Let me be clear about something up front: in this house, we support women's rights and women's wrongs.

There is nothing I love more than a horror novel simmering with feminine rage. A woman stepping into her power, owning her mess, and doing something gloriously unhinged about it. So today I'm rounding up the creepy, rage-soaked books I'm obsessed with, the ones where the women are messy and furious and absolutely not here to make you comfortable.

Before we jump into that, Keith Rosson was on the show today. The punk-rock, horror writer himself.

Keith is the acclaimed author of Smoke City, Fever House, and his latest, Coffin Moon. Keith writes dark, gritty horror that still manages to be an emotional gut punch, full of characters searching for hope in impossible places, and Coffin Moon might be one of my favorite books I've read this year (I’ve probably mentioned it to literally every person I’ve had a conversation about horror with since reading it). In our conversation, we go back to when Keith found out at ten years old that he'd been legally blind his whole life, and how that led him into twenty five years of illustrating punk album covers before he ever wrote a novel. He opens up about getting 97 rejections from literary agents before his first yes, and about writing Fever House during COVID lockdown while he and his girlfriend fostered and then adopted two toddlers in the middle of Portland's George Floyd protests. Keith breaks down why he set Coffin Moon, his vampire revenge story, in the 1970s, how he pared his cast down after Fever House's sprawling ensemble, and the real unsolved disappearance that inspired his upcoming novel Crone, out September 22nd. It's a conversation about redemption, found family, and why he's still ferociously in love with the process ten books in.

Watch the full episode here →

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Now for the book recs!

You genuinely cannot talk about feminine rage and leave a Rachel Harrison book out of the conversation. Of all of hers, this one has the most satisfying payoff. We love a woman stepping into her power and owning her whole self, and if you want that paired with messy women, obsession, and witches, this is the one. Read it and feel something.

You knew this one was coming. Maeve Fly is excellent, disgusting, violent, and toxic, and somehow, by the end, I was still heartbroken and genuinely emotionally moved. That's the CJ Leede magic. If you want a woman doing monstrous things for no tidy, justifiable reason, this is the blueprint. I will never shut up about it. Also, she wa son my show here - give it a listen!

I am not going to stop talking about this book, and if you didn't like it, I'm genuinely sorry for you, because I loved it. It's sharp commentary on how toxic social media can be, and it puts you in the deeply satisfying position of rooting for the protagonist to do some bad, bad things. If that doesn't scream feminine rage, nothing does.

Oh and Saratoga is awesome - as only the second guest of Talking Horror, they set the bar high! Here’s the episode.

Do not let the YA marketing steer you away from this one, because holy sh*t. It is terrifying, and it deals with real events from history, which gives it this layer of genuine feminine rage and injustice that is deeply moving and deeply satisfying to read. I had Diana on the podcast and adored her, and this book is exactly why. Read it.

This is another one where I spent the whole time going, "go on… just do it." I was dying for a good revenge plot, and when the dust settles, the female rage is crystal clear and so satisfying. Also, that cover? Stop it. Just buy the book. Having Tatiana on the podcast show only made me love it more.

This is a snack of a book, as my book bestie Brie would say (and if you're not following Brie, what are you even doing?). It is the pure embodiment of fuck-around-and-find-out, and if you want to watch bad things happen to bad people, this is absolutely the one. Short, vicious, deeply fun.

So now I need to know: what's a book filled with feminine rage, horror or otherwise, that you are obsessed with? Reply and tell me. I collect these like other people collect grudges.

Host of Talking Horror Podcast