Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press and Crooked Lane Books, #partner for the physical copies in exchange for my honest reviews.
I love a good retelling and when you add in some horror elements, I’m all in! Both of these came highly recommended and one was even a debut!!
MARION by Leah Rowan
Published: June 2, 2026, St. Martin’s Press / Macmillan Audio
Summary:
A twist on Hitchcock’s iconic classic Psycho —where the leading lady doesn’t die, but instead turns the knife on Norm, kicking off a crime spree that turns the silver screen victim into a heroine for our times.
NORMAN WAS HER FIRST.
Marion is in deep. She’s stolen money from the Manhattan ad agency where she works in a desperate bid to help her sister escape an abusive marriage, but the bus breaks down before she can make it to Saratoga Springs. It’s late at night, and the only place with vacancies is an old set of cabins on the outskirts of town. She pays for a room in cash, and ends up chatting with Norm, the young innkeeper who’s handsome, charming and a touch hung-up on his elderly mother. Back in her room, she steps into the shower, scrubbing off the late-summer heat, when the curtain is pulled back…
Norm Billings is there with a knife. He raises his arm to strike, but before he does, Marion knees him in the balls, grabs the knife, and stabs the life out of him. Now, she’s covered in blood, and she’s a woman on the run—not just a thief, but a killer, too. Where will she go? How will she save both herself and her sister? And what mysteries will she uncover as she does?
In Psycho, Hitchcock shocked audiences when he killed off his protagonist. But what if the leading lady had fought back? Marion offers an alternate history of the most famous dead blonde to ever grace the silver screen. Only this time, the knife is in her hands—and she’s no victim.
My thoughts:
I might never have seen Hitchcock’s classic, Psycho, but that didn’t prevent me from enjoying this one! I loved the feminist spin on it, complete with some deliciously unhinged characters. But I also appreciated how the author explored sisterhood, trauma and survival. It’s a tense, addictive read, full of surprises. Once I started this one, I could not put it down…and now I feel like I kind of have to watch Psycho…what do you think?
This was a debut and I will absolutely be watching for what comes next from this talented author!
Audio thoughts:
Natalie Naudus and Tawny Platis do an amazing job bringing this story to life.
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IT CAME FROM NEVERLAND by Cynthia Pelayo
Published: June 9, 2026, Crooked Lane Books
Summary:
Peter Pan meets Stephen King’s It in this twisted horror retelling of a classic childhood fairytale set during WWI.
1914, Wendy Darling works by day as a school teacher and by night, she assists soldiers who have returned home from the Western Front. There is one mysterious patient who despite all the care they’ve given him, is in a deep sleep, unable to wake up. One night, when he murmurs the words “Peter Pan,” Wendy is thrown back to a darker time, one that she wishes she could forget.
When one of her students goes missing, it brings back memories of when children went missing and were later found murdered in London many years ago. Wendy believes that Peter Pan, the entity that she believed killed those children, is back. She and her brothers had a close encounter with Peter Pan, after all. But her brothers only remember Peter Pan and Neverland as a fantasy of childhood games.
When another child goes missing and signs start to point to Wendy, Scotland Yard digs into old reports, finding that Wendy knew the names of all the children who had been killed. As Wendy tries to prove her innocence, she also has to find a way to stop Peter Pan once and for all.
My thoughts:
Never could I have imagined a retelling of Peter Pan to be so dark and unsettling…and yet, I couldn’t put this one down! I was so caught up in this — how atmospheric it was, how eerie and bizarre the whole story became — I was spellbound. This story works so well because the horror builds on the atmosphere, emotion and growing sense of dread that is woven into every scene. It also plays with memory…which I love! This is psychological horror at its best!!
This is my first time reading this author. If you’ve read her before, what should I read next??
Have you read any of these books or do you plan to? Do you have a favorite retelling?
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