All the Hearts You Eat

Bram Stoker Award winner Piper (Queen of Teeth) delivers a staggering tale of queer horror. While out for a morning swim along the coast of the small beach town of Cape Morning, Mass., trans woman Ivory Sloan discovers the dead body of Cabrina Brite, the trans daughter of a town councilmember. When Ivory starts seeing things shortly thereafter, she thinks it may be Cabrina’s ghost, and begins an investigation into her death, which precipitates further paranormal activity around town and especially on nearby Ghost Cat Island. From the first line—“The sea wanted blood,” a refrain that repeats throughout the story—Piper hits on an evocative combination of the picturesque and the gory, pulling back the curtain on the dark side of quaint Cape Morning. Supporting characters, especially Cabrina’s friends Xi and Rex, also shine. Weaving classic horror elements into a powerful tale of trans solidarity and the life-sucking toll of being forced back into the closet, Piper cements her place in the queer horror canon. (Oct.)