The long and brutal winter where I live seems to have finally come to an end! Believe it or not, summer is just around the corner, and I can’t wait! I have an extended vacation from work and that means a lot more free time for reading some awesome horror books. In celebration, I wanted to start gathering some of my most anticipated reads that are scheduled to hit shelves this summer. I will be listing these in a few installments, featuring anywhere from 3-5 novels at a time, for a few reasons. The most important one being that I am constantly discovering books I want to read, so I don’t want to leave any out! Here are the first three books that made my list!
Stephen King “Mr. Mercedes”(June 3, 2014) from Scribner
This list just wouldn’t be the same without a title from one of my favorite horror authors of all-time! King has two books planned for the rest of 2014 and Mr. Mercedes is the first one up. Mr. Mercedes focuses on retired cop Bill Hodges who is still haunted by the unsolved crime that happened a few months prior in which a person drove a stolen Mercedes into a crowd of people and intentionally ran them down. Hodges is drawn from retirement and his depression after the killer sends him a letter threatening an even more horrific attack.
I have loved King’s recent steps outside of horror – 11/22/63 and Joyland were phenomenal – and I can’t wait to see the surprises King has in store with this one!
Hunter Shea “The Montauk Monster” (June 3, 2014) from Pinnacle
The Montauk Monster is the first thriller novel from horror writer Hunter Shea and after reading the synopsis, I can’t wait to get my hands on this book! I have always had a huge interest in cryptids and remember being completely baffled by the remains that washed up along the shores of Montauk back in the summer of 2008. Theories ranged from a turtle without a shell all the way to a failed experiment from a government research facility before being determined by many to be the carcass of a raccoon.
In The Montauk Monster, Shea utilizes the failed genetic experiment angle to craft a story that seems absolutely terrifying. I mean, this book has it all! Creepy monsters? Check. Shadowy, top-secret projects from the government? Check. One thing is for certain after reading the synopsis of this book. Seeing how there is not just one but MANY of these creatures terrorizing the residents of Montauk, I will probably be afraid to ever step foot in the water again, fictitious story or not!
Brian Moreland The Vagrants (June 3, 2014) from Samhain Horror
Brian Moreland’s new novella for Samhain, The Vagrants, focuses on journalist Daniel Finley and the fallout from his most recent book that outs a sinister underground cult he encountered while spending six months in Boston’s underground writing an article on the homeless. The cult is after him because of his book and when you combine that with his attempt to save his father from mobsters, The Vagrants is guaranteed to be an action-packed adventure you will want to read!
The Horror Bookshelf 
Can’t wait to read King’s “Revival” in the Fall!
Me either! Should be an awesome read.
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[…] it would be based on the modern cryptid, The Montauk Monster, I was instantly hooked and it made my list of most anticipated summer novels based on the strength of the synopsis alone. Now that I have had a chance to read The Montauk […]