David Demchuk has been writing for theatre, film, television, radio, and other media for more than thirty years. His reviews, essays, interviews and columns have appeared in such magazines as Toronto Life, Xtra, What! Magazine, and the Toronto Star. The Bone Mother is his first novel.
Persona (2026) Aoife Josie Clements "An astonishing debut, the Bergman allusion in the title is only the first clue as mysteries unfold and refold, entrapping the reader in a shifting, changing labyrinth of dread. I can't imagine I will read a better novel this year, it is just that brilliant."
The Villa, Once Beloved (2025) Victor Manibo "A classic Gothic thriller set in the Philippines in the wake of the Marcos dictatorship, Victor Manibo's terrifying new novel The Villa Once Beloved holds you tightly in its clutches and refuses to let go. A curious, headstrong young woman visits her boyfriend's eerie ancestral home and confronts a horrific family legacy entwined with a nation's dark history and her own mysterious past. This chilling tale seamlessly blends supernatural shocks and suspense with powerful political and social drama, and builds to a hair-raising climax. Sleepless nights await!"
Spread Me (2025) Sarah Gailey "For once the term 'Cronenbergian' is all too accurate, with its intimations of the horny, the monstrous, and the transgressive. Gailey comes in white-hot from the very first page and goes farther, faster, and deeper than you could ever imagine. Read it all in one night if you must, but you won't get much sleep once you're done."
Senseless (2025) Ronald Malfi "If stories about LA are like visits to a theme park, Ronald Malfi's Senseless is the wildest dark ride you've ever dreamed of, whirling and shrieking at Tinseltown's throbbing neon-veined heart. A consummate storyteller, Malfi is a master of shadowy noir, nerve-wracking suspense and balls-out horror, drawing the reader deep into a winding web of terror from which there is no escape. Senseless may be his best work yet--a breathlessly compulsive thriller that twists and turns on itself and tightens like the knot of a noose. Don't miss it!"
Coup De Grace (2024) Sofia Ajram "A slender, terrifying volume in which to lose yourself completely. Sofia Ajram's remarkable debut Coup de Grace is a lyrically written yet shockingly raw depiction of its narrator's descent into the depths of suicidal depression. It is rare that surreal horror bites this deep or tears this hard at the reader's emotions. I was floored. Highly recommended."
Grey Dog (2024) Elliott Gish "Grey Dog is a haunting historical gothic, exquisitely detailed and suffused with queer longing, violent trauma, and escalating dread. Set your first impressions aside: this is a work of overwhelming intensity that will take you in its teeth and shake you."
An Ordinary Violence (2023) Adriana Chartrand "Adriana Chartrand's An Ordinary Violence is a hallucinatory slow-burn chiller, sharply observed and heartfelt in its depiction of family ties that bind like strips of wet rawhide. Dawn returns to her hometown to find it is in the grip of something uncanny and malevolent. As she visits old friends and familiar places, she grapples with ghosts from the past and demons on the rise to save her struggling father, her wayward brother, and herself. With this fresh and fearsome look at the contemporary Indigenous experience, Chartrand emerges at the forefront of our newest literary voices."
Manhunt (2022) Gretchen Felker-Martin "Taut, visceral, terrifying. A gripping tale of trans survival, rendered in Gretchen Felker-Martin's exquisite, uncompromising prose. You can't turn the pages fast enough."
Only the Devil Is Here (2018) Stephen Michell "Only The Devil Is Here is a gripping, cinematic supernatural thriller, shot through with unsettling imagery and startling insights into the nature of good and evil. Suspenseful, scary, and unexpectedly moving, it’s a wild ride from start to finish."
