DeMeester, Kristi. Such a Pretty Smile. Macmillan Audio. Jan. 2022. 10:06 hrs. ISBN 9781250839640. $26.99. HORROR

DeMeester’s (Beneath) latest is a horror suspense novel with some very sharp teeth. Young Lila Sawyer would love to understand her mother, the famous sculptor Caroline Sawyer. However, Caroline has a dark past, one that begins in New Orleans when she and the rest of the city are terrorized by the Cur, a serial killer targeting young girls. In the present, both mother and daughter notice young girls in their neighborhood turning up dead. The Cur appears to be active again, both Caroline and Lila are keeping secrets, and something hungry is closing in. The story jumps between different timelines, from Caroline’s past to Lila’s present, but DeMeester’s descriptive powers are laser-focused on the psychological horror that both mother and daughter endure. Indeed, DeMeester’s descriptions of physical and mental trauma are both beautiful and harrowing, and the breathy drawl of narrator Kristine Hvam roots the supernatural suspense deep in the heart of New Orleans. What draws listeners in and creates the most tension in this story is the isolation of Lila and Caroline—from each other and from the men they trust, men who either ignore or dismiss the horrors the mother and daughter have experienced. VERDICT Recommended for public library horror collections.—James Gardner

Marsh, Richard. The Beetle. Naxos. Oct. 2021. 12:26 hrs. ISBN 9781781983911. $31. HORROR

Marsh’s tale of an ancient Egyptian shape-shifting creature—the titular Beetle—seeking revenge against a British politician may not be widely known today, but when it was released in 1897, it substantially outsold Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which was published the same year. The plot unfolds from the point of view of four people. Robert Holt is a clerk who meets the Beetle on a dark and stormy night and is mind-controlled by him into stealing letters from a politician named Paul Lessingham. Sydney Atherton agrees to help the Beetle, in exchange for the love of Marjorie Lindon and later for the creature’s help in saving his friend’s life. Marjorie Lindon is a politician’s daughter who has romantic connections to both Lessingham and Atherton and is eventually captured by the Beetle. The story's final section is told from the point of view of Augustus Champnell, a detective who takes Lessingham’s confession about his involvement in a cult devoted to Isis, which has led to the Beetle’s obsession with him. Gunnar Cauthery, Jonathan Aris, Natalie Simpson, and Andrew Wincott provide resonant, compelling narration. VERDICT Fans of gothic novels and 19th-century horror shouldn’t miss this excellent production.—Stephanie Klose

Partridge, Norman. Dark Harvest. Macmillan Audio. Jan. 2022. 4:34 hrs. ISBN 9781250252968. $10.99. HORROR

On Halloween in 1963, Pete McCormick is about to join the other teenage boys in his small town on the Run, the annual attempt to capture the menacing and dangerous October Boy, who comes out of the cornfields to stalk the townsfolk every year. Killing the October Boy is the only way Pete can see to have a future for himself and his sister away from his hard-drinking father, even if he has to risk his own life—and steal a police officer’s gun—to do it. But when his harrowing journey finally leads him to the October Boy, he’ll have to confront the town’s horrifying truth. Luckily for fans of scary stories, Partridge’s (Lesser Demons) 2007 Bram Stoker Award–winning work of folk horror is finally available as an audiobook, with the incomparable Vikas Adam narrating. Adam’s rich, gravelly voice is the ideal pairing for this story, which is frequently compared to Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” another look at the dark underbelly of a seemingly placid small town. VERDICT With a movie adaptation coming later this year, demand for Partridge’s cult classic is going to skyrocket. Public libraries should make sure to have it in all formats.—Stephanie Klose