Tiny Threads

A fashion writer tangles with sinister secrets in this harrowing haute couture thriller from Rivera (We Light Up the Sky). When Samara Martín leaves New Jersey and her tight-knit Cuban American family to take a dream job in California with designer Antonio Mota, she’s determined to shine. But Mota proves an irascible boss, and making matters worse, his company headquarters is adjacent to a possibly haunted slaughterhouse. As Samara tries to win favor with the head seamstress, strange things happen: a mysterious embroidered name appears on outfits; hoglike grunting noises fill her apartment at night; she sees an apparition of a young woman in a bloodied gown; and a one-night stand with the charming son of Mota’s investors (whose family owned the local sewing mill where Samara’s late grandmother worked as a seamstress) leaves her covered in scratches. Overwhelmed by paranoia, Samara leans into her spiraling alcohol addiction. As danger ramps up, she’s forced to confront an ugly family secret and a historical cycle of privileged white men taking advantage of young Latina seamstresses. Though this weird-Cinderella tale has too many tragic threads hastily interwoven, there’s enough masterful detailing and vividly imagined scares to keep readers on pins and needles. Horror fans shouldn’t miss it. (Sept.)