“You’re only a mouse if you let them make you one.”
Christina Henry has fine-tuned the art of taking iconic fairy tales, classic folklore, and urban legends, then plunging them into dark, bone-chilling fantasy. Whether you were pulled in by the bloody wonderland of Alice, the tragic backstory of Captain Hook in Lost Boy, or her haunting isolated horror in Near the Bone, delving into her expansive catalogue can be thrilling and daunting. With a mix of interconnected series, standalone gothic retellings, and spine-tingling survival stories, knowing where to get started – or how to read them in order – is crucial for getting the best experience. Today at What We Reading, we’re curating our favourite Christina Henry books in order. From the dark urban fantasy of the Black Wings series to her standout standalone horror, here are all the Christina Henry novels you need on your TBR pile.
Alice (The Chronicles Of Alice #1) (2015)
Where else could we begin our list of Christina Henry books than with her global bestseller, Alice? In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo the screams of the poor souls inside. In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn’t remember why she’s in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood…
Then one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago. Only something has escaped with her. Something dark. Something powerful. And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for Alice.
The Chronicles of Alice Books In Order
- Alice (2015) – The Chronicles of Alice #1
- Red Queen (2016) – The Chronicles of Alice #2
- Looking Glass (2020) – The Chronicles of Alice #3
Lost Boy (2017)
Peter brought me to his island because there were no rules and no grownups to make us mind. He brought boys from the Other Place to join the fun, but Peter’s idea of fun is sharper than a pirate’s sword. Because it’s never been all fun and games on the island. Our neighbours are pirates and monsters. Our toys are knives and sticks and rocks – the kinds of playthings that bite. Peter promised we would all be young and happy forever. Peter lies.
There is one version of this story that everyone knows. And then there is the truth. Lost Boy chronicles the story of how a young Captain Hook went from being Peter Pan’s first – and favourite – lost boy to his greatest nemesis.
Near The Bone (2021)
Mattie can’t remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. Yet when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realises that they’re not alone after all.
There’s something in the woods that wasn’t there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws. When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for the creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William gets angry.
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The Girl In Red (2019)
It’s not safe for anyone alone in the woods. But the woman in the red jacket has no choice. She is just a woman trying not to get killed in a world that doesn’t look anything like the one she grew up in, the one that was perfectly sane and normal and boring until three short months ago.
There are worse threats in the woods than the things that stalk their prey at night. Sometimes, there are men. And sometimes, just sometimes, there’s something worse than all the horrible people and vicious beasts combined. Red doesn’t like to think of herself as a killer, but she isn’t about to let herself get eaten up just because she’s a woman alone in the woods…
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The Mermaid (2018)
Once there was a mermaid who longed to know of more than her ocean home and her people. One day a fisherman trapped her in his net but couldn’t bear to keep her. But his eyes were lonely and caught her more surely than the net, and so she evoked a magic that allowed her to walk upon the shore. The mermaid, Amelia, became his wife, and they lived on a cliff above the ocean for ever so many years, until one day, the fisherman rowed out to sea and did not return.
P.T. Barnum was looking for marvellous attractions for his American Museum, and he’d heard a rumour of a mermaid who lived on a cliff by the sea. Amelia agreed to play the mermaid for Barnum, and she believes she can leave any time she likes. But Barnum has never given up a money-making scheme in his life, and he’s determined to hold onto his mermaid.
Good Girls Don’t Die (2023)
Celia wakes up in a house that isn’t hers. She doesn’t recognise her husband, or the little girl claiming to be her daughter. She tries to remember who she was before, because she’s certain this life isn’t her own. Allie is supposed to be on a fun weekend trip – but then her friend’s boyfriend unexpectedly invites the group to a remote cabin in the woods. Nothing about the place seems right. And then, in the middle of the night, someone bangs on the cabin door.
Maggie, along with twelve other women, wakes up in a shipping container with the number three stamped on the back of her T-shirt. If she wants to see her daughter, Paige, again, Maggie must complete The Maze – a deadly, high-stakes obstacle course. Three women. Three stories. Only one way out…
Horseman (2021)
Everyone in Sleepy Hollow knows about the Horseman, but no one really believes in him. Not even Ben Van Brunt’s grandfather, Brom Bones, who was there when it was said the Horseman chased the upstart Crane out of town. Brom says that’s just legend, the village gossips talking.
Twenty years after those storied events, the village is a quiet place. Fourteen-year-old Ben loves to play Sleepy Hollow boys, reenacting the events Brom once lived through. But then Ben and a friend happen upon the headless body of a child in the woods near the village, and the sinister discovery makes Ben question everything the adults in Sleepy Hollow have ever said. Could the Horseman be real after all? Or does something even more sinister stalk the woods?
Black Wings (Black Wings #1) (2010)
Maddy’s position may come with magical powers and an impressive wingspan, but it doesn’t pay the bills. And then there are her infuriating boss, tenant woes, and a cranky, popcorn-loving gargoyle to contend with.
Things start looking up, though, when tall, dark, handsome Gabriel Angeloscuro agrees to rent the empty apartment in Maddy’s building. It’s probably just a coincidence that as soon as he moves in, demons appear in the front garden. But when an unholy monster is unleashed upon the streets of Chicago, Maddy discovers powers she never knew she possessed. Powers tied to a family legacy of tarnished halos. Powers that place her directly between the light of Heaven and the fires of Hell…
Black Wings Books In Order
- Aren’t You Glad You Didn’t Turn On the Lights (2011) – Black Wings #0.6
- Moonlight and Sunscreen (2011) – Black Wings #0.7
- Black Wings (2010) – Black Wings #1
- Night Out (2011) – Black Wings #1.5
- A Good Bargain (2011) – Black Wings #1.6
- Black Night (2011) – Black Wings #2
- The 12 Dancing Princes (2011) – Black Wings #2.4
- Red Really Isn’t My Color (2013) – Black Wings #2.5
- Black Howl (2012) – Black Wings #3
- Black Lament (2012) – Black Wings #4
- Black City (2013) – Black Wings #5
- Black Heart (2013) – Black Wings #6
- Black Spring (2014) – Black Wings #7
The Ghost Tree (2020)
When the bodies of two girls are found torn apart in the town of Smith’s Hollow, Lauren is surprised, but she also expects that the police won’t find the killer. After all, the year before her father’s body was found with his heart missing, and since then, everyone has moved on. Even her best friend, Miranda, has become more interested in boys than spending time at the old ghost tree, the way they used to when they were kids.
So when Lauren has a vision of a monster dragging the remains of the girls through the woods, she knows she can’t just do nothing. Not like the rest of her town. But as she draws closer to the answers, she learns that the foundation of her seemingly normal town may be rotten at the centre. And that if nobody else stands for the missing, she will.
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).
