“You can’t erase your past when there are pieces of it scattered inside other people.”
Rachel Harrison has quickly become one of the most exciting voices in contemporary horror, blending sharp humour, emotional depth, and unsettling slow-burn tension. If you’re wondering how to read Rachel Harrison books in order, you’re not alone – many readers aren’t sure whether to follow publication order or jump straight into her most popular titles. The good news is that most of her novels can be read as standalones, but knowing the right reader can still help you get the most out of her evolving themes and style. This guide breaks down Rachel Harrison books in order, including publication order, and which books fans consider the best entry into her eerie, character-driven worlds. Whether you’re new to her work or looking to revisit her novels in sequence, this reading guide will help you navigate her books with ease and decide precisely where to begin.
Rachel Harrison Books In Order:
If you’re looking to check out all of Rachel Harrison’s books in publication order, here’s a quick reference guide for you:
- The Return (2020)
- Cackle (2021)
- Such Sharp Teeth (2022)
- Bad Dolls (2022)
- Black Sheep (2023)
- So Thirsty (2024)
- Play Nice (2025)
The Return (2020)
First up on our list of Rachel Harrison books is her edgy, haunting debut novel about a group of friends who reunite from a mysterious two-year disappearance.
Julie is missing, and the missing don’t often return. But Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and she feels in her bones that her best friend is out there and that one day she’ll come back. She’s right. Two years to the day that Julie went missing, she reappears with no memory of where she’s been or what happened to her.
Cackle (2021)
All her life, Annie has played it nice and safe. After being unceremoniously dumped by her longtime boyfriend, Annie seeks a fresh start. She accepts a teaching position that moves her from Manhattan to a small village upstate. She’s stunned by how perfect and picturesque the town is. The people are all friendly and warm. Her new apartment is dreamy too, minus the oddly persistent spider infestation.
Then Annie meets Sophie. Beautiful, charming, magnetic Sophie, who takes a special interest in Annie, wants to be her friend. More importantly, she wants Annie to stop apologising and start living for herself. Annie can’t help but gravitate toward the self-possessed Sophie, even though everyone else seems pretty wary of her. And there are some things. Sophie’s appearance is ageless, her mansion in the middle of the woods feels a little unearthly, and she does seem to wield a certain power. But, she couldn’t be, could she?
Such Sharp Teeth (2022)
Rory Morris isn’t thrilled to be moving back to her hometown, even if it is temporary. There are bad memories there. But her twin sister, Scarlett, is pregnant, estranged from her baby’s father, and needs support, so Rory returns to the place she thought she’d put in her rearview. After a night out at a bar where she runs into an old almost-flame, she hits a large animal with her car. And when she gets out to investigate, she’s attacked.
Rory survives, miraculously, but life begins to look and feel different. She’s unnaturally strong, with an aversion to silver – and suddenly the moon has her in its thrall. She’s changing into something else. But does that mean she’s putting those close to her in danger? Or is embracing the wildness inside of her the key to acceptance?
Bad Dolls (2022)
Bad Dolls is a stunning collection of four short horror stories from Rachel Harrison that explores body image, complicated female friendships, heartbreak, and hauntings. In Reply Hazy, Try Again, an indecisive young woman finds a mysterious Magic 8 Ball that might just have the answers she’s been looking for. Bachelorette sees a bridesmaid attends her childhood best friend’s bachelorette weekend, only to discover the itinerary may demand more than she’s willing to sacrifice.
In Goblins, an unusually brutal dieting app wreaks havoc on the life of an insecure woman preparing for her ex’s wedding. In Bad Dolls, after a death in the family, a wayward young woman comes into possession of a strange porcelain doll that could offer a connection to her lost sister. These Rachel Harrison stories all navigate the complexities of modern life with humour, insight, and the occasional blood sacrifice…
Check Out The Best Horror Books From 2022
Black Sheep (2023)
Nobody has a “normal” family, but Vesper Wright’s is truly something else. But then an envelope arrives on her doorstep. Inside is a wedding invitation from Vesper’s beloved cousin, Rosie. It’s to be hosted at the family farm. Something inside her insists she go to the wedding. Even if it means reuniting with her mother, Constance, a former horror film star and a forever ice queen.
When Vesper’s homecoming exhumes a terrifying secret, she’s forced to reckon with her family’s beliefs and her own crisis of faith in this deliciously sinister novel that delves into the ways family ties can bind us as we struggle to find our place in the world.
Check Out The Best Horror Books Not Written By Stephen King
So Thirsty (2024)
Sloane Parker is dreading her birthday. Her husband surprises her with a birthday weekend getaway – but not with him, with Sloane’s longtime best friend, troublemaker extraordinaire, Naomi. Sloane anticipates a weekend of wine tastings and cosy robes and strategic avoidance of issues she’d rather not confront. But it soon becomes clear that Naomi has something else in mind. She wants Sloane to stop letting things happen to her, for Sloane to really live.
So Naomi orchestrates a wild night out with a group of mysterious strangers, only for it to take a horrifying turn that changes Sloane’s and Naomi’s lives literally forever. The friends are forced to come to terms with some pretty eternal consequences in this bloody, seductive novel about how it’s never too late to find satisfaction, even though it may taste different than expected.
Play Nice (2025)
Clio Louise Barnes leads a picture-perfect life as a stylist and influencer, but beneath the glossy veneer, she harbours a not-so-glamorous secret: she grew up in a haunted house. Well, not haunted. Possessed. After her parents’ messy divorce, Clio’s mother, Alex, moved her and her two sisters into a house occupied by a demon. Or so Alex claimed. That’s not what Clio’s sisters remember, or what the courts determined when they stripped Alex of custody.
After Alex’s sudden death, the supposedly possessed house passes to Clio and her sisters. Where her sisters see childhood trauma, Clio sees an opportunity for house flipping content. Only, as the makeover begins, Clio discovers there may be some truth to her mother’s claims. As memories resurface and Clio finally reads what her mother left behind, the presence inside the house becomes more real, and more sinister, revealing ugly truths that threaten to shake Clio’s beautiful life to its very foundations.
Check Out Our Play Nice Book Review
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
