Evil Twin, a Zando imprint

A group of friends confront questions of identity, aging, and desire during a vampire infestation in an isolated Californian desert—”transporting us to a tiny town not unlike the ‘Salem’s Lot of Stephen King fame."—Fangoria

Mothersucker by Kim Bohyun, Archana Madhavan (translator)

Up first is a debut that shines a light (but not sunlight) on gender-based violence in Korea. When an abusive man is found drained of his blood in Seoul, it’s an unusual crime, but appears to be a one-time thing. But then another man with a history of violence towards women dies the same way. And then another, and another. Soon, a task force is formed to find a serial killer murdering bad men, while a mother grieving the murder of her daughter finds her rage turning into something she can’t control.

Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco

In this queer paranormal fantasy, humans and vampires exist in their own parts of the kingdom. Remy Pendergast is the son of a duke and rumored to actually be a half-vampire. To combat the gossip, he works as a vampire hunter, trying to please his father. When word reaches the kingdom of a new kind of vampire that even the other vampires are afraid of, Remy will have to team up with those he would normally fight to stop them. But as he spends time hunting the new breed with a vampire couple, he begins to wonder about the real monsters of the story.

Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman

This is a charming debut that uses vampirism to explore personal and societal issues. Sol is a trans man, an archivist, and a (secret) vampire who hides away in his basement office—from the sun, his terrible coworker, and the world, really. Then one day, he meets Elsie, the widow of a famous TV writer, when she stops by to donate her late wife’s papers. The connection between Sol and Elsie is palpable, but to find their happily ever after, they’ll have to deal with grief, bigotry, and vampirism together.

The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones

This is a historical horror that explores injustices committed against Indigenous people in history through a vampire story. It’s written as the confessions of a Blackfeet man named Good Stab, who tells a chilling story to a pastor, starting with the massacre of 217 Blackfeet. Such a devastating act of violence deserves justice, and it turns out something lurks in the fields of a Blackfeet reservation, looking to deliver it.

Night’s Edge by Liz Kerin

Here’s another great novel in which vampires are real and known to humans. But instead of being hunted and killed, vampires are locked away by the government in their own environment. Mia’s mother Izzy was bitten when Mia was young, but with no one to care for Mia, they kept her condition a secret. So Mia grew up caring for her mother, hiding her condition and her frequently unpleasant side from the world. But now Mia is an adult, and longs for a life of her own, out in the world. How long must she protect her mother at the expense of her own happiness?

The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy Mckee Charnas

A modern classic of the vampire genre, The Vampire Tapestry explores vampirism as a disease. Edward Weyland is an immortal who chooses to steal blood rather than kill for his meals. While working as an anthropology professor, he must navigate his biological condition, careful not to expose his plight to the world, while also existing side by side with mortals. Who better to teach the study of humanity than someone who has lived through centuries of it?

Some of Your Blood by Theodore Sturgeon

If you enjoy really disturbing stories, then this is the one for you. It’s an epistolary novel about a soldier with very dark interests, recounted through a series of interviews with an Army psychiatrist. At first, Dr. Outerbridge is fascinated by his sessions with George Smith, but they soon turn to horror as George reveals his true self. Named one of the Horror Writers Association’s Top 40 Horror Books of All Time, this one will get under your skin. But remember, you were warned…

Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove

Vampires! In! Space! Let’s wrap things up with this inventive sci-fi look at Dracula’s journey on the ship Demeter. But this time, Demeter is a sentient spaceship who doesn’t appreciate it when Dracula gets on board and begins killing her passengers, because if Demeter doesn’t have anyone to shuttle around, she’s going to be decommissioned. So she teams up with a ragtag group of other creatures, including spider drones and another vampire, to put an end to Dracula’s bloody spree.