Spooky Reads

October often brings cooler weather, warmer clothes, and Halloween decorations. In the book world, October is associated with mysteries and thrillers as well as creepy ghost stories. I selected some fabulous books in that vein to help you enjoy the season. Grab your pumpkin spiced latte and get in a fall state of mind. 

Thrillers with a supernatural vibe:

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager – Baneberry Hall, a Victorian mansion in a remote area of Vermont, is the setting of Riley Sager’s 2020 thriller. Twenty-five years ago, Maggie and her parents Ewan and Jess Holt lived in the house for three weeks before fleeing in the dead of night, never to return. Following their dramatic escape, Ewan wrote a non-fiction account, entitled House of Horrors, recounting the terrors and evil hauntings they experienced while living at Baneberry. Following Ewan’s death and with no memory of the events that he relays in House of Horrors, Maggie returns to the house determined to put the past behind her and prove that the property is not haunted. Alternating between the chapters of House of Horrors and Maggie’s present-day inhabitance of Baneberry Hall, the story slowly unfolds as Maggie begins to experience the events that happened in her father’s book and begins wondering if Baneberry is actually inhabited by ghosts. The story starts slowly but picks up momentum as the creepiness factor ratchets up, and I thoroughly enjoyed the clever and unexpected ending.

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James – The Sun Down Motel is a creepy, rundown motel serving as a pit stop for travelers on their way through Fell, New York that also provides a place for locals to hide out. But when Viv and Carly, two women 35 years apart, learn there is someone or something else living at the Sun Down, they both become determined to find out who or what is haunting the motel and why. St. James’ pacing is perfect, and the book is awesomely creepy but not overly scary. The characters are so well developed, and I rooted for both Viv and Carly as they sought to understand what was happening at The Sun Down Motel. 

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer – Eve is home by herself when Thomas and his family knock on her front door. Thomas explains that he grew up in the home Eve and her partner, Charlie, recently purchased. While she initially hesitates, Eve is a people pleaser and eventually allows the family in to look around. As soon as the family enters the home, strange things start happening, including the disappearance of the family’s youngest child somewhere within the dwelling, and the family refuses to leave. The eeriness factor is off the charts; We Used to Live Here is dripping with dread, tension, and a fun creepiness factor that kept me turning the pages, but it wasn’t so scary that I couldn’t sleep at night. Kliewer also sows doubt about whether Eve is actually experiencing these events or whether it might all be in her mind, which kept me guessing and crafts a spectacular ending. 

Night Will Find You by Julia Heaberlin – Texan Julia Heaberlin hit it out of the ballpark with her thriller, Night Will Find You. At age 10, Vivvy Bouchet became famous when she made a prediction that saved a boy’s life. Years later, she is an astrophysicist who does her best to suppress the visions she sees. Mike, the boy she saved, grows up to be a cop, and believes that Vivvy still sees things that others do not. Mike ropes Vivvy into helping his friend Jesse, a skeptical police detective who only believes in things he can see, with a cold case regarding a kidnapped girl. I am always on the lookout for unique and entertaining thrillers – ones that don't read like countless other ones on the market. This thriller definitely fits the bill, and I loved the Texas setting as well. 

Thrillers set in chilly settings:

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf – While staying at a remote farmhouse, true-crime writer Wylie Lark ends up snowed in as she is trying to write her latest book. The location would be ideal, except that decades earlier, at this same house, two people were brutally murdered and a girl disappeared who has not been seen since. As the storm settles in, Wylie finds herself stuck in the house, haunted by both its secrets and her own secrets. When she heads out to walk her dog, she finds a small child alone in the snow right outside the house where she is staying. She brings the child inside for warmth and safety and then begins to hunt for the child’s parents. The twists and turns were a lot of fun in this one; it was a page turner with a highly satisfying resolution.

Shiver by Allie Reynolds – Shiver is a closed-circle mystery set in the French Alps, which brings a group of friends together for a reunion. Upon arrival, the friends realize that nothing is at is seems and that someone will go to extreme lengths to solve a mystery from the past. The plot, the characters, and the mystery itself are all skillfully developed and kept me on the edge of my seat. The French Alps setting is very vivid, and the toggling back and forth between the past and present works very well to slowly unveil the relevant details to the reader. 

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh – This psychological thriller is set at The Shore, an exclusive community of lake lodges, at Llyn Drych (also known as Mirror Lake) under the shadow of Pen y Ddraig mountain and near the village of Cwm Coed, just inside the Welsh border with England. The town has a New Year’s Day tradition of a morning swim in the freezing cold Mirror Lake, but this year the swim is cut short when the body of a man is found floating in the lake. The victim, Rhys Lloyd, a local celebrity and has-been opera singer, is the developer of The Shore with his business partner Jonty Charlton. Due to The Shore’s location on the Wales/England border, a joint investigation with DC Ffion Morgan from North Wales and DC Leo Brady of Cheshire Major Crimes from the English side results. The story is written in a dual timeline format – the events that build up to the murder are relayed in the past, while the investigation into the murder is told in the present day – which works well for the mystery. I loved the Welsh setting with a glimpse into the Welsh culture and history and the solid cast of characters. This is book one of three to date in a series, and all three are fabulous.

Thrillers about missing persons:

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley – This atmospheric thriller takes place in a creepy, once-elegant apartment building in Paris where secrets lie just below the surface. As the book opens, Jess escapes a bad situation in England and flees to Paris to stay with her half-brother Ben, but when she arrives, Ben is gone. Bewildered by his absence since they had texted the day before, she approaches the other residents to inquire about Ben, but quickly realizes that no one wants her there nor do any of them want to talk about her brother. Foley combines a myriad of clever twists and turns, a fantastic setting, and a satisfying ending to create a thriller that you will not want to miss. 

Don’t Look For Me by Wendy Walker – Molly Clarke disappeared one night with scarcely a trace, and her family doesn’t believe that she chose to walk away from them and the tragedy that defines them all. When a new lead surfaces soon after the investigation stalls, Molly’s daughter Nicole decides to investigate in the poor, decrepit town where her mom was last seen. Alternating between Molly’s and Nicole’s perspectives and shifting back and forth in time from day 1 of the disappearance and day 14 as Nicole launches her own search, the story rapidly unfolds as the reader learns more about Molly, Nicole, and the creepy town of Hastings and its inhabitants. The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat until the clever and satisfying resolution.

The Last Flight by Julie Clark – The Last Flight is a high-octane thriller that begins with a bang and never slows down. Two women eager to flee their own lives agree to swap tickets for their flights at the last minute: Claire gives Eva her ticket to Puerto Rico and takes Eva’s ticket to Oakland. When the flight to Puerto Rico crashes into the ocean, Claire realizes she must assume Eva’s identity to survive, but quickly learns that Eva was not who she claimed to be. Toggling back and forth between the two women, the story rapidly unfolds revealing jaw-dropping twists and turns that you will not see coming. Clark skillfully blends great characters, beautiful writing, and a superb mystery, and I loved racing through it.

Standout thrillers that keep you turning the pages:

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter – Twenty years ago, Luke Ryder was murdered in the garden of his swanky London home – and the killer was never found. In the present day, his stepson, TV director Guy Howard, hopes to solve the case by revisiting the crime through a Netflix docu-drama series entitled “Infamous”. Guy has assembled a panel of experts in various fields to sift through the evidence and hopefully solve the case. Using a unique format divided by episodes and in script format, the investigation and evidence are presented in the form of emails, text messages, and newspaper articles and reviews, as well as discussions among the “experts” as they sift through the documents and debate the relevance of each detail. I am a huge fan of stories told in unique and clever formats, and Murder in the Family is a clear standout with a stunning ending.

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant – Kimi Cunningham Grant’s compelling and haunting thriller stars a father and daughter duo who have been living in a remote cabin off the grid for eight years in the northern Appalachian woods. Lacking electricity and running water, Cooper and Finch’s only connection to the outside world are Cooper’s friend Jake, who owns their cabin and brings them supplies once a year, and a mysterious older gun-toting neighbor named Scotland. But when Jake does not show up with supplies and Finch begins to push back on their isolated lifestyle, a series of events are set in motion that will challenge the life Cooper has created for them. This tension-filled story is a page turner.

For more book recommendations and bookish thoughts, see Cindy’s monthly Buzz Reads column, her award-winning Thoughts from a Page Podcast or follow @ThoughtsFromaPage on Instagram.