How many people read something to get them in the Halloween spirit? Well, even if you don’t, I do. It may be a bit weird but I pause whatever I am reading if I happen to be in the middle of something and not close to finishing. Of course, I have my favorites that I return to but this season there are some other books I have decided to add to the list. So, here are three books that I am looking forward to reading this year just in time for scares.
1.) A Good Death by Christopher R. Cox
Unlike the other two novels on this list, this isn’t a new book but it is new to me. They say not to judge a book by its cover but I often do judge books by their names. And so, I picked up this interesting little suspense novel. The phrase “a good death” brings up different images for different people and I longed to know what it meant to the author. It was Cox’s first mystery and from what I can tell, it was definitely a good one.
Many may believe that this book is a tad cliche, a P.I. searching for the truth, yadda yadda yadda and all that jazz. In truth, I usually don’t read P.I. because there is only so much a reader can handle before it all becomes a tautology. I have not yet read this novel and the fact that it had a P.I. as its main character almost made me put it back down but I didn’t and here’s the rough summary.
The protagonist lives in Boston and gets wind of a case of a seemingly straight-and-narrow type woman that dies of an overdose in a Bangkok hotel. The Thai police believe it to be a sad but easily identified cause of death and yet the woman’s insurance company think it’s more. We follow Mr. Sebastian Damon through nightclubs, corrupt police departments and literal mountains on his search for truth. And that is what caught my eye. I want to see how this P.I. novel is different from the ones I’ve read in the past and if it lives up to the hype of its summary.
2.) Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage
If I remember correctly, I first heard about this novel through a Goodreads giveaway. For those unaware, Goodreads often sets up giveaways prior to a book’s release. Those lucky few to win these books either in print or e-book format are some of the first readers of the novels. Additionally, many of the print editions come signed by the author. So if you are on Goodreads, maybe you should take some time to check it out.
Anyway, this novel caught my attention right away. This creeptastic work is about a mother named Suzette and her daughter, Hanna. Hanna is a difficult and cruel child in school and out, at least to her mother. Strangely enough, she adores her father and acts like an angel in front of him. Hanna doesn’t like the attention Suzette gets from her father and soon Suzette grows wary of her daughter, she can see the hatred in her eyes. Hanna gets crueler and more manipulative by the day and Suzette begins to wonder if she’ll be able to stay alive.
Obviously, I was drawn to this book because I believed it to be a parenting self-help book. Lolz. Anyway, I thought that this novel would be fun and scary and perfect for this Halloween season.
3.) A Noise Downstairs by Linwood Barclay
A Noise Downstairs is about a man who witnessed a murderer dumping bodies one year before the story takes place. That already makes for a pretty interesting backdrop in my book. I have yet to read it but from what I can tell, the man was once an aspiring writer and now suffers through PTSD because of what he witnessed. His loving wife buys him a typewriter hoping that a hobby will return him to the way he once was before his life was almost forfeit. And guess what? This typewriter is haunted, at least in the eyes of the protagonist. He swears he hears it typing by itself at night although his wife hears nothing. The fact that the aforementioned murderer forced his victims to type out apology letters adds to the protagonist’s anxieties. He begins asking questions and as any book lover knows, some questions should never leave your lips.
This novel was a pull because I have a typewriter that seems to have a mind of its own at times. Additionally, I am sure that we have all heard sounds in our homes late at night. It feels spooky, relatable and yet a bit novel.
I love suspense so there are tons of other books that could have been on this list but I chose three because I thought it was a manageable number.
Are you interested in any of these books? Have you read them? If so, what did you think? I am always looking to discuss books. And so are you if you are reading this blog. Comment down below, I tend to respond quick. Make sure to check out some of my other posts!
Happy reading!
Chyina