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Tuesday, October 29, 2024
Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween Reading for Wimps (Me)
3:36 PM
Here in the U.S., we're gearing up for Halloween, which kicks off our much-anticipated holiday season. Personally, I'm not a fan of Fright Night. Although I'm always happy to take a fun-size Reese's Peanut Butter Cup for the team, I've never been much for dressing up or braving haunted houses or even watching scary movies. Creepy books, though? I was a big Stephen King and John Saul fan as a teen and young adult. Old age has made a big wimp out of me, so these days, my Fall/Halloween reading is more about eerie, atmospheric books. I still dig a good Gothic chiller or a shivery ghost story, but I mostly prefer realistic mystery/thrillers with tense, heart-pounding plots and close, claustrophobic settings. When I saw that today's TTT topic is a Halloween Freebie, I started thinking about my favorite authors who capture the vibes I described above. I made a list of ten, but it felt so familiar that I checked and...yep, I crafted the exact same list for a Halloween freebie back in 2021! Some things never change. I almost just copied and pasted the old list since I'm lazy and I'm always looking for readalike recs based on my favorite authors, but I did come up with something else for this year. If you have a minute, though, check out my 2021 list. If you have any ideas for creepy(ish) books/authors I might like, I'd love to hear them. For now, here's my list of mysteries, thrillers, and a few supernatural spine-tinglers on my TBR that feel perfect for Halloween reading:
(As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.)
Top Ten Halloween-ish Reads on My TBR List
1. Gothictown by Emily Carpenter (available March 5, 2025)—Carpenter is one of the authors on my 2021 list. She's written a handful of books, all of which I've enjoyed. It's been a few years since she's published one, so I was excited to see that she has a new one coming out. It's about a woman living in a cramped apartment with her husband and daughter in post-pandemic New York City. Eager to embrace life again, she jumps at the chance to accept an unbelievable opportunity—for just $100, she and her family can buy a spacious home in a quaint Georgia town that's desperately trying to boost their economy. After one quick visit, the family makes the move. It's not long, though, before they realize something isn't quite right with their new town. There's a sinister presence that lurks under all the Southern hospitality, something that has them all in its clutches and doesn't want to let go...
2. The Haunting of Moscow House by Oleysa Salnikova Gilmore—When a group of Bolsheviks take over the Golitevas' ancestral Moscow home in 1921, the family is forced to move into the mansion's cramped attic. Sisters Irina and Lili find escape in volunteering with the American Relief Administration to help ease some of their comrades' desperate needs. In the middle of it all, the house starts whispering to the young women, hinting at its traumatic past. Then, one of the officials living in their house dies, leading them to wonder what exactly caused his demise. Was it natural causes or something...otherworldly?
3. The Highgate Cemetery Murder by Irina Shapiro—When her brother leaves her cryptic clues to a double murder, nurse Gemma Tate is roped into investigating the deaths. She's not any keener on working with police inspector Sebastian Bell than he is with her, but it will take both of them to stop a dangerous killer.
4. The Act of Disappearing by Nathan Gower—Julia White is getting nowhere with her writing career, her romantic relationship is on the rocks, and she's losing the battle against the mountain of medical bills she needs to pay somehow. When a famous photographer makes her a tantalizing proposition to research a mysterious death, she's both curious enough and broke enough not to refuse. Soon, Julia is embroiled in a shocking mystery that she's determined to solve.
5. Under the Surface by Diana Urban—A party in the Paris catacombs goes horribly awry in this YA thriller/survival story. While a group of trapped teens tries desperate to escape their underground prison, their friend aboveground races to save them. Will the kids make it out of the catacombs alive? Or will their bones join all the others lying beneath the City of Light?
6. Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce—Mina is struggling to get her foot in the door in her new career as a child psychologist. A journalist in her grief counseling group makes her an offer she can't afford to refuse. He wants her to live in the home of a 13-year-old girl who claims she's being haunted by a witch and treat her on-site. Curious and confident, Mina takes the job. It's not long before she's wrapped up in the affairs of a strange town that's obsessed with superstition and witchcraft. The more she learns, the more terrified she grows. How can she help her distressed patient to feel safe when she can't even help herself?
7. Bitter House by Kiersten Modglin—When Bridget's parents died, she was taken in by her grandmother, Vera Bitter. The cold-hearted old woman did her duty, but kicked her granddaughter to the curb as soon as she graduated from high school, and never contacted her again. Bridget is stunned, then, when Vera dies and leaves her home to Bridget. Not surprisingly, the oppressive house is filled with secrets, mysteries, and danger. As Bridget starts to unravel them, she realizes that nothing at Bitter House is as it seems...
8. The Curse of Morton Abbey by Clarissa Harwood—As a female solicitor in Victorian England, it's nearly impossible for Vaughan Springthorpe to be taken seriously. So, when she's hired sight unseen by a mysterious employer who offers her a suspiciously large amount of money to ready his Yorkshire estate for sale, she can't afford to say no. Not only does Vaughan find the village surrounding the estate strange, but odd things begin happening to her inside of the building. Is the old abbey haunted? Or is Vaughan going mad? What secrets does the crumbling pile keep?
9. The House by the Cemetery by Lisa Childs—As the daughter of the town undertaker, River Gold was constantly teased about being a ghoul. The town gossip hinted that she wasn't even a true Gold. When she fled at 17, River had no intention of ever returning to her insular hometown. Then, her father dies, her mother is accused of his murder, and she is unwittingly trapped once again in a hostile place overrun with secrets and lies. Can River clear her mother's name? Figure out who really killed her father? Find her way out again?
10. The Midnight Hour by Eve Chase—Twenty years ago, a recently widowed mother of two walked out the door of her home, blew a kiss to her children, and vanished without a trace. Two decades later, the home's new owner starts digging out the basement. What will they find and what will it tell them about what really happened to Dee Delancey all those years ago?
There you go, ten mystery/thriller novels that wimpy me wants to read sometime soon. Have you read any of them? What will you be reading during spooky season? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. I also reply to comments left here.
Happy TTT!
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I'm not a big fan of Halloween, but I do like spooky type books. Your list looks great!
ReplyDeleteI should know to already have Goodreads open when I visit your blog, especially around this time of year - I'm a wuss when it comes to scary books or movies, and I really appreciate all the great titles I had to add to my TBR. Thanks, and I hope you have a nice, relaxing Halloween and a great time reading these!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any of them, but the ones with Victorian covers catch my attention.
ReplyDeleteI'm honestly the complete opposite of you...I loved dressing up in a fun costume and going out to get candy, but I did not ever like the scary parts of the holiday! lol
ReplyDeleteI read the same things in spooky season I read all year! 😂 I’m susceptible to nightmares so I avoid all things spooky! ~Carol @ ReadingLadies
ReplyDeleteThe Act of Disappearing sounds very good. Have you read it? If not, move it up on the list. Tee-hee! thanks for visiting my blog.
ReplyDeletewhile i am not one for scary reads, the haunting of moscow house and the midnight hour intrigue me!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT is here
Fab list! Under the Surface looks good and I have the Eve chase on my TBR as I love her books.
ReplyDeleteI'm a horror wimp too, but I *have* been looking to explore it more and some of these sound terrifying! I'll be adding a few to my maybe-TBR (if I'm feeling brave lol)
ReplyDeleteI hope you like all of these books.
ReplyDeleteI still read a little horror now and again, but I was much more into it as a teenager just like you were.
At least the books have a consistent hold on your imagination!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great list, Susan! I hope you enjoy reading them all. Have a happy and safe Halloween!
ReplyDeleteMade me laugh to see you mention John Saul -- I haven't thought of his books in a long time, but they terrified me as a teen!! I like the look of so many of the books on your list -- eerie, but without outright horror. Happy Halloween!
ReplyDeleteSome of these look really intriguing! I haven't heard of Irina's book that cover looks cool and very atmospheric. :) Thanks so much for visiting my list yesterday.
ReplyDeleteOOoh nice picks! Diana Urban's on my TBR as well! Along with 2 other titles of hers I think? Lol.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my TTT!
I'm too wimpy for any of those! I like the cover on Something in the Walls
ReplyDeleteThese sound fun, though they might push the boundaries of my creepy-book-tolerance too far! (I'm a horror wimp, too.) I can handle MG horror, and that's about as far as I like to go. (Though I did enjoy Mexican Gothic, which might fit your "supernatural spine-tinglers" request...)
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT on a Wednesday! Somehow I scheduled my post in advance and then completely forgot yesterday was Tuesday!
The cover alone for Something in the Walls creeped me out!! haha. I am such a chicken though. :) Happy TTT! I hope you have a happy Halloween!
ReplyDeleteI loved Midnight Hour-!
ReplyDeleteWow! You read some scary books as a kid. I used to watch slasher movies in my teens, but now, no thank you. Interesting how we both moved away from that stuff as we aged.
ReplyDeleteSomething in the Walls is on my TBR!
ReplyDeleteScary, spooky, creepy...these are not the types of books I like to read. So I don't know the books on your list. But a couple have amazing covers that draw me in. The Curse of Morton Abbey looks excellent. As does The Highgate Cemetery Murder. Both look really good!
ReplyDeleteAll of these look good especially Something in the Walls. I checked out your 2021 list and I've had The Invited and The sundown Motel on my wishlist for a while. Happy Halloween!
ReplyDeleteLove the cover for Something in the Walls!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I am a wimp as well. I also was a huge Stephen King fan, but no more! I am going to check out your 2021 list and possibly leave a few suggestions :)
ReplyDeleteI too am also a wimp but I love Halloween and that's what I love about it, that it's so flexible and you can celebrate it any way you want. The vibes you described above sound perfect for me too and this is a great list, I have not heard of any of these but Gothictown especially sounds intriguing to me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog earlier.
-Veros @ Dark Shelf of Wonders
I have both the Highgate Cemetery Murder and The House by the Cemetery on my TBR list! And Gothictown looks intriguing. I think I want to read that one, too. Fun list, Susan!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, Stephen King and John Saul were favorites of mine as well. I should have done a favorite scary authors. As I was going to do books, I got to where so many were going to be Stephen King! Great list!
ReplyDeleteThese look fun though! Morton abbey sounds good! Thanks for dropping by my post! @onereadingnurse
ReplyDelete