Halloween Book Recommendations
Happy Friday!
I can't wait for the weekend! Saturday is supposed to be rainy, and I love a good rainy day once in a while, when it's pouring outside and you don't have anything to do. Perfect reading weather!
I've been seeing a lot of Fall reading recommendations, but it's Spring in Australia, so today I thought I'd round up some of my favourite scary books to help get you in the mood for Halloween. If you start one now you will be nice and spooked just in time.
Here are my Halloween book recommendations (all descriptions are from chapters.ca):
They Won't Be Hurt by Kevin O'Brien
I haven't read this book yet, but I have read others by this author in the past and I remember they were pretty gruesome. I might need to add this to my own 'To Read' list.
The lights are on at the Singleton vacation home on Lopez Island, Washington, illuminating the horror within. Scott Singleton, former NFL star turned television evangelist, lies dead. The bodies of his wife and four of their five children are found on the second floor, bound, gagged, and stabbed repeatedly. The oldest daughter was shot downstairs. And the police’s main suspect—the property caretaker—has disappeared. In her secluded vineyard home two hours away, Laura Gretchell is on edge. Her husband is out of town on business, and the children are understandably shaken. Laura tries to tell herself there’s no reason to fear. Then the door handle rattles, and the real terror begins. They’re in her house, holding her children hostage, and Laura has only one option: do exactly what the intruders say. But as Laura races to find the information they seek, she realizes that the enemies within her own home are only part of the nightmare. Because someone wants to keep the truth hidden at any cost, no matter how many more must die . . .
Halloween Party by Agatha Christie
This is a Hercule Poirot mystery. I always enjoy a good Agatha Christie book and from what I remember this was a pretty quick read. And it's about a Halloween party. How applicable :)
At a Halloween party, Joyce—a hostile thirteen-year-old—boasts that she once witnessed a murder. When no one believes her, she storms off home. But within hours her body is found, still in the house, drowned in an apple-bobbing tub. That night, Hercule Poirot is called in to find the `evil presence'. But first he must establish whether he is looking for a murderer or a double-murderer...
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
This is the first in a YA trilogy and is about the son of a serial killer. It was pretty dark for YA, but really good!
It was a beautiful day. It was a beautiful field.Except for the body. Jazz is a likable teenager. A charmer, some might say. But he's also the son of the world's most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, "Take Your Son to Work Day" was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could--from the criminals' point of view. And now, even though Dad has been in jail for years, bodies are piling up in the sleepy town of Lobo's Nod. Again. In an effort to prove murder doesn't run in the family, Jazz joins the police in the hunt for this new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret--could he be more like his father than anyone knows?
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
This is another YA one, but I loved it because when I lived in London I actually lived in prime Jack the Ripper territory. I did a Jack the Ripper tour and it was one of my favourite things I did when I lived there because it was all my neighbourhood. So cool!
The day that Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school is also the day a series of brutal murders breaks out over the city, killings mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper spree of more than a century ago. Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him--the only one who can see him. And now Rory has become his next target. In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.
The Thirst by Jo Nesbo
This is the latest book in the Harry Hole series, and I swear it gave me nightmares! I read a lot of thrillers but this one was Creepy with a capital C.
In Police—the last novel featuring Jo Nesbø's hard-bitten, maverick Oslo detective—a killer wreaking revenge on the police had Harry Hole fighting for the safety of the people closest to him. Now, in The Thirst, the story continues as Harry is inextricably drawn back into the Oslo police force. A serial murderer has begun targeting Tinder daters—a murderer whose MO reignites Harry's hunt for a nemesis of his past.
Honestly, the books I would love to re-read again at Halloween time are old Sweet Valley Twin books and R.L. Stine novels. Sweet Valley Twins were my favourite growing up, and they always had special books for different holidays. They had some really creepy ones that I remember loving. And R.L. Stine’s Fear street series was so classic when I was growing up. They were almost too scary for me when I was younger, but it would be such a treat to read them again. I was going to link some for this post but they aren’t readily available online. I’ve gotten rid of most of mine over the years, but I definitely have some in storage somewhere that I will have to dig up one day.
