The summer of 2026 came with a new, subtle form of horror that has taken the world by storm. Given the recent success of the movies Obsession and Backrooms, both of which hit theatres this summer, we wanted see if this interest had carried over to Canadian readers. So, we looked at how books with a Psychological BISAC code have been doing over the second quarter of this year in comparison to the last year.
Fiction / Horror / Psychological
Sales
As shown in the graph below, year-over-year sales of titles were up a notable 998% in April, 741% in May, and up by 877% in June.
In 2025, sales increased by 21% from April to May, before going down in June by 12%.
Whereas in 2026, sales were down 8% from April to May, followed by an increase of 2% from May to June.
Overall, the sales of Fiction / Horror / Psychological titles increased by 6% in the second quarter of 2025 and decreased by 5% in the second quarter of 2026.
Loans
Interestingly, this category didn’t see a massive a change in libraries as it did for sales. Year-over-year, Fiction / Horror / Psychological loans decreased by 42% in April, 45% in May, before increasing by 43% in June. Overall loans decreased by 34% in the second quarter of 2025 though they increased by 61% in the second quarter of 2026.
Reading
Top sold
- Strange Pictures by Uketsu, translated by Jim Rion
- Confessions of the Dead by James Patterson & J. D. Barker
- Intercepts by T. J. Payne
Top borrowed
- Strange Pictures by Uketsu, translated by Jim Rion
- Confessions of the Dead by James Patterson & J. D. Barker
- Molka by Monika Kim
Fiction / Psychological
Sales
Year-over-year sales of Fiction / Psychological titles were up 55% in April, 10% in May, and up by 64% in June.
In 2025, sales increased 12% from April to May, before going down 3% in June.
Whereas in 2026, sales were down 20% from April to May, followed by an increase of 44% from May to June.
Overall, the sales of Fiction / Psychological titles increased by 9% and 15% in the second quarter of 2025 and 2026 respectively.
Loans
Year-over-year, Fiction / Psychological loans increased 88% in April, 18% in May, and 92% in June. Overall loans increased 9% and 11% in the second quarters of 2025 and 2026 respectively.
Reading
Top sold
- Five by Ilona Bannister
- Hooked by Asako Yuzuki, translated by Polly Barton
- Good People by Patmeena Sabit 🍁
Top borrowed
- Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
- The Drowning Woman by Robyn Harding
- Audition by Katie Kitamura
Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological
Sales
Year-over-year sales of Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological titles were up 2% in April, down 38% in May, and back up 6% in June.
In 2025, sales increased 60% from April to May, before going down 34% in June. Whereas in 2026, sales were down 3% from April to May, followed by an increase of 12% from May to June.
Overall, the sales of Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological titles increased 5% and 9% over the second quarter of 2025 and 2026 respectively.
Loans
Year-over-year, Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological loans increased 61% in April, 0% in May, and 38% in June. Overall loans decreased 1% and 15% in the second quarters of 2025 and 2026 respectively.
Reading
Top sold
- The Divorce by Freida McFadden
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
- It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica
Top borrowed
- Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden
- My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney
- The Crash by Freida McFadden
Want to learn more about the impact of movies on the book world? Read our collection of posts on book-to-screen adaptations. To learn more about how the horror genre has been performing, read our blog post comparing sales and borrowing of horror titles or browse our Subject Spotlight series. To be the first to know when these blog posts are published, sign up for our newsletter.
Until next time!
