The Best Horror, Crime & Genre Books of 2026 So Far | Mid-Year Freakout Tag

The best — and most disappointing — horror, crime and genre fiction I've read in the first six months of 2026. It's my Mid-Year Freakout Tag, filtered through a dark-genre lens. From Adam Nevill's folk-horror nightmare MONUMENTAL to S.A. Cosby's gut-punch KING OF ASHES, plus a Dark Tower deep-dive, a Jordan Harper noir discovery, and the two cornerstone novels I HAVE to finish before the year ends — these are the 10 questions for the Mid-Year Freakout! I review horror, crime and genre fiction through the lens of a lifelong cinephile. If you live where literature meets the dark side of cinema, subscribe — new reviews and hauls every week. ⏱️ THE 10 QUESTIONS: 0:00 — Intro: 6 months of horror, crime & genre reading 0:20 — Favorite book of 2026 so far (Adam Nevill — Monumental) 1:55 — Best sequel / series continuation (Wizard and Glass — The Dark Tower) 3:10 — New release I want to read but haven't yet (C.J. Leeds — Headlights) 3:40 — Most anticipated (Other Worlds Than These — The Talisman) 3:55 — Most disappointing (The Faith of Beasts — James S.A. Corey) 5:30 — Biggest surprise (Jordan Harper — A Violent Masterpiece) 7:40 — New favourite author (John Connolly — Charlie Parker) 9:30 — Newest favourite character (Matthew Corbett — Speaks the Nightbird) 11:15 — A book that made me emotional (S.A. Cosby — King of Ashes) 13:10 — TBR I must finish in 2026 (Blood Meridian & Lonesome Dove) 14:30 — Tagging some BookTubers I love Tagging These Fine Folks!!    / @synsbooknook      / @booksforthebackporch      / @pleasereadyourbook      / @horrorreads      / @beardofdarkness   📚 EVERY BOOK MENTIONED: • Monumental — Adam Nevill • Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower #4) — Stephen King • Headlights — C.J. Leeds • Other Worlds Than These (The Talisman #3) — Stephen King • The Faith of Beasts (Captive's War #2) — James S.A. Corey • A Violent Masterpiece — Jordan Harper • Every Dead Thing (Charlie Parker #1) — John Connolly • Speaks the Nightbird — Robert McCammon • King of Ashes — S.A. Cosby • Blood Meridian — Cormac McCarthy • Lonesome Dove — Larry McMurtry 💬 What's the best horror or crime book YOU'VE read in 2026? Drop it in the comments. 🔔 Subscribe for horror, crime & genre fiction reviews with an edge:    / @serratedpages   📧 Contact: serratedpages(at)gmail.com #BookTube #MidYearFreakout #MidYearFreakoutTag #BookTube #HorrorBooks #CrimeFiction #BestBooksof2026 ▶ Email Me! 📧 [email protected] ▶ Subscribe to Serrated Pages! horror, crime, and genre fiction with an edge:    / @serratedpages   Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/benhoward.bs... Instagram:   / serratedpages   Goodreads:   / serratedpages   #HorrorBooks #BookTube #CrimeFiction #TBR #GenreFiction