Read-Alikes of Never Flinch by Stephen King
Perhaps I am alone in this, or maybe not, but while I cannot stand to watch a horror movie, I am addicted to Stephen King novels. Just the novels, not the movies. I still remember being in high school, sitting by the pool during one hot July, devouring page after page of Carrie. I still get freaked out every time I remove hair from my shower drain, thanks to It. And this summer, all of us Holly Gibney fans can get excited (and nervous and terrified) to be back with her in what is sure to be King’s next hit, Never Flinch.
So, everyone, clear room in the freezer (but not really, as your digital devices will NOT be happy in there!) and gear up for some summer scares with your favorite P.I.!
Books you should know about
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
This book introduces us to the world in which Holly lives, and this entire series is a must-read for those who want to really understand her and her motivations.
From the publisher:
In a high-suspense race against time, three of the most unlikely heroes Stephen King has ever created try to stop a lone killer from murdering thousands. “Mr. Mercedes is a rich, resonant, exceptionally readable accomplishment by a man who can write in whatever genre he chooses” (The Washington Post).
The stolen Mercedes emerges from the pre-dawn fog and plows through a crowd of men and women on line for a job fair in a distressed American city. Then the lone driver backs up, charges again, and speeds off, leaving eight dead and more wounded. The case goes unsolved and ex-cop Bill Hodges is out of hope when he gets a letter from a man who loved the feel of death under the Mercedes’s wheels…
Brady Hartsfield wants that rush again, but this time he’s going big, with an attack that would take down thousands—unless Hodges and two new unusual allies he picks up along the way can throw a wrench in Hartsfield’s diabolical plans. Stephen King takes off on a “nerve-shredding, pulse-pounding race against time” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) with this acclaimed #1 bestselling thriller.
Holly by Stephen King
Stepping out of the shadows and into the forefront, this book finds Ms. Gibney right where she belongs, but unfortunately, not out of harm’s way.
From the publisher:
Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King’s most compelling and resourceful characters, returns in this chilling “exploration of grief and delusion, just pure undistilled evil” (New York magazine) as she uncovers the truth behind multiple disappearances in a midwestern town.
When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency, hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly Gibney is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just passed away. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny’s desperate voice makes it impossible to turn her down.
Meanwhile, mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are also harboring a shocking, unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to…for they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless. Now Holly must summon all of her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver these unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries in this chilling and unforgettable masterwork from Stephen King.
Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
If you need a whole lot of creepy to enjoy your horror books, you’re going to love this one.
From the publisher:
From Edgar Award-finalist Jason Rekulak comes a wildly inventive spin on the supernatural thriller, for fans of Stranger Things and Riley Sager, about a woman working as a nanny for a young boy with strange and disturbing secrets.
Mallory Quinn is fresh out of rehab when she takes a job as a babysitter for Ted and Caroline Maxwell. She is to look after their five-year-old son, Teddy.
Mallory immediately loves it. She has her own living space, goes out for nightly runs, and has the stability she craves. And she sincerely bonds with Teddy, a sweet, shy boy who is never without his sketchbook and pencil. His drawings are the usual fare: trees, rabbits, balloons. But one day, he draws something different: a man in a forest, dragging a woman’s lifeless body.
Then, Teddy’s artwork becomes increasingly sinister, and his stick figures quickly evolve into lifelike sketches well beyond the ability of any five-year-old. Mallory begins to wonder if these are glimpses of a long-unsolved murder, perhaps relayed by a supernatural force.
Knowing just how crazy it all sounds, Mallory nevertheless sets out to decipher the images and save Teddy before it’s too late.
When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy
One of the things that King does so well is write a compelling cast of characters for you to root for, and Nat Cassidy will have you doing the same in her new novel.
From the publisher:
One night, Jess, a struggling actress, finds a five-year-old runaway hiding in the bushes outside her apartment. After a violent, bloody encounter with the boy’s father, she and the boy find themselves running for their lives.
As they attempt to evade the boy’s increasingly desperate father, Jess slowly comes to a horrifying understanding of the butchery that follows them—the boy can turn his every fear into reality.
And when the wolf finally comes home, no one will be spared.
My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
You really can’t go wrong with Stephen Graham Jones, but this book really captures the small-town America feel that permeates many a King novel.
From the publisher:
“Some girls just don’t know how to die…”
Shirley Jackson meets Friday the 13th in My Heart Is a Chainsaw, written by the New York Times bestselling author of The Only Good Indians Stephen Graham Jones, called “a literary master” by National Book Award winner Tananarive Due and “one of our most talented living writers” by Tommy Orange.
Alma Katsu calls My Heart Is a Chainsaw “a homage to slasher films that also manages to defy and transcend genre.” On the surface is a story of murder in small-town America. But beneath is its beating heart: a biting critique of American colonialism, Indigenous displacement, and gentrification, and a heartbreaking portrait of a broken young girl who uses horror movies to cope with the horror of her own life.
Jade Daniels is an angry, half-Indian outcast with an abusive father, an absent mother, and an entire town that wants nothing to do with her. She lives in her own world, a world in which protection comes from an unusual source: horror movies…especially the ones where a masked killer seeks revenge on a world that wronged them. And Jade narrates the quirky history of Proofrock as if it is one of those movies. But when blood actually starts to spill into the waters of Indian Lake, she pulls us into her dizzying, encyclopedic mind of blood and masked murderers, and predicts exactly how the plot will unfold.
Yet, even as Jade drags us into her dark fever dream, a surprising and intimate portrait emerges…a portrait of the scared and traumatized little girl beneath the Jason Voorhees mask: angry, yes, but also a girl who easily cries, fiercely loves, and desperately wants a home. A girl whose feelings are too big for her body. My Heart Is a Chainsaw is her story, her homage to horror and revenge and triumph.
The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
The secrets that we share from the past can always come back to haunt us.
From the publisher:
A riveting psychological suspense debut that weaves a mystery about a childhood game gone dangerously awry, and will keep readers guessing right up to the shocking ending
In 1986, Eddie and his friends are on the verge of adolescence, spending their days biking in search of adventure. The chalk men are their secret code, stick figures they draw for one another as hidden messages. But one morning the friends find a chalk man leading them to the woods. They follow the message, only to find the dead body of a teenage girl.
In 2016, Eddie is nursing a drinking problem and trying to forget his past, until one day he gets a letter containing a chalk man—the same one he and his friends saw when they found the body. Soon he learns that all his old friends received the same note. When one of them is killed, Eddie realizes that saving himself means figuring out what happened all those years ago. But digging into the past proves more dangerous than he could have known. Because in this town, everyone has secrets, no one is innocent, and some will do anything to bury the truth.
Bury Your Gays by Chunk Tingle
While this one might have a few more literal monsters, this book is a real bloody joy ride for those who like glitz and glamour (and a reminder that King has spent a lot of time in Hollywood himself).
From the publisher:
Misha knows that chasing success in Hollywood can be hell.
But finally, after years of trying to make it, his big moment is here: an Oscar nomination. And the executives at the studio for his long-running streaming series know just the thing to kick his career to the next level: kill off the gay characters, “for the algorithm,” in the upcoming season finale.
Misha refuses, but he soon realizes that he’s just put a target on his back. And what’s worse, monsters from his horror movie days are stalking him and his friends through the hills above Los Angeles.
Haunted by his past, Misha must risk his entire future—before the horrors from the silver screen find a way to bury him for good.
The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon
Despite how we try, we can never outrun our past, and Jennifer McMahon knows that we all know this.
From the publisher:
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Drowning Kind comes a genre-defying novel, inspired by Mary Shelley’s masterpiece Frankenstein, that brilliantly explores the eerie mysteries of childhood and the evils perpetrated by the monsters among us.
1978: At her renowned treatment center in picturesque Vermont, the brilliant psychiatrist, Dr. Helen Hildreth, is acclaimed for her compassionate work with the mentally ill. But when she’s home with her cherished grandchildren, Vi and Eric, she’s just Gran—teaching them how to take care of their pets, preparing them home-cooked meals, providing them with care and attention and love.
Then one day Gran brings home a child to stay with the family. Iris—silent, hollow-eyed, skittish, and feral—does not behave like a normal girl.
Still, Violet is thrilled to have a new playmate. She and Eric invite Iris to join their Monster Club, where they dream up ways to defeat all manner of monsters. Before long, Iris begins to come out of her shell. She and Vi and Eric do everything together: ride their bicycles, go to the drive-in, meet at their clubhouse in secret to hunt monsters. Because, as Vi explains, monsters are everywhere.
2019: Lizzy Shelley, the host of the popular podcast Monsters Among Us, is traveling to Vermont, where a young girl has been abducted, and a monster sighting has the town in an uproar. She’s determined to hunt it down, because Lizzy knows better than anyone that monsters are real—and one of them is her very own sister.
For more truly terrifying read-alikes, check out these great lists!
Never Flinch by Stephen King Read-Alikes
Carrie by Stephen King Read-Alikes
Must Watch Films
King’s impact on the big screen is nearly as outsized as his one on literature. Your patrons are sure to find a movie or two (dozen) to satisfy their horror needs!
King on Screen, 2022
From the studio: The Shining, Carrie, It, Misery, Stand by Me; more than 60 of Stephen King’s novels have been adapted into films. KING ON SCREEN pulls back the curtain and offers an intimate sit down with the filmmakers who brought King’s stories to life.
Pet Sematary, 1989
After moving to an idyllic home in the countryside, life seems perfect for the Creed family… but not for long. Louis and Rachel Creed and their two young children settle in to a house that sits next door to a pet cemetery – built on an ancient Indian burial ground. Their mysterious new neighbor, Jud Crandall (Fred Gwynne), hides the cemetery’s darkest secret… until a family tragedy brings the secret to life. Now, an unthinkable evil is about to be resurrected. From Stephen King comes a journey that leads to hell and back. Though not everyone survives the trip. For the Creeds, home is where the horror is.
Pennywise: The Story of IT, 2021
This in-depth look at the 1990 mini-series based on Stephen King’s novel features interviews with many of the cult classic’s key players, including director Tommy Lee Wallace and legend Tim Curry, who portrayed the notorious monster clown, Pennywise.
A little Extra something (1 extra)
Support your community by diversifying your Libby offerings with Libby Extras. Today we’re highlighting iNDIEFLIX
From the Extra: We stream classic and contemporary features, award-winning shorts, film festival favorites and documentaries from around the world. Explore thought-provoking, well-known and undiscovered content. We work directly with young up-and-coming filmmakers from all walks of life to seasoned professionals paying them for every minute watched.
Test run Libby Extras to see how each service can entertain and educate your patrons.
I hope that you enjoy all of these great (aka terrifying) reads and watches! Be sure to read with the lights on! Reach out to your Digital Content Librarian or Account Manager for more information on how to provide the best content for your community. You’ll be sure to find something that you can chillax with as you trip down memory lane!
About the author: Meghan is an OverDrive Collection Development Librarian and former academic librarian. Her English degree set her up perfectly for grad school, where she received her MLIS and has been immersed in the world of books ever since. You can find her reading with her cat, traveling with her friends and family, or having dance parties with her daughter. HEAs are life.
