science fiction thriller, in which Mickey7, an “expendable,” refuses to let his replacement clone Mickey8 take his place.
- Moon Witch, Spider King, Marlon James (Feb 15): From Marlon James, author of the bestselling National Book Award finalist Black Leopard, Red Wolf, the second book in the Dark Star trilogy, his African dark fantasy epic. Here, Sogolon the Moon Witch takes center stage and gives her own account of what happened to the missing boy, and how she plotted and fought, triumphed and failed as she looked for him.
- The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, Volume Two, ed. James D. Jenkins and Ryan Cagle (Feb 15): Critics praised the first Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, and now for this exciting follow-up volume the editors have expanded their search to even more countries, finding more of the world’s best horror fiction and making it available to American readers for the first time. Featuring a wide variety of tales from Brazil to Malta to Nigeria to Japan, and all points in between, this new anthology is a must-have for any horror fan or anyone interested in contemporary world literature.
- Parallel Hells, Leon Craig (Feb 17): In this deliciously strange debut collection, Leon Craig draws on folklore and gothic horror in refreshingly inventive ways to explore queer identity, love, power and the complicated nature of being human.
- A Woman Built By Man, ed. S.H. Cooper, Olivia White, and Elle Turpitt (Feb 17): An anthology of short stories written by women and femme-identifying individuals that explore the ways in which women are shaped by the men around them.
- Beneath the Stairs, Jennifer Fawcett (Feb 22): In this spine-tingling, atmospheric debut for fans of Jennifer McMahon, Simone St. James, and Chris Bohjalian, a woman returns to her hometown after her childhood friend attempts suicide at a local haunted house—the same place where a traumatic incident shattered their lives twenty years ago.
- Extasia, Claire LeGrand (Feb 22): From New York Times bestselling author Claire LeGrand comes a new, bone-chilling YA horror novel about a girl who joins a coven to root out a vicious evil that’s stalking her village. Perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Grace Year.
- Five Deaths for Seven Songbirds, John Everson (Feb 22): When Eve Springer arrives to join the Songbirds it’s the fulfillment of her lifelong dream. But that dream is soon to become a nightmare. Somebody is murdering the Songbirds, using their own instruments as weapons. Will Eve be next?
- Manhunt, Gretchen Felker-Martin (Feb 22): Y: The Last Man meets The Girl With All the Gifts in this explosive post-apocalyptic novel that follows trans women and trans men on a grotesque journey of survival. (A Nightfire title)
- Spontaneous Human Combustion, Richard Thomas (Feb 22): In this new collection, Richard Thomas has crafted fourteen stories that push the boundaries of dark fiction in an intoxicating, piercing blend of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. Equally provocative and profound, each story is masterfully woven with transgressive themes that burrow beneath the skin.
- Tripping Arcadia, Kit Mayquist (Feb 22): From debut author Kit Mayquist, a propulsive and atmospheric modern Gothic with all the splendor of The Great Gatsby… and all the secrets, lies, and darkness that opulence can hide.
- The Wolfden, Lillah Lawson (Feb 22): If Stormy Spooner thought she’d hit rock bottom before, she was wrong. Before she had fully healed from her bitter divorce, a chaotic turn of events left several people dead. Now, her reanimated boyfriend Phillip refuses to take her calls. Heartbroken and confused by her newfound powers, Stormy returns to work in an attempt to find her new normal.
- In the Arctic Sun, Rowan Hill (Feb 25): The trees of Alaska’s Arctic wilderness have always been Sarah’s sentries and her house, a fortress, isolated from society and an abusive marriage. But the arrival of a new neighbor and an oil company drilling through primordial, cold earth changes the forest of her valley. It bleeds through the serenity and disrupts her home, her sanity. Plagued with insomnia from the midnight sun, Sarah increasingly suspects something is using her sanctuary to hide from the bright, incessant light. An insidious menace, ancient and beyond explanation, using the wilderness for cover. Her personal demon that cares nothing for Sarah or her mental health. Something that won’t stop until it takes it all.
- Burn the Plans, Tyler Jones (Feb 26): From Tyler Jones (author of Criterium, The Dark Side of the Room, and Almost Ruth) comes a new collection featuring fourteen tales of supernatural suspense. Featuring thirteen short stories and one novelette, Burn the Plans is a relentless journey into the dark places we end up when all of our plans go wrong.
As always, if we missed anything, let us know in the comments!
View our 2022 new horror release masterlist here, and view previous monthly new releases posts here.
