Cruising (Summer 1973 #1), Dean Cade

Description

Cruising by Dean Cade is a paperback LGBTQ horror novel and the first book in the Summer 1973 series, blending coming-of-age storytelling with tense slasher-style suspense.

In the working-class neighborhood known as the Heights, the summer of 1973 is filled with rock music, muscle cars, and long nights cruising the strip. Lane spends his days working as a gas jockey and his nights hanging out with his roommate Kyle, drifting between dive bars and drive-in theaters.

But Lane carries a secret. He knows he is different from the other guys around him—gay in a time and place where that truth can make life dangerous.

When he meets James, someone who seems to understand him in ways no one else ever has, Lane feels a spark of possibility for the first time. Their connection grows quickly, offering Lane a chance to escape the dead-end life he feels trapped in.

Yet something dark is already moving through the streets of the Heights.

Missing posters appear. A deserted car sits abandoned. Rumors circulate about runaways and a mysterious dark red 1968 Plymouth GTX that seems to prowl the neighborhood after dark.

As Lane and James grow closer, strange dreams begin to warn of approaching danger. What they don’t realize is that a brutal serial killer and his teenage accomplices have already set their sights on them.

A chilling blend of queer coming-of-age drama and slasher horror, Cruising captures the thrill and terror of youth, love, and survival in a summer that will change everything.

Listing details:
Author: Dean Cade
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Slashic Horror Press
Publication Date: March 15, 2026
ISBN: 9781763725676