Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle

July 5, 2026

Fabulous Bodies by Chuck Tingle

Social media influencer and single mother Poppy Stringer has over 200,000 followers and posts constantly to her social media sites. To support her lavish lifestyle, Poppy has a secret side hustle as a modern day grave robber, stealing bodies by contract, mostly from funeral homes. But on the day her music idol is killed in a freak accident, Poppy receives a commission to steal his body from the city morgue. It seems straightforward enough, not to mention wildly lucrative, but things quickly take a bad turn.

Imagine that you finally get the chance to meet the guy who has been your musical idol all your life, but it turns out that he is nothing like you expect? For one thing, he's dead, and for another, he's on a killing spree. I worry about Chuck Tingle, I really do. What is going on in his head? What kind of childhood trauma did he experience to come up with the kind of stuff he writes about? This is a road trip of a very different kind, full of gore and horror set against the glittering backdrop of Palm Springs. At the same time, there is a a dark humor as Eddie shares unexpected bits of wisdom, like telling Poppy it's always a bad idea to meet your idols. Poppy realizes that she and Eddie are both influencers and have a deeper connection than she could ever expect. Real horror fans will get into this fast-paced novel.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Palm Springs, CA

Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle

November 12, 2025

Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle

Vera Norrie has just been hired as the youngest professor of statistics and probability at the University of Chicago. To celebrate, she and her girlfriend have invited their closest friends along with Vera's mother to brunch at their favorite cafe. But Vera and her mother quarrel, and her mother runs of the restaurant with Vera chasing her. Outside, they find a scene of unexplainable chaos.

I worry about what goes on in Chuck Tingle's mind, I really do. His brand of horror is so original and out there, I can't think of anyone to compare him to. There are overtones of The X-Files as well as Lost. I don't know if this is a fugue state or a fever dream. Possible triggers include violence, death, suicide, animal death, depression, and annihilation. I love the cover art.

Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for providing an eARC for review.

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

June 3, 2024

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

After 20 years of struggling, writing mostly B-level horror films, Misha has been nominated for an Oscar for one of his short films and has finally landed a gig as a screenwriter on a successful television show. He has a boyfriend that he is crazy about and friends who care about him. But as soon as two gay characters fall in love, the studio heads instruct Misha to kill them off since they think it will improve the show's arc. Misha is pissed about this and refuses to kill off the characters, which may cost him his job. But that's not the worst of it -- characters from Misha's horror films (The Smoker, Mrs. Why, Black Lamb, The Bride) are stalking him and his friends.

This was one of my selections for Pride Month 2024. I'm not a huge horror fan (although I do seem to read more horror than I think I do) but this was pretty entertaining. BTW, the Bury Your Gays trope is a literary trope where a gay character dies tragically, usually right before or right after declaring their love for another gay character. The really screwed up part is that the surviving gay character "realizes" that they're not really gay at all, and they console themselves by falling in love with a straight character. Horror fans will enjoy the dark humor as well as the creepy characters.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

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