Side Quest Book Club: "Japanese Gothic"

ABOUT THE BOOK

In this lyrical, wildly inventive horror novel interwoven with Japanese mythology, two people living centuries apart discover a door between their worlds.

October, 2026: Lee Turner doesn’t remember how or why he killed his college roommate. The details are blurred and bloody. All he knows is he has to flee New York and go to the one place that might offer refuge—his father’s new home in Japan, a house hidden by sword ferns and wild ginger. But something is terribly wrong with the house: no animals will come near it, the bedroom window isn't always a window, and a woman with a sword appears in the yard when night falls.

October, 1877: Sen is a young samurai in exile, hiding from the imperial soldiers in a house behind the sword ferns. A monster came home from war wearing her father’s face, but Sen would do anything to please him, even turn her sword on her own mother. She knows the soldiers will soon slaughter her whole family when she sees a terrible omen: a young foreign man who appears outside her window.

One of these people is a ghost, and one of these stories is a lie.

Something is hiding beneath the house of sword ferns, and Lee and Sen will soon wish they never unburied it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kylie Lee Baker is the author of both young adult and adult novels, including Hell to Pay (forthcoming in 2027) and Japanese Gothic (2026), a USA Today bestseller, Indie Next, and LibraryReads Pick. Kylie’s writing is informed by her heritage (Japanese, Chinese, and Irish) and her experiences living abroad. She has a B.A. in Creative Writing and Spanish and an M.S. in Library and Information Science. Kylie’s adult debut Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng (2025) won the 2025 Shirley Jackson Awards for Best Novel and was named a best book of the year by The New York Times, USA Today, CrimeReads, and others. Find her at www.kylieleebaker.com.

ABOUT THE EVENT

• Tickets for this event are $5, which can be used as $5 credit towards a purchase at SQBG on the day.
• Side Quest Books & Games is located on the Bow Market balcony, in the back left corner. There is an elevator for accessibility in the lobby of Bow Market, to the right of the driveway when you first arrive.
• Masks are optional, but please let us know and stay home if you are ill.
• Outside food and drink are welcome.