Brian Longo

"Her Pretty Face" is a gripping domestic thriller by Robyn Harding, published in 2018. The novel delves into the complexities of friendship, secrets, and the masks people wear to hide their true selves. Harding, known for her sharp storytelling and ability to craft flawed, relatable characters, delivers a suspenseful narrative that keeps readers guessing until the end. The story centers on two women, Frances Metcalfe and Kate Randolph, whose lives intertwine in unexpected ways. Frances is a stay-at-home mom struggling with guilt over a past mistake that left her ostracized by her community. She’s desperate for connection and sees an opportunity when her son, Marcus, befriends Kate’s son, DJ, at their elite private school. Kate, on the surface, is everything Frances isn’t—glamorous, confident, and seemingly unbothered by the judgment of others. The two women form a fast friendship, offering Frances a lifeline and a chance to rebuild her social standing. However, the plot t...

"The Haters" by Robyn Harding is a gripping psychological thriller that dives into the dark side of fame, social media, and the publishing world. Released in July 2024, the novel follows Camryn Lane, a high school guidance counselor who finally achieves her lifelong dream of becoming a published author with her debut novel, Burnt Orchid. At first, everything seems perfect—her editor is thrilled, her teenage daughter is proud, and her book garners rave reviews, including praise from the New York Times Book Review for being “chilling, heart-wrenching, and painfully authentic.” But the euphoria is short-lived. The story takes a sharp turn when Camryn receives a disturbing email from an unknown sender just before her book launch. The message accuses her of exploiting her students’ stories for profit, shaking her confidence. She tries to brush it off, but soon discovers a scathing one-star review on a popular book site. This articulate and venomous critique triggers a flood of n...

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager is a gripping psychological thriller that delves into the lingering effects of trauma, the unreliability of memory, and the secrets buried in small-town suburbia. Published in 2024, this novel showcases Sager’s signature style: atmospheric tension, unexpected twists, and a knack for keeping readers on edge until the final page. The story centers on Ethan Marsh, a man in his 40s who returns to his childhood neighborhood in Hemlock Circle, a seemingly idyllic cul-de-sac in New Jersey. Thirty years earlier, when Ethan was ten, his best friend Billy vanished without a trace from a tent in Ethan’s backyard during a sleepover. The unsolved disappearance has haunted Ethan ever since, shaping his life with guilt and unanswered questions. Now, back in the house where it all happened, strange occurrences begin to unravel the fragile peace of the neighborhood—a cryptic message appears, a child’s voice echoes in the night, and the past refuses to stay buried. ...

Satan’s Burnouts Must Die! by David Sodergren is a relentless, blood-soaked dive into the gritty world of 1970s exploitation horror, delivering a wild ride that feels like a love letter to grindhouse cinema. This novella, published in 2021, doesn’t pretend to be anything it’s not—it’s loud, unapologetic, and revels in its own depravity while still managing to weave a thread of heart into its chaotic narrative. The story kicks off with a gang of devil-worshipping bikers, the titular Satan’s Burnouts, roaring into the small desert town of Dennyville. These aren’t your average leather-clad tough guys; they’re a pack of sadistic, sex-crazed lunatics who live for chaos and violence. Their arrival sets the stage for a collision with Sam West, a grizzled almost-70-year-old who’s just trying to enjoy his birthday with his granddaughter, Angel, and her fiancé. What starts as a quiet celebration spirals into a brutal showdown when the Burnouts unleash hell on the town, targeting a local diner ...

In the Miso Soup is a gripping and unsettling novel by Japanese author Ryu Murakami, first published in 1997. Known for his dark, provocative style, Murakami delivers a chilling exploration of alienation, violence, and the underbelly of modern Japanese society in this work. The story unfolds in Tokyo’s seedy Kabuki-cho district, a red-light area teeming with hostess bars, sex work, and a sense of detached hedonism, which serves as the perfect backdrop for the novel’s disturbing narrative. The protagonist, Kenji, is a 20-year-old "nightlife guide" who earns a living showing foreign tourists—mostly men—the ins and outs of Tokyo’s adult entertainment scene. Kenji is a somewhat aimless, morally ambiguous character, shaped by the transactional nature of his work and the desensitization it brings. As the story begins, he’s hired by Frank, an American tourist with an odd demeanor and a penchant for the grotesque. Frank is overweight, awkward, and overly chatty, but there’s somethi...

Offspring by Jack Ketchum is a visceral, unsettling horror novel that dives deep into the primal instincts of survival, savagery, and the thin veneer separating civilization from barbarism. Published in 1991, it’s one of Ketchum’s most notorious works, blending extreme violence with psychological tension to create a story that lingers long after the last page. The plot centers on a group of friends and family in a remote Maine house who become prey to a clan of feral, cannibalistic humans living in the nearby woods. These aren’t your typical monsters—they’re human, or at least they once were, descended from a shipwrecked crew that resorted to eating each other to survive generations ago. Now, they’re a twisted, inbred family, driven by instinct and hunger, with a chilling mix of childlike curiosity and predatory ruthlessness. The main characters—David and Amy, a couple with a newborn, along with their friends Luke and Claire—face unimaginable horrors as the clan invades their lives, ...

Off Season is a brutal and unrelenting horror novel by Jack Ketchum, first published in 1980. Often cited as one of his most infamous works, it marks his debut and sets the tone for the visceral, no-holds-barred style that would define much of his career. Ketchum, a pseudonym for Dallas Mayr, drew inspiration from real-life horrors and classic exploitation films, crafting a story that’s as raw as it is disturbing. The plot centers on a group of friends vacationing in a remote cabin in Maine, seeking a peaceful getaway during the off-season. Their retreat quickly turns into a nightmare when they’re attacked by a feral, cannibalistic family living in the wilderness. What unfolds is a relentless siege, with the vacationers fighting for survival against a group that’s more animal than human. The novel doesn’t shy away from graphic violence or the bleakness of its premise—Ketchum’s prose is lean and unflinching, pulling readers into the chaos without offering much reprieve. The book’s o...