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Dead Weight

Hildur Knútsdóttir

Mary Robinette Kowal

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An Icelandic night may hide secrets and affairs – or even bodies – in this gruesomely cathartic horror thriller from the author of The Night Guest.Unnur was living a normal, if lonely, life until a black cat showed up at her door.When she tracks down the cat’s wayward owner, she finds a young woman just as lost and in need of help. Like a gust of cold air in a Reykjavík night, Ásta and her pet slip into Unnur’s life.It’s unexpected, but welcome. Unnur likes the company, and she begins to rely on Ásta in turn. But like a black cat, trouble has been tailing her new friend, and Unnur is the only one there for Ásta when things take a violent turn. The two women quickly learn: nothing tests a friendship like blood on your hands.Also by Hildur Knútsdóttir:The Night Guest

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ash.reads.horror\ \ ash\ \ • Apr 29

May is a big month in horror! \ \ My debut short horror story will be featured in @gravebelles Of Plag

May is a big month in horror!

My debut short horror story will be featured in @gravebelles Of Plagues and Blasphemy: A Medieval Horror Anthology, releasing May 5th!

And look at all these beautiful books! What are you looking forward to this month?

#horrorbooks #horrorbookstagram #horror

30 books

4

ash.reads.horror\ \ ash\ \ • Apr 7

Poll:\ \ Next Review\ \ Help me choose which book I feature next for my Director’s Cut Review

Choose the next Director’s Cut Review

4 books

ash.reads.horror\ \ ash\ \ • Mar 8

\ \ I thought it would be fun to showcase all the Arcs I've received both digitally and physically! This is always changing, with more constantly being added because I can't say no haha!\ \ Starting with Digital. These book have either been recieved via netgalley or directly from the author/publisher.\ \ Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher--In 1899, a woman accepts the job of illustrating a scientists collection of insects. Something strange is happening in the small South Carolina town, and Sonia must figure out what before she's the one under the knife. Releasing March 24th.\ \ Morsel by Carter Keane-- A property appraisal in the rural hills of Ohio gets Lou stuck in the throws of Appalachian Horror. Releases April 14th.\ \ Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker-- A house in Japan hold ghosts and deadly secrets. Told between two different timelines. Releases April 14th\ \ Molka by Monika Kim-- A woman seeks revenge as a hidden camera scandal destroys her life. Releases April 28th\ \ The Blood Year Daughter by GG Silverman-- A collection of dark fairytales. Releases April 28th\ \ Dark is When The Devil Comes by Daisy Pearce-- A missing sister and a secretive small town with deadly woods. Releases April 28th\ \ Not Your Final Girl by Mikalya Randolph-- Seven years after a prom night massacre, a group of friends/survivors host a reunion at a lakeside cabin. But when a masked murderer shows up and kills one of the group, they must fight to survive the night. Releases May 5th\ \ I Know a Place by Nat Cassidy-- A collection of short horror stories (including Rest Stop) by the amazing Nat Cassidy. Releases May 5th\ \ Dead Weight by Hildur Knutsdottir-- An unlikely friendship takes a dark turn. Releases May 26th\ \ Dopefoot by Joshua Millican-- A job on a cannibas farm isn't as chill as "Harmless" thought it would be. Tensions rise as both human and supernatural forces descend on the farm. Releases June 16th.\ \ Corpse de Ballet by Megan Kearny-- A ballet boarding school turns deadly in this Graphic novel similar to Suspiria and Black Swan. Releases July 7th\ \ Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist-- I have both the physcial and e-arc of this one. A woman's fresh start to a small remote cottage takes a sinister turn when her neighbor begins acting off. Releases July 14th.\ \ Meat Bees by Dane Erbach-- A trip to the Smoky Mountains to care for her dad turns deadly when Wasps begin eating people. Releases August 4th.\ \ She's A Doll by Barbara Truelove-- A murdered woman possesses a antique porcelain doll to see revenge. Releases October 6th\ \ What Feeds Below by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne-- When her best friend goes missing, Petra must plunge deep into the chasm at the edge of the city. But she's unaware the true horrors beneath. Releases October 6th.\ \ Physical Arcs\ \ Bitter Bloom by Teagan Olivia King-- A woman must brave the dark wood in hopes to bring her mother back from the dead. Accompanying her is a Lord and ghost. Betrayal and love lurks within. Releases March 1oth\ \ Monumental by Adam Nevill-- A kayak trip goes wrong for a group of friends who quickly find themselves having to survive nature and supernatural forces. Releases April 2nd.\ \ Carrion Crow by Heather Parry-- Strange, intense, and darkly beautiful, this haunting gothic novel from award-winning author Heather Parry is a story of mothers and daughters, and the dual capacity for both great kindness and unfathomable cruelty. Releases July 3rd.\ \ Partially Devoured by Daniel Kraus-- Partially Devoured uses a frame-by-frame deep dive into Night of the Living Dead to produce a kaleidoscopic cultural investigation of the film's importance and to examine the author's early life of rural isolation and local violence. Releases March 13th\ \ Do we have any Arcs in common?](https://ashreadshorror.binderybooks.com/item/Sdg1x0GnDrlpJVnljRTD/)

Arcs On My Shelf

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Posts about this book from across Bindery

Two Stories Bookshop\ \ Queer-Owned Shelves🌈\ \ • May 26

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[Hello, everyone!\ \ Happy New Release Tuesday! Here are some new releases we are excited about this week!\ \

May 26 Releases

4 books

Ronnica Reads\ \ Ronnica Fatt\ \ • May 25

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Another week of a strong slate of new releases! Here are books that are on my radar (and I think should. be on yours, too):\ \ Babylon, South Dakota by Tom Lin\ \ Why it interests me: I especially appreciate stories with Chinese immigrants in the American West. I think this may also have a speculative nature.\ \ House of Margins by Tlotlo Tsamaase\ \ Why it interests me: a haunted house story set in Africa. A missing author after being invited to a writing retreat. Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy books set at author/artist retreats?\ \ Dead Weight by Hildur Knútsdóttir\ \ Why it interests me: Hildur's previous work, The Night Guest, was one of the first horror books I read and was at the beginning of my realization that horror often has the theme work that I love. This one is translated from Icelandic and described as "gruesomely cathartic."\ \ Pretend You're Dead and I Carry You by Julián Delgado Lopera\ \ Why it interests me: a literary fiction book with queer characters by a Colombian American author.\ \ The Redemption Center is Closed on Sundays by Andrea Hairston\ \ Why it interests me: this looks like science fiction in horror skin.\ \ No God but Us by Bobuq Sayed\ \ Why it interests me: our main character participates in Istanbul Pride, and appears to explore Turkiye's growing authoritarianism and queer freedom.

May 26th New Releases by Marginalized Authors

7 books

Death by TBR Books\ \ Stephanie\ \ • May 9

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April was full of strange women, unraveling minds, body horror, caves, literary magic, and at least one scene that permanently altered my brain chemistry.\ \ 📖 LOVED\ \ The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer is easily in my top three books of 2026 so far. I related to the main character so much and the anxiety running through this book felt painfully real at times. The tension never lets up. It just slowly tightens around you until every interaction feels wrong in the best possible way. One of those books where you start questioning everyone and everything alongside the protagonist.\ \ Decomposition Book by Sara Van Os completely caught me off guard. Weird, sexy, feral, uncomfortable. Exactly the kind of book I love stumbling into without really knowing what I’m about to experience. It felt messy and human and emotionally raw in a way that really worked for me.\ \ Headlights by C.J. Leede proves once again that C.J. Leede apparently refuses to let readers know peace. There is at least one scene in this book that is going to live in my brain forever like a cursed VHS tape. I loved this more than American Rapture, though Maeve Fly still owns a permanent section of my soul.\ \ The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer had me from the first few pages. A blend of whodunnit, fantasy, and literary love letter with the kind of cozy magic that makes you want to disappear into a rainy bookstore for a weekend. I already know this is a reread for me.\ \ Her Last Breath by Taylor Adams was our book club pick and Taylor Adams really knows how to create panic-inducing situations. The cave imagery especially got under my skin in a very claustrophobic way.\ \ Dead Weight by Hildur Knútsdóttir... that ending. Absolute chef’s kiss. Quietly unsettling in a way that sneaks up on you.\ \ 📖 LIKED\ \ The Cove by Claire Rose had a really strong atmosphere, but the plot became a little confusing for me by the end.\ \ My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Part 2 by Emil Ferris is still visually incredible, but I just wasn’t as emotionally pulled in as I hoped to be.\ \ Obstetrix by Naomi Kritzer had a fascinating concept, though the pacing felt a little repetitive for me at times.\ \ 📖 NOT FOR ME\ \ Odessa by Gabrielle Sher just never fully grabbed my attention.\ \ Seek the Traitor’s Son by Veronica Roth leaned way too heavily into world building for my personal taste.\ \ Body Count by Codie Crowley unfortunately just didn’t work for me. The dialogue and character voices felt a little too cringy and whiny.\ \ Abyss by Nicholas Binge sounded like something I should have loved on paper, but it never fully hooked me emotionally.\ \ Shoot Me in the Face on a Beautiful Day by Emma E. Murray wasn’t bad at all, it was just a little too emotionally heavy for me personally without enough light breaking through by the end.\ \ ❓What was your favorite read of April?\ \ Join for free or login

April Reads: Body Horror, Book Witches, & Emotional Damage

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ash.reads.horror\ \ ash\ \ • Apr 29

May is a big month in horror!

My debut short horror story will be featured in @gravebelles Of Plagues and Blasphemy: A Medieval Horror Anthology, releasing May 5th!

And look at all these beautiful books! What are you looking forward to this month?

#horrorbooks #horrorbookstagram #horror

30 books

4

ash.reads.horror\ \ ash\ \ • Apr 7

Poll:\ \ Next Review\ \ Help me choose which book I feature next for my Director’s Cut Review\ \ Join for free or login

Choose the next Director’s Cut Review

4 books

ash.reads.horror\ \ ash\ \ • Mar 8

Arcs On My Shelf

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Boozhoo Books\ \ Naomi\ \ • Feb 8

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Here are 10 more horror books by women I can't wait to read this year. \ \ You can find this year's previous list here, here, here and here. \ \ 01. Our Cut of Salt by Deena Helm (9/22) In this lyrical debut, three generations of Palestinian women must put the haunting of their ancestral home to rest, before the secrets of the past drown them all. Our Cut of Salt is a powerful and intimate look at what it means to make a home, to lose it, and to return, only to find it irrevocably changed.\ \ 02. The Haunted Houses She Calls Her Own by Gwendolyn Kiste (4/14) recriminations from bygone eras, where the regrets and malice of years past still reverberate and shape our doom. Here, morally complex women and queer antiheroines swim against the current of a social structure that serves as a spectral prison in these layered stories of the weird and the Other.\ \ 03. Odessa by Gabriella Sher(4/21) in a powerfully imagined Russia at the height of the pogroms, a grief-stricken family turn to ancient magic to bring their daughter back from the grave. \ \ 04. We Call Them Witches by India Rose Bower ( 4/7)For fans of The Watchers and T. Kingfisher comes a queer, post-apocalyptic horror following one woman's journey across a merciless wasteland to save her brother and confront the dark truth behind the monsters that ravaged the world - with the help of a woman she's not sure she can trust but can't help falling for.\ \ 05. These Familiar Walls by CJ Dotson (4/14) In 1998, desperate loneliness pushes preteen Amber to ignore the misgivings of her family, particularly her younger sister, when she befriends the troubled new kid in the neighborhood―a boy with dead eyes, a fascination with fire, and no remorse. Their turbulent relationship is brief but creates lasting consequences. \ \ \ \ Twenty-two years later, in 2020, he resurfaces to kill Amber’s parents, and is in turn betrayed by his accomplice and killed in Amber's childhood home. \ \ \ \ After the deaths, Amber inherits the house and, in an effort to save money, moves in with her husband and two children, hoping to reclaim some sense of stability in the grief and chaos surrounding her. Instead, she finds that the familiar walls are haunted by more than just bitter memories and lockdown stress. She shifts in and out of dreamlike trances, her reflection won’t meet her gaze, and a menacing voice whispers to her from the gathering shadows. Although she tried to brush off the strange happenings as stress-fueled hallucinations, Amber is soon forced to admit that something much more real―and more dangerous―haunts her family. But Amber has deadly secrets of her own, and she must resolve these long-buried truths or lose the life she’s contrived for herself.\ \ 06. May the Dead Keep You by Jill Baguchinksy (4/21) A story about breaking cycles of abuse and overcoming generational trauma, May the Dead Keep You is an edge-of-your-seat read—equally horrifying, heart-wrenching, and hopeful.\ \ 07. The Cove by Claire Rose(5/5) Midsommar meets Fear Street in this modern, sea-soaked folk horror debut about fighting to survive, and fighting to be yourself.\ \ 08. Bone of my Bone by Johanna van Veen (5/26) The year is 1635.\ \ Sister Ursula, a young nun fleeing the ruins of her convent, and Elsebeth, a sharp-witted peasant, escape a band of marauding soldiers and disappear into the Bavarian forest. War scorches the land, and no one survives it alone. Amid the devastation, they find something in the arms of a dying man: the gilded skull of a saint.\ \ It is said that if you reunite the saint's skull with her body, a wish will be granted. Desperate for salvation, and each with secret desires of their own, Ursula and Elsebeth follow a ragged map across the blighted countryside. But darkness follows them. A necromancer, drawn to the relic's power. The saint herself, whispering at night. And as the lines between blessing and curse blur, the women must face a harrowing truth: the magic they seek comes at a cost.\ \ At the journey's end, they'll face an impossible choice―one that could tear apart everything they know… or bind them to each other forever.\ \ 09. Dead Weight by Holder Knutsdottir (5/26) horror/thriller Unnur was living a normal, if lonely, life until a black cat showed up at her door.\ \ \ \ When she tracks down the cat’s wayward owner, she finds a young woman just as lost and in need of help. Like a gust of cold air in a Reykjavík night, Ásta and her pet slip into Unnur’s life.\ \ \ \ It’s unexpected, but welcome. Unnur likes the company, and she begins to rely on Ásta in turn. But like a black cat, trouble has been tailing her new friend, and Unnur is the only one there for Ásta when things take a violent turn. \ \ \ \ The two women quickly learn: nothing tests a friendship like blood on your hands.\ \ 10. She Waits Where Shadows Gather by Michelle Tang(5/5) Avery and Carlos Tam have built their lives on logic, not legends. Carlos, the host of a hit reality show that exposes paranormal hoaxes, has made a name disproving the supernatural.\ \ But when they travel to his ancestral home in the Philippines, darkness clings to every corner. The mirrors are shrouded. The housekeeper won't stay in the house alone. And no one will speak of the tragedies the family has seen.\ \ Then a brutal car crash leaves Carlos trapped in his own body―silent, helpless, and utterly vulnerable. As Avery tends to him, the house begins to stir. It watches. It listens. And it speaks―in a voice only Carlos can hear―offering a twisted kind of comfort.\ \ And as the lies buried by Carlos and his family begin to surface, Avery must confront the truth: if the past won't rest, their future may never begin.\ \ Some inherit memories. Others inherit monsters.

On Your Radar: Women in Horror 2026

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