Japanese Gothic
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Description
'A blood-soaked, masterful blend of horror and mystery' GUARDIAN
'Blood-slicked, unsettling and immersive' DAILY MAIL
'A lush, unnerving ghost story' NEW YORK TIMES
'Brilliantly inventive. A must read - I couldn't turn the pages fast enough' MONIKA KIM
'A haunted house horror with a samurai twist' IGN
'Audacious, surreal . . . An exquisite expression of human pain held tight across centuries' LEIGH RADFORD
2026
Lee can't remember exactly where he hid the body, but he can remember the blood. Hiding out at his father's centuries-old home in Japan, Lee knows something is wrong with him, and he knows it has something to do with his mother's disappearance almost a decade ago.
1877
A female samurai, Sen, stalks the borders of her home to protect her family from slaughter after the abolition of the samurai class. She's not sure how they'll ever survive, not without her father, who has returned from war with a different soul behind his eyes.
When Lee and Sen find one another through a door between their worlds, they're both looking for answers. But what they find in the creaking old house they share is beyond what either of them could imagine...
PRAISE FOR THE NEWEST VOICE IN HORROR:
'A profound reminder of the true horrors that lurk in the world' TORI BOVALINO
'A serial killer mystery and a heartbreaking portrayal of grief' KIRSTY LOGAN
'This book dug its claws into me and would not let go' LING LING HUANG
'Body horror and female rage fiction combine in a powerful novel that will leave you quaking' ALMA KATSU
'A poignant, searing portrait of the hostility and violence that plagued pandemic-era NYC' VERONICA G. HENRY
Book Information
Posts
I expected something great from Kylie Lee Baker, but Japanese Gothic still managed to exceed my expectations in every possible way. I’m still reeling from this story. The way it weaves together the lives of Lee Turner in 2026 and Iwasaki Sen in 1877 through a mysterious door in a haunted house is so brilliant. The dual timeline, the connections, the complexity, everything just wowed me. I will need a long time to unpack everything it threw at me. I love the kinds of books you want to start reading all over again the moment you reach the last page. It had a grip on me from page one and didn’t lose me for a single line. The horror is so subtle that at times I wasn’t even sure it was a horror story. The eerie atmosphere, the slow reveal of dark secrets, and the heartbreaking connections between the characters pulled me deeper into the unease with every chapter. The way Baker plays with perception, memory, and the idea of being haunted, both literally and figuratively, is genius. The way the story touches on themes like guilt, trauma and absolution is heartbreaking. And the ending - even more stuff to think about. My thoughts are not coherent yet, but I know this is a 5/5 stars highlight for me. Thank you to @NetGalley and @hodderbooks for the eARC! #JapaneseGothic #Bookstagram #NetGalley
Description
'A blood-soaked, masterful blend of horror and mystery' GUARDIAN
'Blood-slicked, unsettling and immersive' DAILY MAIL
'A lush, unnerving ghost story' NEW YORK TIMES
'Brilliantly inventive. A must read - I couldn't turn the pages fast enough' MONIKA KIM
'A haunted house horror with a samurai twist' IGN
'Audacious, surreal . . . An exquisite expression of human pain held tight across centuries' LEIGH RADFORD
2026
Lee can't remember exactly where he hid the body, but he can remember the blood. Hiding out at his father's centuries-old home in Japan, Lee knows something is wrong with him, and he knows it has something to do with his mother's disappearance almost a decade ago.
1877
A female samurai, Sen, stalks the borders of her home to protect her family from slaughter after the abolition of the samurai class. She's not sure how they'll ever survive, not without her father, who has returned from war with a different soul behind his eyes.
When Lee and Sen find one another through a door between their worlds, they're both looking for answers. But what they find in the creaking old house they share is beyond what either of them could imagine...
PRAISE FOR THE NEWEST VOICE IN HORROR:
'A profound reminder of the true horrors that lurk in the world' TORI BOVALINO
'A serial killer mystery and a heartbreaking portrayal of grief' KIRSTY LOGAN
'This book dug its claws into me and would not let go' LING LING HUANG
'Body horror and female rage fiction combine in a powerful novel that will leave you quaking' ALMA KATSU
'A poignant, searing portrait of the hostility and violence that plagued pandemic-era NYC' VERONICA G. HENRY
Book Information
Posts
I expected something great from Kylie Lee Baker, but Japanese Gothic still managed to exceed my expectations in every possible way. I’m still reeling from this story. The way it weaves together the lives of Lee Turner in 2026 and Iwasaki Sen in 1877 through a mysterious door in a haunted house is so brilliant. The dual timeline, the connections, the complexity, everything just wowed me. I will need a long time to unpack everything it threw at me. I love the kinds of books you want to start reading all over again the moment you reach the last page. It had a grip on me from page one and didn’t lose me for a single line. The horror is so subtle that at times I wasn’t even sure it was a horror story. The eerie atmosphere, the slow reveal of dark secrets, and the heartbreaking connections between the characters pulled me deeper into the unease with every chapter. The way Baker plays with perception, memory, and the idea of being haunted, both literally and figuratively, is genius. The way the story touches on themes like guilt, trauma and absolution is heartbreaking. And the ending - even more stuff to think about. My thoughts are not coherent yet, but I know this is a 5/5 stars highlight for me. Thank you to @NetGalley and @hodderbooks for the eARC! #JapaneseGothic #Bookstagram #NetGalley