So I've gotten back into reading lately and I've been really enjoying horror focused on female protagonists and what I can only describe as 'female rage' books. Some examples are Withered Hill by David Barnett, Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder, Water Shall Refuse Them by Lucie McKnight Hardy and Chlorine by Jade Song. I want unsettling, challenging books about complicated women and girls.
Just to add, I adore Julia Armfield's books, especially Our Wives Under The Sea. I usually veer towards literary fiction, fantasy, sci-fi and horror as genres. I don't mind romance as an element of the book, and I love stories that explore characters in depth, but I'm not looking for a romance novel. Any suggestions are appreciated!
by beccafrommars
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The traitor Baru Cormorant,
We have always lived in the castle
Maeve Fly by CJ Leede, female serial killer. Excellent read.
*The Family Plot* and *Cinderwich* by Cherie Priest
The Gretchen Lowell series by Chelsea Cain.
The girl with the dragon tattoo series. Not exactly “horror”, more like reality is more horrible than any fictional boogeyman could ever be. One of the best female protagonists ever, imho.
Patricia Wants to Cuddle fits a morally gray feminine rage protagonist for me. I don’t know if it’s unsettling though, just weird.
Follow Me To Ground, by Sue Rainsford
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead checks all of those boxes.
A few I think fit the bill: “Fever Dream” by Samantha Schweblin (a mother and a child —not hers— talk to figure out how deadly events came about), “Hurricane Season” by Fernanda Melchor (a town is rattled by the murder of the local witch), “Woodworm” by Layla Martínez (two women live in a house with ghosts) and “The Unworthy” by Agustina Bazterrica (of “Tender is the Flesh” fame)
And the great “Te di ojos y miraste la tinieblas” from Irene Solà (about a cursed family in Catalonia) is finally coming out in translation later this year as “I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Toward Darkness”; something to look for in a few months!
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia