Black Christmas

Muñoz continues his holiday horror spree (after Turkey Day and others) with this grisly sorority-house-Christmas set tale that’s based on the 1974 film of the same name. With Christmas celebrations and travel, the young women at the Pi Kappa Sigma sorority house barely see one another and have no time to deal with the creepy phone calls they receive from a man they dub “the moaner.” Or is it a man? The calls sometimes seem to also feature a woman and a baby crying. Well, whatever. The sherry is flowing, boyfriends are calling to the house, and there’s little time for that weirdness; add the problem that nobody believes the young women. When an adolescent girl is found murdered in a nearby park, however, the police realize it’s serious, thought they’re too late to stop the killings that are already underway at the house, which are gory and terrifying. An ending chase reflects the book’s slasher-film origins and will keep readers on edge, all while the shocking treatment of young women by the police and the sorority sisters’ families and boyfriends continues unabated. An eye opening and grisly twist on the usual Christmas coziness, for those who relish Stephen King and slasher films.—Henrietta Thornton