There are so many flavors and shades to thrilling reads these days. Anyone who needs exciting entertainment that either reinforces or distracts from their worldview can see variations on relatable protagonists going through degrees of threats to their well-being. Kentucky writers have delivered a wealth of selection in recent months for those who wish to wrap up and give thrillers as gifts for friends and family. Of course the same applies to those looking for their own next read to enjoy on their e-reader as they sit by their gas-flamed yule log.
Let’s start with some reliable, established entertainers. Kentuckiana’s Mick Williams has a rerelease (and punched-up revision) of his early novel “Whatever It Takes.” This is a solid meat-and-potatoes helping of the “resourceful stranger arrives in town and becomes target of conspirators” subgenre. Fans of Lee Child’s Reacher series will find this a recognizable pleasure.
J.H. Markert has become a veritable machine for gripping tales you can’t put down, with families in jeopardy and chilling twists at the end of every fast-paced chapter. “Spider to the Fly” has a generously scaled plot with a serial killer on I-64 and a true-crime-investigating mama bear trying to work alongside reluctant law enforcement regulars to make the highway safe. Practiced, cold assassins, and deranged serial killers.
Too mundane for you? The answer comes courtesy of two of our area’s most creative horror writers. For her second novel, Louisville author and bookstore owner Jenny Kiefer has come up with her second fantastical premise. “Crafting for Sinners” boldly pits a backwoods lesbian couple against a fanatical cult running their town’s central church. When one of the young women has need to go to the church-run craft-supply store, she suddenly finds herself chased by clerks who spout gospel but demand blood. That’s just the start of the paranoid and creepy episodes spun along with some absurd pitch-black humor. You might never look at long knitting needles or kitschy, devout Christmas décor the same way again.
Is your taste in horror incomplete without monsters? Laurel Hightower has written a cohesive and claustrophobic mash-up of legends of abandoned coalmines and naïve cryptid-chasers. Shortwave Publishing found it to be perfect for its line of novellas recapturing the spirit of 1980s quickie horror movies as were found in video stores. “The Long Low Whistle” also has some cleverly tucked-in things to say about giving over your life to solving mysteries of family, community, culture—but the main course is a shivery dish of being trapped in dark water with something slithering against you, cutting into your skin.
Alright, now for novels where the wild rides of the plot’s path aren’t as prevalent as the people who are going through—then trying to get past—terrible things happening to them. A little closer to mainstream literary endeavors? Well, the characterizations are certainly more ambitious— but other than that, let’s let each reader enjoy to their own tastes. Instead, let’s just note that S.D. House is offering his debut murder-mystery. But it’s not a typical debut. The author has already served as the commonwealth’s poet laureate, and he’s also shown range in fiction written under his more famous name: Silas House.
Why the pseudonym? Maybe he wanted to be free of certain expectations that hem in his reputation. And sure enough, “Dead Man’s Blues” opens with a fatal knifing—conveyed with a touch of breezy flair. It reminded me of John D. McDonald; this seemed to be an author having fun while he hones his genre-specific skills. Later on in this slim book we’ll be led to the impression that the protagonist is a bit of a horndog, with some unreliability born from self-pity. Part of the mystery in this murder-mystery is seeing whether and how he’ll rise above.
Another type of thrilling read is when an author goes all-in on portraiture of the highly unstable. Christina Dotson of Bowling Green delivers a version of this with “Love You to Death,” in which friends Kayla and Zorie egg each other on and trip each other up on their crooked path up to and after becoming the “Wedding Crasher Killers.” They are sinned against plenty to go along with their own sins, and Dotson’s clear-eyed delivery of the blow by-blow details reflects her professional experience as a clinical social worker. Her style is still developing, but this debut shows full-blooded commitment to light the way for readers to follow along with heartbreaking betrayals and loyalty tests, while holding in righteous perspective the opportunities for cheap points in action scenes.
This article appears in Nov. 1-30, 2025.