My thoughts on GoodReads most popular horror books of the last five years

[@Joaquim.Oliveira]

What a great concept for a video Olly . I wish that you find more of those lists and make a video of it .

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Cheers Joaquim, glad you enjoyed it

[@ATPennington]

Some great recommendations here. My mum loves horror books, so I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting titles I can get for her when it’s her birthday or for Christmas. Definitely adding a lot of these to the list for future reference. 😊

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Excellent! Hope she enjoys them!

[@bethloubet4650]

Definitely try The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher. It's currently my favorite horror.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[@ellesreptiles]

Saw this video just in time - I just finished a book and was looking for the next horror book to read. 👏🏽

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Hope you found one!

[@Already-Overbooked]

Fun video Ollie! I added a bunch of new ones to my TBR!

[@AllenFreemanMediaGuru]

I usually agree with your reviews but I really liked Hidden Pictures. I’ve only read a few of these but now I know which ones to try. Thanks for the overview. I tried to read Home Before Dark but it was a slow build that did not seem to be going anywhere. I guess I need to finish it.

[@detritus666]

Can highly recommend Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie. I'm a huge fan of found footage style books/films, and this was very enjoyable.

[@CliffsDarkGems]

Great video Olly! I find it interesting that the covers for the majority of these modern books do not look like horror. They just don't make them like they used to! I am not surprised you found a number of thriller books on the list. Thanks for the recommendations.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

That's a great observation - you're 100% right

[@clancyconnolly495]

Great video, Olly!! Lots of great books on this list- lots I've read and lots to still get to which is always exciting!! Some that you might like are Something Between Us, one of my all time favorite horror books. I'd also recommend Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang, really enjoyed that one. The Eyes are the Best Part was one that I flew through. Dead of Winter was my first Darcy Coates and I LOVED it, great wintery read!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thanks! Sounds like there are some more for my TBR!

[@upswingvintage2657]

Thank you so much for doing this - I’ve wasted a ton of time reading horror books recommended by others that turn out to be meh (I will never again read another Riley Sager book) but your recommendations are spot on. I just read “Mary” thanks to you and was blown away - the best horror I’ve read since “September House” (Intercepts is also good)

[@CriminOllyBlog]

So pleased you enjoyed Mary!

[@LettersfromLou]

Great video Ollie! 😊 I would recommend starting with the broken girls by Simone st James - one of my favourites of hers ❤

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thank you!

[@susiesky1]

Thanks Olly! Glad to have your ideas on all of these. Lots are on my TBRs but haven’t read too many except The Only Good Indians (really liked) & Lone Women (really loved!!). I DnF’d Survivor Song. Not scary at all, highly annoying primary character. Probably won’t try another Tremblay. Thanks again!! 😊

[@Jessie-yn2ci]

I enjoyed this video please do more of these commentaries on book lists 👍🏽 Mary by Cassidy is such a great read! Totally agree with you on that one. I’d have to disagree about Final Girls Support Group though. Maybe it’s a male/female divide? But wait that explanation doesn’t work because a man wrote it. Oops! Lol! Anyway, I found it was plenty scary and relatable, all of the ways that the women in the group suffered their traumas as the real life versions of the classic modern horror movies. Overall I haven’t met anyone who enjoys this book as much as I do though. Thanks for another fun video. Your channel is lots of fun!

[@margaritaperez8624]

We Used to Live Here loved it! Survivor Song really bad.

[@bbbadkitty9638]

Great idea...good list. Thank you.

[@sjmsutherland]

I'm currently reading My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix. I'm really enjoying it and would definitely read another of his books, but I've started hearing some of his other books are either not great or OK!!! He sounds a bit hit or miss!! I'm also thinking about rewading Slewfoot!! Another great video!!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

The only one I haven't liked so far was The Final Girl Support Group - all the rest have been good or great

[@sjmsutherland]

@@CriminOllyBlog I will definitely check out another book of his, thanks for this!! I just finished MBFE and really, really enjoyed it!!!

[@Jessie-yn2ci]

I actually really adore Final Girls Support Group- great book! so maybe don’t rule it out altogether. 😊

[@MamaTine9]

I’ve only read 13 of this 78, some of which you haven’t gotten to. I really enjoyed Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, The Hollow Places (more than The Twisted Ones), The Book of Accidents and Dead Silence. I would definitely suggest giving those a try!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thanks! Have ordered the Hendrix from the library

[@TangibleReads]

Theres some great books on this list and happy to say ive read a few

[@rustyshackleford1875]

Another great video! I’m probably going to get some hate for this but… as someone who has read horror for years and is an old guy, I find that too much modern horror is overtly political or focused on culture rather than the real meaty horror for me. Whereas it used to be a bit more subtle. As someone who reads for escapism and is bored of how political media has become, I have been working my way back through past classics (love my Herbert, Lumley, Masterton and Simmons) Having said that I really love T Kingfisher and how she seamlessly weaves in lgbt culture which is something that, although having gay friends, I don’t know too much about. It’s always nice to experience something new. It’s also good to see a lot of female authors too, back in the day we had Anne Rice and Shirley Jackson but not a lot else 😂 I think it’s added a fresh perspective on the genre that was definitely needed. Also…. Brom rules! The art, the prose… just spot on.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

It's not something that bothers me at all, in fact I welcome the fact the horror genre has become as diverse and interesting as it has. I think all those older writers are political too, they just tend to be pulling for the status quo.

[@rustyshackleford1875]

@@CriminOllyBlog Yeah true I think they are all very centric, reading Songs of Kali was a tad shocking to go back too though. I just worry that the classic way of doing things will be lost. As you said though, I do appreciate some of the new perspectives, especially more diverse authors. I think the thing that I used to like was going into a book for a wendigo for example and coming out with a knowledge of Native American culture whilst now the culture is the bit advertised. I don’t think it’s the authors so much as the modern way of advertising and the publishers themselves. I just find it all a tad pretentious, Clive Barker was never advertised as LGBTQ but you would get it in his novel and that was cool. It’s genre fiction at the end of the day not literary fiction. Maybe I’m just too old school. Having said that, at uni I was the one wanting to burn the English literary canon and can remember having a very heated argument with my professor about how Christie and Tolkien should be added so I’m probably being hypocritical 🤣

[@elliyo4286]

I liked Bunny, I thought it was a sweet and nice and gory and absurd, fun, horror book. But I mostly liked the visuals in it I think, it didn´t blow me away or anything. I just wish I would´ve watched ´Mean Girls´ before ^^ Loved ´What moves the Dead´, I think it´s the first book I read because of you. I will spare you my opinions on ALL the books I´ve read on the list now 😄

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I do definitely need to try Bunny

[@Bookishdowntime]

I have only read 15 of these, but I own a few more of them that I just haven’t got to yet. The last time I looked Mary was difficult to get hold of in the UK. I will need to see if that has changed as I have heard such good things about it.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

It hasn't I'm afraid, but Cassidy does now have a deal with a UK publisher for new books so if those do well we may finally get an edition of it

[@cafecryptic]

Cool video, Olly! I never checked out Goodreads' list but this one is interesting, I enjoyed hearing your opinion on each book. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on The Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno, I loved it so much! (no pressure hihi)

[@CriminOllyBlog]

haha I do really want to read that one. Thanks, Celeste

[@Charlottemodel2]

I just read comfort me with apples and quite enjoyed the symbolism, but the plot was just ok for me. It’s short, so I just didn’t feel like there was enough time for much to happen, but you can get through it quickly if you’re interested in checking it out.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

That's good to know, thank you!

[@sinus2220]

Fantastic video. I really appreciate your honest opinions, we have similar taste and your recommendations are quite valuable for me. Thanks Olly!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thank you!

[@KittenMittenz]

Do you have any recommendations for "beginner horror" books? I really want to get into reading horror, but I'm a bit of a scaredy cat and I don't know where to start. From this list I've read Bunny and Our Wives Under The Sea, and personally I wouldn't have classed either of as horror, they're just a bit weird!

[@lesliepowell-mccarty7067]

For beginners, try Chasing the Boogeyman. 🙂

[@KittenMittenz]

@lesliepowell-mccarty7067 Oooh thank you! I'll check it out :)

[@Readatrix]

I'd recommend Rosemary's Baby, by Ira Levin. It's a classic, and holds up beautifully. Not too long. Even if you've seen the movie, the book is worth it.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Great suggestion!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I think Grady Hendrix is a good place to start, he's very knowledgable about horror so you kind of pick things up via osmosis, but he's also really fun and readable

[@KodaMeansFriend]

1) I was today-years-old when I realized that's an alligator, and not an island, on the cover of You Like it Darker. 😂 Thanks, big screen TV. 😂 2) I read Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison this year and really enjoyed it. I got it from Abominable a while back, and they've sent Black Sheep since then but I haven't read that one yet. They sent a copy of Delicate Condition recently (which I already had-bc it came out Sept. of '23 🙄... What the hell, Abominable?-and which I didn't enjoy. 😭). I had a lot to say in my Goodreads review. 😂 Are you still subscribed to them? 3) The Iain Reed book I've read may be the one you're thinking of: I'm Thinking of Ending Things. I remember enjoying it, but I guess I read it before I got back on Goodreads (not marked read 🤔🤷🏼‍♂️).

[@CriminOllyBlog]

1) The idea of people watching me on TV still feels weird :D 2) I'm not, I was getting too many books that I'd already been sent by publishers 3) That's the one, thanks Koda!

[@Amanda-if7ey]

We Used to Live Here is a super fun read! If you like NoSleep, liminal space/backrooms you'll probably enjoy it. Intercepts is also really good

[@CheveeDodd]

Oh, i didnt know Mallerman had a new book this year. I'll have to check it out. Black Mad Wheel was bizarre and confusing read and i enjoyed it because of that. Not a "good" book, but I'm glad for having read it.

[@nope1515]

I have recently finished The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim and I highly recommend it!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I really do want to read it

[@Rickyboa]

We used to live here and intercepts are both well worth reading

[@lukepaulson3428]

Agreed!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thank you

[@Tim_with_Tomes_and_Tales]

Of this list, I've only read The Final Girl Support Group, and I wasn't the target audience for that. I guess I don't read much horror. I am interested in Slewfoot, Dead of Winter, and The September House. Happy reading, everyone.

[@fiberartsyreads]

Comfort me with Apples kinda blew me away. Definitely recommend giving that one a go. I really loved The Hacienda and Vampires of El Norte.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thanks Crystal! I think I definitely need to read Comfort Me with Apples - someone else mentioned it and it sounds great

[@duanespurlock5879]

I haven't read HOLLY yet, but I"ve enjoyed very much the first three Holly books. (Not so much the middle book in that original trilogy, FINDERS KEEPERS, which seemed to drag a bit--perhaps because less attention was focused on our heroes, more on the bad actors.) For the most part, I've been left unsatisfied with any of the King books published by Hard Case Crime. I'd hoped for just the opposite before reading, but the post-reading feeling was always a let down.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I liked all of the HCC books apart from Later

[@Readatrix]

I didn't take a tally, but I read enough that I think my horror fan cred is intact. 😂 I do have a few thoughts on books you haven't read or haven't heard about. I think you will LOVE The Reformatory. Tananarive Due is an amazing author who writes with depth and insight. It's a ghost story, but it's also a story about the horrors of the Jim Crow self and the brutal reformatory schools. The school in the novel is based on the Dozier school which is notorious, and the author's uncle had spent time there. I love Cackle, by Rachel Harrison, and have read it multiple times AND made my husband read it. However, it's very much cozy horror and Rachel Harrison with only a couple exceptions veers toward a combination of cozy horror and very authentic female friendships with a soupçon of down with the patriarchy! I know you said you've never heard of We Used to Live Here, but it's pretty popular in my circles. It's love it or hate it. I think it;s a very rich and interesting story that asks for repeated reads to catch clues. I know that drives some people crazy. It's centered around the Mandela Effect, which is why those rereads help. I liked Delicate Condition, by Danielle Valentine. It's very Rosemary's Baby. However, and I cannot say this clearly enough, they made a series of American Horror Story out of it that is so excruciating and strips everything good from the book. It's wild how much the show missed the mark. I recommend the book, and beg you for your own well being to never watch the season. Speaking of homages to Rosemary's Baby, Nat Cassidy's Nestlings is very much this, even name dropping the Bramford, the fictional building where RM is set. House of Hunger is very gothic vampire. I enjoyed the vibes and the themes. I really loved Comfort Me with Apples. Very clever and very insightful. I don't want to spoil it, though. It's short, please consider giving it a go.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thanks for the recommendations! Sounds like a few I definitely need to try

[@zan8152]

I think the only one I've read that you haven't is Our Wives Under the Sea - aaaand it's incredibly good. I don't think I'd put it on a horror list at all though... it leans in that direction at times but the horror isn't remotely the central focus. Definitely read it, but more when you want a character study type lit fiction.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thanks - I've heard so many good things about that one - need to get to it soon!

[@anotherbooktubechannel]

I recommend A House with Good Bones by T Kingfisher. I am not a fan of Grady Hendrix so I describe it as "if How to Sell A Haunted House was actually funny or scary" lol

[@CriminOllyBlog]

😂😂😂

[@aleidadiaz2261]

I do this but with the New York Times bestsellers lists by year. Found some real backlist gems.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Great that it's helping you find good books!

[@lesliepowell-mccarty7067]

I have loved every single Chuck Wendig book. I have read them all. Black River Orchard is his best IMHO. 🍎🖤🍏 Also, Chasing the Boogeyman is really fun and the follow-up, Becoming the Boogeyman is even better. ✌️

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Good to know, thanks Leslie!

[@thatsci-firogue]

I've heard mixed things in general on Grady Hendrix and Riley Sager's works in general, moreso in the negative sense for Sager. I haven't either to be fair.

[@CootiePotootie]

Highly recommend Intercepts. It is an interesting and quick read. I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it at first based on the synopsis, didnt sound like my cup of tea, but gave it a shot. The concept is disturbing and made my skin crawl. The ending makes it all that much more disturbing.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Sounds good!

[@tonyhillier5619]

Can highly recommend Boys in the valley by Philip Fracassi. Atmospheric, scary and creepy as hell!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I've heard a lot of good things about that one!

[@GentleReader01]

Never Whistle At Night is excellent. Highly recommended.

[@heidifogelberg3544]

Vampires of El Norte (pronounced nor-tay) is a book that impressed me a ton. It's got deep, serious historical roots, but the horror it twines into the story makes it not dry or preachy - I just really enjoyed it. Dead Silence is one I also liked, though you're not enthused, Olly. It's got a flavor of Alien to it, but it goes off on its own path. Not a deeply profound story, maybe, but worth reading and enjoyable. Also claustrophobically awful because ... contained in a small space within endless space ... and desperate to escape ... yeah. It's effective, I thought, and decently told. The September House was interesting. I got about 2/3 through it thinking "meh" but readable, then it took a hard bank to somewhere else and I got seriously interested. In the end I'm not certain all its bits matched up completely, but I'm also pretty sure I didn't care. It surprised me, which with the come-on it gave, was pleasant. And Simone St James is good enough that I read her 1st book and instantly spent a small fortune buying everything else she wrote. She's what I read on a cruise I took a couple years ago, and along with the music I went for, remains my primary memory of that time. Her books aren't similar in concept to one another, but she has interesting ideas and she's a good, creepy, atmospheric writer.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Vampires of El Norte is definitely high on my list

[@Rimzaka]

Hmm, should I take a look at those 746 messages or read this book I've been dying to get started on. 😄 📚

[@CriminOllyBlog]

LOL

[@oldsalt4798]

I read Plain Bad Heroines, it was slow, but decent. I think I'm too old for it.

[@ladylovesteadreads]

Definitely read A Certain Hunger.

[@oldmanshreds]

I am halfway in My Darling Dreadful Thing and so far it has been very enjoyable gothic horror story about a young woman that has a very long ago dead girl as a spirit companion that only she can see. Good writing and a fast read.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

That does sound good!

[@jenniferlovesbooks]

I have given all three of Iain Reid's books 5 stars, which is highly unusual for me!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

That's good to know!

[@ench2112]

I loved Intercepts by T.J. Payne. You should definitely check it out

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thanks!

[@HowardsHaunt]

I’m surprised Keith Rosson’s Fever House and The Devil By Name aren’t on that list. Really enjoyable, fast-paced horror novels.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I've heard good things about those

[@shereadsatmidnight]

Comfort Me with Apples is a really quick read and I enjoyed it a lot. Fairy tale adjacent feminist horror.

[@ecostw8408]

@@shereadsatmidnight I was interested until you said “femenist horror”

[@shereadsatmidnight]

Ok

[@jimsbooksreadingandstuff]

I clearly haven't read much recent horror, the only one I've read is Ring Shout, which was a lot of fun, I liked the idea that the monsters were fuelled by the hate of the white supremacists.

[@wendyvilla2904]

💚🖤

[@ToCoziesAndBeyond]

Dead Silence is way better than Ghost Station. I enjoyed it for the same reason I enjoy underwater thriller/ horror books. The claustrophobia mixed with the exploration was great.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Ah that's good to know!

[@cleverkrowbooks13]

Comfort Me With Apples is a short novella with a genius concept/commentary. You don't want to know anything going into it beyond the basic premise: a housewife finds out her perfect life isn't what it seems. I haven't read anything like it, and it was an easy 5 stars.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

That does sound intriguing!

[@breag6936]

I'm quite surprised nothing by Nick Cutter made the list

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I think his more popular books are all more than 5 years old

[@eriebeverly]

I kept trying to scroll down on your screen within a screen. That didn't work. And King is throwing off my point count in that so many people talk about King I rarely read him these days. Lots and lots of books I would classify as thrillers and not horror. I don't think you'd like A Certain Hunger because it's so overwritten. Stop metaphorizing and get down to the cannibalism. I think you'd like Simone St. James because a lot of her books have a procedural/investigative element to them. I think you'd also enjoy Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison because it's like a weird 1980s novel with a modern POV.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thanks Erie - That does make me want to read both RH and SJS. Sorry the video wasn't more interactive!

[@johnyarrow6100]

Malorie is fine but nowhere near as good as Bird Box so your plan to perhaps read something else by Malerman i'd say is probably a good one

[@quinnin0]

Simone St James is one of the worst authors I’ve ever had the misfortune to read. I’m suspicious she is actually chat gpt.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

She seems the most divisive one on the list - some commenters love her and some hate her!

[@leonoldfield9765]

Episode 13 was quite mediocre. I don’t remember anything distinctive about it at all.