Even though the spooky season is starting to come to a close, there is still time to pick up a book or two that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Mysteries, thrillers and ghosts are the things I look for when picking out books during Halloween time.
Here is a list of three books that are perfectly spooky, but not too scary, to read during this time of year.
“None Shall Sleep” by Ellie Marney (2020)
The first book I want to talk about is “None Shall Sleep” by Ellie Marney. If you are a fan of “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” by Holly Jackson or “The Naturals” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, this book is perfect for you. This book is a psychological thriller that follows Emma Lewis, a serial killer survivor, and Travis Bell, a U.S. Marshal candidate. The two teenagers team up with the FBI to interview convicted juvenile killers and provide insight on cold cases. Things begin to unravel when the two are called in to get advice on an active serial killer case, where the killer’s victims are primarily teenagers.
I absolutely flew through this book the first time I read it. I really loved the concept of the two main characters working with the FBI and trying to solve a string of murders. I felt like the situations Emma and Travis kept getting themselves into made me so nervous about what would happen to them. I had no idea how it was going to play through, and it kept me on the edge of my seat up until the very end.
“The House Across the Lake” by Riley Sager (2022)
Riley Sager is a very well-known author for people who enjoy mysteries or thrillers. He has written books including “Lock Every Door,” “Survive the Night” and his newest release, “Middle of the Night.” “The House Across the Lake” follows Casey Fletcher, an actress who retreats to her family’s lake house in Vermont soon after the death of her husband. She spends her time watching Tom and Katherine Royce, the couple that lives across the lake from her through a pair of binoculars. It becomes abundantly clear that the married couple is not as perfect as they seem, when Katherine suddenly disappears without a trace.
This was the first book I had ever read by Riley Sager. I think this is a really good introduction to all the twists and turns you will inevitably encounter in any of his books. I found the imagery of the main character watching the couple across the lake so detailed and vivid, that it felt like I was watching a movie. There was a plot twist at the very end that took me completely off guard and was something I would never have been able to guess.
Must see films for a Halloween movie marathon.
“The Dead Romantics” by Ashley Poston (2022)
This next book is not necessarily scary, but it does involve ghosts, which is perfect for Halloween, and is what some may call spooky. This is a romance novel that focuses on Florence Day, who has inherited the gift of seeing ghosts from her father. Her family owns a funeral parlor in a small town in South Carolina. Though Florence has been in New York for 10 years working as a ghostwriter for a famous romance author, the death of her father brings her back home and she is forced to stay in the town she ran away from.
Even though this is a romance novel, I decided to include it because of how peculiar the concept is. I read this most recently in October because I thought incorporating ghosts into a romance novel is something I don’t see very often. I was right. I really enjoyed reading about all of Florence’s interactions with all the ghosts she encountered. Combining this with a romance makes it an intriguing read.
“The Dead Romantics” is not currently available at the library, but can be purchased at Morgenstern’s Books.
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