Never read a book in one day before, but I started Pines and couldn't put it down. Admittedly, I loved the first half of the book more than the final half, but it was still pretty fun overall. Big Twin Peaks fan, and the whole secret entity working behind the veil concept was a lot of fun for Pines.
I see a lot of reddit posts about books like Resident Evil, but most seem to focus on the monsters and not as much on the Umbrella-side of things. While I do love a good monster game/movie, I also think the whole hidden lab doing horror-type stuff hidden beneath something seemingly benign (mansion, town, whatever) is pretty cool.
I feel like these two ideas are somewhat similar in execution (in a place with a mysterious entity behind more than you realize), that's why I'm asking about them at the same time. Can you suggest me other books that really lean into that "I'm in this new place and I can't figure out what's going on here" vibe, with bonus points for books where the "what is going on here" involves something like hidden corporate involvement (like Umbrella in RE or even movies like Cabin in the Woods).
I saw people recommend Joe Ledger for RE-like stuff and mystery horror, but I couldn't even get through a few pages because the main character felt too campy for what I was expecting (are these worth sticking through? I really don't enjoy the "I'm a badass and I know it" vibe from the MC). Also giving Mexican Gothic a try, which I'm not really far enough into to know if it'll be my thing (heard it's a slow burn, but willing to give it a try).
Thanks a bunch.
EDIT: It dawned on me that the TV show Hemlock Grove shared some of these vibes as well, with secret bio-horror stuff going on, which I also enjoyed a lot (have not read the book; maybe that's worth a look?).
by syberpunk