An original, satisfying thriller

 

PICTURES OF YOU by Josh Malerman (to be released 9/8/26 by Del Rey / 288 pages)

Emily wakes up one day after a great night out with her fiancé, Jack. But she’s not in their hotel room, Jack is nowhere to be found, and as she attempts to get up, a female voice commands her to remain still. At the foot of her bed is a picture frame … with no canvas. Just a frame.

Malerman’s latest is a crash course in psychosis, a tense, claustrophobic thriller centered around jealousy and creativity, complete with a nifty reveal after the halfway point. It’s a departure from his terrifying previous novel, INCIDENTS AROUND THE HOUSE, but no less satisfying in the nightmare its protagonists are put through.

This original, quick-moving tale can be binged in a sitting or two.

A Worthy Sequel…

 

AMITYVILLE AWAKENS by Robert P. Ottone (to be released 10/6/26 by Clash Books / 314 pages)

After a demolition crew tears down the infamous Amityville Horror House, not only do the workers seemingly vanish, but the evil within the house walls is now freed to spread chaos across the rest of the neighborhood and a nearby town.

There’s a lot going on here (maybe a bit too much), told from several character’s viewpoints, but the author keeps things fun and occasionally spooky, as ghosts, wisps, possessions, and anxiety take hold of the colorful cast. While a similar idea was attempted in John Jones’ forgettable AMITYVILLE: THE EVIL ESCAPES (1988 Tudor), Ottone’s take is more in line with Doug Clegg’s terrifying THE ABANDONED (2005 Leisure), as we see evil pouring out of a haunted house and into a town to run amuck. One scene dealing with a possession inside a hospital’s pediatric ward is the highlight here, and should have most readers biting their nails.

This addition to the never-ending line of Amityville film and novel sequels is a big step above most of them.