Reviews Archives - Cemetery Dance Online

Ripped Up the Middle in Two by Viggy Parr Hampton

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 9, 2026July 9, 2026ReviewsAdam Allen, Viggy Parr HamptonLeave a comment

Ripped Up the Middle in Two by Viggy Parr Hampton
Horror Humor Hunger Press (July 29th, 2026)
Reviewed by Adam Allen

Ripped Up the Middle in Two is not just a novel but a guttural howl of rage and frustration that will shake you to your very core. It’s funny, it’s infuriating, and it’s horrifying as hell. Viggy Parr Hampton has created a world that is so realistic, with characters you believe you could encounter on a walk through the neighborhood, that when the supernatural arrives, it makes it all the more disturbing. Continue Reading

Review: Just Us, Here by V.S. Lawrence

Cemetery Dance OnlineJuly 1, 2026June 30, 2026ReviewsAdam Allen, Reviews, V.S. LawrenceLeave a comment

Just Us, Here by V.S. Lawrence
Self-published (July 24, 2026)
Reviewed by Adam Allen

V.S. Lawrence has made a name for herself in the indie horror space as a writer of nostalgic, fun novels like 80s Ghosts and With Friends Like These, but she does something very different with the unsettling and extremely effective Just Us, Here. Lawrence creates an all-too-realistic portrait of a person slowly succumbing to a malevolent entity in their newhome, or perhaps she is just losing her mind. The results are devastating. Continue Reading

Review: The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 30, 2026ReviewsChandra Calypool, Reviews, Silvia Moreno-GarciaLeave a comment

The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Del Rey (July 2025)
Reviewed by Chandra Claypool

“Three women across different eras grapple with danger and witchcraft.”

That single line above was all I needed. SOLD!

I am kicking myself for waiting so long to read The Bewitching. Sometimes gothic, folk horror, and dark academia can be a bit too slow for me, and I tend to pass over them more often than I should. And while The Bewitching did start on the slow side for me, I had to keep reading. Continue Reading

Review: She Waits Where Shadows Gather by Michelle Tang

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 27, 2026ReviewsHaley Newlin, Michelle Tang, ReviewsLeave a comment

She Waits Where Shadows Gather by Michelle Tang
Poison Pen Press (May 2026)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

He came back from the dead, but he didn’t come alone.

She Waits Where Shadows Gather is a haunted house story with spine-chilling Filipino folklore and lush gothic imagery that will appease fans of Mike Flanagan’s hit Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, as well as horror books such as Daphne Fama’s House of Monstrous Women and Amanda Jayatissa’s Island Witch. Continue Reading

Review: Trade Yer Coffin for a Gun by Mer Whinery

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 24, 2026ReviewsJoshua Gage, Mer Whinery, ReviewsLeave a comment

Trade Yer Coffin for a Gun by Mer Whinery
Jackanapes Press (June 2026)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Mer Whinery is a storyteller from Southeastern Oklahoma. He is married with two boys and far too many critters crawling about his century-plus-old house to count. His home is often filled with phantom smells (usually the aroma of fried chicken) and a ghost that likes to hide DVDs. Jackanapes Press presents a new edition of his Trade Yer Coffin For a Gun, which has been out of print and, of late, unobtainable.Continue Reading

Review: The Siren of Groves Peak by Glenn Rolfe

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 23, 2026ReviewsGlenn Rolfe, Reviews, W.D. GaglianiLeave a comment

The Siren of Groves Peak by Glenn Rolfe
Flame Tree Publishing (June 16, 2026)
Review by W.D. Gagliani

There’s no mystery for the reader to solve in Glenn Rolfe’s The Siren of Groves Peak, but there’s plenty of everything else that makes for a successful horror novel plumbing the depths of human emotions. There’s no more than a touch of gore, no real splatter, and it’s not an endless buffet of death and kill scenes. Though there is just enough of all those things to keep the plot rolling. The true anchor—and what makes the novel a proverbial page-turner—is the largely realistic and sympathetic cast. Continue Reading

Review: Summer Camp for Werewolves by Damien Casey

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 17, 2026ReviewsChandra Claypool, Damien Casey, ReviewsLeave a comment

Summer Camp for Werewolves by Damien Casey
Squirm Books (April 2026)
Reviewed by Chandra Claypool

Welcome to Summer Camp for Werewolves, a young adult horror-comedy starring Marsha. Marsha is a teen reporter who is going through the typical angst of growing up. She is invited to a summer camp where she thinks she can get her first major scoop. Little did she know that this camp is dedicated to helping teens become their best werewolf selves.Continue Reading

Review: Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 16, 2026ReviewsAdam Allen, Chuck Tingle, ReviewsLeave a comment

Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle
Tor Nightfire (July 7th, 2026)
Reviewed by Adam Allen

Fabulous Bodies is a queer, bizarre, glitter and gore-soaked horror story for fans of CJ Leede, Grady Hendrix, and Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice.

I have been a fan of all the books I have read by Chuck Tingle, and maybe just as much of the author’s online presence and persona. He’s a man of mystery, hidden by a pink mask with “Love is Real” emblazoned on it. The titles of his spicy “Tinglers” are legendary, in tune with current events, and hilarious. But something that has always struck me about Tingle is how beautiful his thoughts are at moments that really matter. If you haven’t listened to his episode on the excellent “Sleyhouse Presents” podcast, you should, and if you have, you know exactly what I mean. While he can be very playful, even in his “serious” horror novels, Tingle knows what he’s doing, and he has a clear purpose in his writing.Continue Reading

Review: I’ll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 11, 2026ReviewsHaley Newlin, Neena Viel, ReviewsLeave a comment

I’ll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel
St. Martin’s Press (May 2026)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Somehow, I missed Neena Viel’s debut, and Bram Stoker-nominated novel, Listen To Your Sister. After reading Viel’s new supernatural and historical horror novel, I’ll Watch Your Baby, I can’t fathom being a horror fan and not experiencing her work. It’s sharp, poignant, and terrifically terrifying.

I’ll Watch Your Baby is an informative and evocative horror novel for fans of Tananarive Due, Catriona Ward, and Victor LaValle. It’s a thrilling reimagining of the story of Linda Taylor, aka the original “Welfare Queen,” whose media portrayal and extensive coverage affected generations of black women and fed an apathetic narrative that still exists today. In her new novel, Viel conjures a wicked and unforgettable plot of vengeance for this oppression.Continue Reading

Review: Unsettled Score by Rebecca Rowland

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 9, 2026ReviewsDave Simms, Rebecca Rowland, ReviewsLeave a comment

Unsettled Score: A Mix Tape of Arthouse Horror by Rebecca Rowland
Lethe Press (June 2026)
Reviewed by Dave Simms

Unsettled Score by Rebecca Rowland

Anyone who’s been paying attention to short horror fiction in the past decade is familiar with Rebecca Rowland. Yes, her novel, Eminence Front, was awesome, and it signals a productive path for the author, but it’s her shorter work that hits the deepest, darkest parts of the heart. Her collections rival the best in the genre, but her connection to the themes makes her something special, from editing Generation X and American Cannibal to the stellar White Trash and Other Recycled Nightmares. A Shirley Jackson Award finalist and Bram Stoker Award nominee, she knows how to bring the darkness, both in atmosphere and characters who color outside the lines and bathe in the gray.

Review: Doe by Rebecca Barrow

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 6, 2026ReviewsChandra Claypool, Rebecca Barrow, Reviews2 Comments

Doe by Rebecca Barrow
Minotaur Books (June 2026)
Reviewed by Chandra Claypool

Doe by Rebecca Yarrow

Meet Maris. She is the captain of the West Eaton High cheer team, who has an unstable home life. As such, she loves the power that she wields over her team…until Genevieve shows up. Genevieve is a force to be reckoned with and, as an elite gymnast, threatens the very life Maris holds dear. This rivalry quickly ramps up as Maris begins dreaming of a supernatural beast, Doe, who promises her a way to defeat her nemesis. But at what cost?

Review: Fetty on the Switches by David Simmons

Cemetery Dance OnlineJune 2, 2026June 2, 2026ReviewsAdam Allen, David Simmons, ReviewsLeave a comment

Fetty on the Switches by David Simmons
Clash Books (June 30, 2026) Fetty on the Switches by David Simmons
Reviewed by Adam Allen

David Simmons is a rising star in horror fiction, and in Fetty on the Switches, Simmons shows readers the wide range of emotions, fears, and humanity he is capable of conjuring in his stories. This is an incendiary, disturbing, funny, and raw collection that you will not leave unscathed. And if you’re like me, you will put this book down as a newly minted David Simmons fan. This is not easy to digest; it will gross you out, make you think, and make you laugh, sometimes all on the same page.Continue Reading

Review: Muñeca by Cynthia Gomez

Cemetery Dance OnlineMay 29, 2026June 2, 2026ReviewsAdam Allen, Cynthia Gomez, ReviewsLeave a comment

Muñeca by Cynthia Gomez
G.P. Putnam’s Sons (June 2, 2026)

Reviewed by Adam Allen

Muñeca, the new novel by Cynthia Gomez is a masterclass in socially conscious gothic horror. Weaving in the historical injustices committed both by Spanish and American colonizers, Gomez creates a story that is frightening, shocking, and even romantic.

Review: Bone of My Bone by Johanna Van Veen

Cemetery Dance OnlineMay 26, 2026May 26, 2026ReviewsHaley Newlin, Johanna Van Veen, ReviewsLeave a comment

Bone of My Bone by Johanna Van Veen
Poisoned Pen Press (May 26, 2026)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin Bone of My Bone by Johanna Van Veen

One saint. One sinner. One skull.

Horror readers, rejoice. Bram Stoker Award-nominee and USA Today bestseller Johanna Van Veen is back with another haunting, sapphic, and terrifically terrifying tale of wickedry in Bone of My Bone. For fans of Robert Eggers’ The Witch and Cassandra Khaw’s The Salt Grows Heavy, Bone of My Bone unveils the brutality of the Thirty Years’ War and the demented depravity of man. Sister Ursula, a young nun fleeing the ruins of her convent, and Elsebeth, a headstrong and scrappy farmhand, form an alliance and move through the Bavarian forest in hopes of appeasing the spirit of a saint contained within a fragile holy relic they carry—a skull. A dying man tells the women of its secret: reunite the skull with the saint’s body, and a wish will be granted.

Review: Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer

Cemetery Dance OnlineMay 22, 2026May 22, 2026ReviewsBriana Morgan, Reviews, Saratoga SchaeferLeave a comment

Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer
Crooked Lane (February 2026)
Reviewed by Briana Morgan

There is no shortage of trad wife books in the world now. It’s no surprise that Yesteryear, a more literary-leaning title, has made such a splash in publishing—but some veritable trad wife treasures can also be found in the horror genre. Take Saratoga Schaefer’s Trad Wife for instance. Like its colleagues, this novel delves into the day-to-day life of a trad wife influencer… but with some Rosemary’s Baby thrown in.

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