4 Terrifying New Releases from Indie and Small Presses in January 2025

In 1988, a group of 13-year-old boys—Andy, Carl, Brian, Johnny, and Gavin—were hanging out at the flooded railway they called the frog ponds. There, they witnessed the brutal attack upon their classmate, Poppy—and the murder of her sister.

The boys direct the police to a suspect, an older boy who is an easy target due to his differences. His guilt in the matter goes unproven when he commits suicide.

For years the horrible crime goes unpunished. And then decades later, Carl's body is found by the frog ponds.

Has Poppy grown up and set out on a mission of deadly revenge? Or is the hag-like woman terrorizing the men something from their worst childhood nightmares?

This book is now available for pre-order, and will be released on January 7th by Severn House Publishing!

The sequel to Chloe Spencer's Vicarious, this book opens a few months after Gertie takes on her role on the school board. She is eager to have a nice getaway with her love, Bea.

For one thing, she's got a body to bury. For another, she's ready to ask Bea to marry her.

Gertie hopes that after Bea accepts her proposal the two of them can step into a future free of bloodshed. But things get complicated after a video of Gertie and Bea dancing goes viral on TikTok.

There's a reason Bea never had a social media presence. She has a violent ex-husband and more than a few dangerous characters in her past.

Now all of the people Bea's running from know exactly how to find her. And Gertie will have to be vicious to protect the one she loves… 

This book is now available for pre-order, and will be released on January 15th by Slashic Horror Press!

Inspired by The Dixie Mafia and the Satanic Panic of the 80s, this is a gripping southern gothic tale.

Antonia “Toni” Sclafani is a beat cop from Passaic, New Jersey. Taking a job at the local police department in the small town of Jefferson, Georgia, she's already disillusioned from years of witnessing corruption and injustice.

The town is alight with gossip over the arrival of an unmarried Italian woman on the force, and Toni immediately feels the hostility. And she starts to wonder if she's in over her head when, on her first day on the job, a young woman is brutally murdered and stashed in a truck bed.

With two more murders coming in quick and gruesome, there may be a serial killer in town. As Toni digs for the truth, she stumbles upon the “Peach Mob,” a gang of criminals run by the philandering good ol' boy Frank Carroll.

Carroll seems to have the police and everyone else in town wrapped around his finger. But while he's gone to great lengths to bury dark secrets about him and his family, Toni has a few secrets of her own.

This book is now available for pre-order, and will be released on January 15th by Silver Shell Publishing!

In the dark expanse of the internet, a single line of text hangs heavy for all to read: “If you're reading this, you've likely thought that the world would be a better place without you.”

The sentence was typed out by Ashley Lutin. Since his wife died and his young son vanished, he has spent many nights thinking this—and far worse.

Ashley can't find peace in death. But he can bring peace to others.

He has devised a ritual for those who are torn between their wish to die and their desperation for a better life.

Sinking in his own infinite grief, Ashley sparks a connection with Jinx, a potential candidate for his next ritual. He tells him a tale that is as disturbing as it is fascinating.

Now the two men are caught in a spiral of painful revelations and long-buried secrets clawing their way to the surface.

After all, a new life can only be achieved through death…

This book is now available for pre-order, and will be released on January 26th by Blackstone Publishing!