Books by Alma Katsu

The Fervor

by Alma Katsu

The acclaimed author of the celebrated literary horror novels The Hunger and The Deep turns her psychological and supernatural eye on the horrors of the Japanese American internment camps in World War II.

1944: As World War II rages on, the threat has come to the home front. In a remote corner of Idaho, Meiko Briggs and her daughter, Aiko, are desperate to return home. Following Meiko's husband's enlistment as an air force pilot in the Pacific months prior, Meiko and Aiko were taken from their home in Seattle and sent to one of the internment camps in the Midwest. It didn’t matter that Aiko was American-born: They were Japanese, and therefore considered a threat by the American government.

Mother and daughter attempt to hold on to elements of their old life in the camp when a mysterious disease begins to spread among those interned. What starts as a minor cold quickly becomes spontaneous fits of violence and aggression, even death. And when a disconcerting team of doctors arrive, nearly more threatening than the illness itself, Meiko and her daughter team up with a newspaper reporter and widowed missionary to investigate, and it becomes clear to them that something more sinister is afoot, a demon from the stories of Meiko’s childhood, hell-bent on infiltrating their already strange world.

Inspired by the Japanese yokai and the jorogumo spider demon, The Fervor explores the horrors of the supernatural beyond just the threat of the occult. With a keen and prescient eye, Katsu crafts a terrifying story about the danger of demonization, a mysterious contagion, and the search to stop its spread before it's too late. A sharp account of too-recent history, it's a deep excavation of how we decide who gets to be human when being human matters most.

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The Fervor

by Alma Katsu

"Alma Katsu is the reigning queen of literary historical horror." —An NPR Book of the Year

1944: As World War II rages on, a mysterious, deadly fervor spreads across America, transforming people into monstrous aggressors, each provoked into fits of unthinkable barbarity. It's a contagion that, according to Meiko Briggs, might have dark, otherwordly underpinnings.

But Meiko and her daughter, Aiko, have been forced into an internment camp in Idaho, where the disease rapidly unfurls, and nearly invisible, demonic spiders seem to follow. More dangerous than the illness are the doctors who swarm the camps as a result, increasing their control on those captured, and their violence toward them. When Aiko suddenly escapes, Meiko must race against the clock to find her daughter and untangle the secrets behind the fervor before it catches her first.

With a keen and prescient eye, acclaimed author Alma Katsu crafts a terrifying story about the danger of demonization, a mysterious contagion, and a deep excavation of how we decide who gets to be human when being human matters most.

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The Hunger

by Alma Katsu

"Supernatural suspense at its finest . . . It will scare the pants off you." —The New York Times Book Review

Evil is invisible, and it is everywhere. That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the isolated travelers to the brink of madness. Though they dream of what awaits them in the West, long-buried secrets begin to emerge, and dissent among them escalates to the point of murder and chaos.

As members of the group begin to disappear, the survivors start to wonder if there really is something disturbing, and hungry, waiting for them in the mountains...and whether the evil that has unfolded around them may have in fact been growing within them all along.

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The Hunger

by Alma Katsu

As featured in The New York Times Book Review Summer Reading Issue

"Supernatural suspense at its finest...The best thing about The Hunger is that it will scare the pants off you."--The New York Times Book Review

"Deeply, deeply disturbing, hard to put down, not recommended reading after dark."--Stephen King

A tense and gripping reimagining of one of America's most fascinating historical moments: the Donner Party with a supernatural twist.

Evil is invisible, and it is everywhere.

That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the isolated travelers to the brink of madness. Though they dream of what awaits them in the West, long-buried secrets begin to emerge, and dissent among them escalates to the point of murder and chaos. They cannot seem to escape tragedy...or the feelings that someone--or something--is stalking them. Whether it's a curse from the beautiful Tamsen Donner (who some think might be a witch), their ill-advised choice of route through uncharted terrain, or just plain bad luck, the ninety men, women, and children of the Donner Party are heading into one of one of the deadliest and most disastrous Western adventures in American history.

As members of the group begin to disappear, the survivors start to wonder if there really is something disturbing, and hungry, waiting for them in the mountains...and whether the evil that has unfolded around them may have in fact been growing within them all along.

Effortlessly combining the supernatural and the historical, The Hunger is an eerie, thrilling look at the volatility of human nature, pushed to its breaking point.

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The Hunger

by Alma Katsu

"Deeply, deeply disturbing, hard to put down, not recommended reading after dark." --Stephen King

A tense and gripping reimagining of one of America's most haunting human disasters: the Donner Party with a supernatural twist.

Evil is invisible, and it is everywhere. That is the only way to explain the series of misfortunes that have plagued the wagon train known as the Donner Party. Depleted rations, bitter quarrels, and the mysterious death of a little boy have driven the isolated travelers to the brink of madness. Though they dream of what awaits them in the West, long-buried secrets begin to emerge, and dissent among them escalates to the point of murder and chaos, unknowingly propelling them into one of the deadliest and most disastrous Western adventures in American history.

As members of the group begin to disappear, the survivors start to wonder if there really is something disturbing, and hungry, waiting for them in the mountains...and whether the evil that has unfolded around them may have in fact been growing within them all along. Effortlessly combining the supernatural and the historical, The Hunger is an eerie, thrilling look at the volatility of human nature, pushed to its breaking point.

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The Taker

by Alma Katsu, J.M. Steele

Carly Biel€™s future is right on track: she€™s a great student (mostly A€™s and B€™s); her boyfriend, Brad, is captain of the lacrosse team; and she€™s a shoe-in for Princeton (her dad€™s an alum €“ love that legacy status!). She€™s never been great at standardized tests (so nerve-racking!), but she always figured she€™d do well enough on the SAT to get by. Guess what? She tanks. Really tanks. Now she only has one more opportunity to take the test, and she€™s sure she can€™t pull her scores up by much. That€™s why, when she gets a mysterious note from €œThe Taker,€ she can€™t resist. Now she€™s hired someone to take the test for her €“ but what if she gets caught? And what if she doesn€™t? This debut novel from J.M. Steele will have every test-taker chewing their pencils.

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The Taker

by Alma Katsu, J.M. Steele

True love can last an eternity . . . but immortality comes at a price. . . .On the midnight shift at a hospital in rural Maine, Dr. Luke Findley is expecting another quiet evening of frostbite and the occasional domestic dispute. But the minute Lanore McIlvrae—Lanny—walks into his ER, she changes his life forever. A mysterious woman with a past and plenty of dark secrets, Lanny is unlike anyone Luke has ever met. He is inexplicably drawn to her . . . despite the fact that she is a murder suspect with a police escort. And as she begins to tell her story, a story of enduring love and consummate betrayal that transcends time and mortality, Luke finds himself utterly captivated. Her impassioned account begins at the turn of the nineteenth century in the same small town of St. Andrew, Maine, back when it was a Puritan settlement. Consumed as a child by her love for the son of the town’s founder, Lanny will do anything to be with him forever. But the pri

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Christmas and Other Horrors: An Anthology of Solstice Horror

by Josh Malerman, Stephen Graham Jones, Garth Nix, Alma Katsu

Hugo Award winning editor, and horror legend, Ellen Datlow presents this chilling horror anthology of 18 original short stories exploring the endless terrors of winter solstice traditions across the globe, featuring chillers by Tananarive Due, Stephen Graham Jones, Alma Katsu and many more.

The winter solstice is celebrated as a time of joy around the world—yet the long nights also conjure a darker tradition of ghouls, hauntings, and visitations. This anthology of all-new stories invites you to huddle around the fire and revel in the unholy, the dangerous, the horrific aspects of a
time when families and friends come
together—for better and for worse.

From the eerie Austrian Schnabelperchten to the skeletal Welsh Mari Lwyd, by way of ravenous golems, uncanny neighbors, and unwelcome visitors, Christmas and Other Horrors captures the heart and horror of the festive season.

Because the weather outside is frightful, but the fire inside is hungry...

Featuring stories from:

Nadia Bulkin
Terry Dowling
Tananarive Due
Jeffrey Ford
Christopher Golden
Stephen Graham Jones
Glen Hirshberg
Richard Kadrey
Alma Katsu
Cassandra Khaw
John Langan
Josh Malerman
Nick Mamatas
Garth Nix
Benjamin Percy
M. Rickert
Kaaron Warren

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The Deep

by Alma Katsu

From the acclaimed and award-winning author of The Hunger comes an eerie, psychological twist on one of the world's most renowned tragedies, the sinking of the Titanic and the ill-fated sail of its sister ship, the Britannic.

Someone, or something, is haunting the ship. Between mysterious disappearances and sudden deaths, the guests of the Titanic have found themselves suspended in an eerie, unsettling twilight zone from the moment they set sail. Several of them, including maid Annie Hebley, guest Mark Fletcher, and millionaires Madeleine Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim, are convinced there's something sinister--almost otherwordly--afoot. But before they can locate the source of the danger, as the world knows, disaster strikes.

Years later, Annie, having survived that fateful night, has attempted to put her life back together. Working as a nurse on the sixth voyage of the Titanic's sister ship, the Britannic, newly refitted as a hospital ship, she happens across an unconscious Mark, now a soldier fighting in World War I. At first, Annie is thrilled and relieved to learn that he too survived the sinking, but soon, Mark's presence awakens deep-buried feelings and secrets, forcing her to reckon with the demons of her past--as they both discover that the terror may not yet be over.

Brilliantly combining the supernatural with the height of historical disaster, The Deep is an exploration of love and destiny, desire and innocence, and, above all, a quest to understand how our choices can lead us inexorably toward our doom.

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Christmas and Other Horrors A winter solstice anthology

by Tananarive Due, Josh Malerman, Stephen Graham Jones, Nadia Bulkin, Richard Kadrey, Cassandra Khaw, Garth Nix, Christopher Golden, Jeffery Ford, Alma Katsu, Nick Mamatas, Terry Dowling, John Langan, Glen Hirshberg

Hugo Award winning editor, and horror legend, Ellen Datlow presents this chilling horror anthology of 18 original short stories exploring the endless terrors of winter solstice traditions across the globe, featuring chillers by Tananarive Due, Stephen Graham Jones, Alma Katsu and many more.

The winter solstice is celebrated as a time of joy around the world—yet the long winter nights also summon a darker tradition of ghouls, ghost tales, and horror. This anthology of all-new stories invites you to huddle around the fire and revel in the unholy, the dangerous, the horrific aspects of a time when families and friends come together—for better and for worse.

From the terrifying Austrian Schnabelperchten to the skeletal Welsh Mari Lwyd, by way of ravenous golems, uncanny neighbors, and unwelcome visitors, Christmas and Other Horrors captures the heart and horror of the winter season.

Because the weather outside is frightful, but the fire inside is hungry…

Featuring stories from:

Nadia Bulkin
Terry Dowling
Tananarive Due
Jeffrey Ford
Christopher Golden
Stephen Graham Jones
Glen Hirshberg
Richard Kadrey
Alma Katsu
Cassandra Khaw
John Langan
Josh Malerman
Nick Mamatas
Garth Nix
Benjamin Percy
M. Rickert
Kaaron Warren

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Fiend

by Alma Katsu

Historical horror maven Alma Katsu turns her talents to the modern world for the first time, in this terrifying tale about an all-powerful family with an ancient evil under its thumb.

Imagine if the Sackler family had a demon at their beck and call.

The Berisha family runs one of the largest import-export companies in the world, and they’ve always been lucky. Their rivals suffer strokes. Inconvenient buildings catch on fire. Earthquakes swallow up manufacturing plants, destroying harmful evidence. Things always seem to work out for the Berishas. They’re blessed.

At least that is what Zef, the patriarch, has always told his three children. And each of them knows their place in the family—Dardan, as the only male heir, must prepare to take over as keeper of the Berisha secrets, Maris’s most powerful contribution, much to her dismay, will be to marry strategically, and Nora’s job, as the youngest, is to just stay out of the way. But when things stop going as planned, and the family blessing starts looking more like a curse, the Berishas begin to splinter, each hatching their own secret scheme. They didn’t get to be one of the richest families in the world without spilling a little blood, but this time, it might be their own.

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