Happy October! Switching things up a little this month with my anticipated reads. Publishing tends to slow down this time of year, and so I decided for these last three months, I am going to lean into what I love to read at this time of year, starting with Spooky Season in October. Now of course, I tend to read thrillers and dark psychological suspense all year long, but I really go all in right now, so here are 5 books that are high on my list for this month. This list is comprised of books that have been out for a while, as well as some that are recent releases and one that is coming out in February of 2023.
GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn
Pub Date: April 22, 2014, Broadway Books / Crown Publishing
*** Yes, I know this may be shocking to some of you that I have not read this but I am excited to finally read it. I am heading to Norway next week, and this is what I plan on reading on the plane!
Summary:
Who are you?
What have we done to each other?
These are the questions Nick Dunne finds himself asking on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police suspect Nick. Amy’s friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn’t true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they weren’t made by him. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone.
So what did happen to Nick’s beautiful wife?
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THE RAVENOUS DEAD by Darcy Coates
Pub Date: March 15, 2022, Poisoned Pen Press
*** This is the 2nd book in the Gravekeeper series and I really liked the first book, The Whispering Dead. A series set around a graveyard groundskeeper just begs to be read around this time!
Summary:
He’ll never let go…
Keira, hired as Blighty Graveyard’s new groundskeeper, lives surrounded by the dead. They watch her through the fog. They wordlessly cry out. They’ve been desperately waiting for help moving on—and only Keira can hear them. But not every restless spirit wants to be saved.
Sometimes the dead hate the living too much to find peace.
As Keira struggles to uncover the tangled histories of some of the graveyard’s oldest denizens, danger seeps from the darkest edges of the forest. A vicious serial killer was interred among the trees decades before, his spirit twisted by his violent nature. He’s furious. Ravenous. And when Keira unwittingly answers his call, she may just seal her fate as his final intended victim.
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THE ECHO MAN by Sam Holland
Pub Date: April 5, 2022, Crooked Lane Books
*** After seeing so many rave reviews for this one, I ran out and bought myself a copy. A mix of a serial killer story and a police procedural – yes, please!!!
Summary:
Sam Holland’s chilling debut draws inspiration from infamous serial killer cases, culminating in the ultimate, heart-pounding copycat tale.
Detectives Cara Elliott and Noah Deakin are on the case of a series of seemingly unconnected murders, each different in method, but each shocking and brutal. As the body count increases, they can’t ignore the details that echo famous cases of the past—Manson, Kemper, Dahmer, and more. As Elliott and Deakin get closer to unmasking the killer, the murders are moving closer to home.
Meanwhile, Jessica Ambrose is on the run. She’s been implicated as the arsonist who killed her neglectful husband and injured her young daughter. With the help of disgraced and suspended detective Nate Griffin, Jess discovers a shocking link between her case and that of the ultimate copycat killer working on his horrifying masterpiece.
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LITTLE EVE by Catriona Ward
Pub Date: October 11, 2022, Tor Nightfire
*** A Gothic thriller…say no more! I haven’t read anything by this author but this one sounds amazing!!!
Summary:
From Catriona Ward, author of The Last House on Needless Street, comes the Shirley Jackson Award-winning novel Little Eve, a heart-pounding tale of faith and family, with a devastating twist
“A great day is upon us. He is coming. The world will be washed away.”
On the wind-battered isle of Altnaharra, off the wildest coast of Scotland, a clan prepares to bring about the end of the world and its imminent rebirth.
The Adder is coming and one of their number will inherit its powers. They all want the honor, but young Eve is willing to do anything for the distinction.
A reckoning beyond Eve’s imagination begins when Chief Inspector Black arrives to investigate a brutal murder and their sacred ceremony goes terribly wrong.
And soon all the secrets of Altnaharra will be uncovered.
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THE ANGEL MAKER by Alex North
Pub Date: February 28, 2023, Celadon Books
*** I am a huge fan of Alex North’s books – The Whisper Man and The Shadows – and I just received this one and you know there is no way I can wait to read it. Plus, his book just begs to be read now…I mean look at that cover! And heads up, I will be participating in a Little Free Library drop for this book towards the end of the month…so stay tuned!
Summary:
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Whisper Man and The Shadows comes a dark, suspenseful new thriller about the mysteries of fate, the unbreakable bond of siblings, and a notorious serial killer who was said to know the future.
Growing up in a beautiful house in the English countryside, Katie Shaw lived a charmed life. At the cusp of graduation, she had big dreams, a devoted boyfriend, and a little brother she protected fiercely. Until the day a violent stranger changed the fate of her family forever.
Years later, still unable to live down the guilt surrounding what happened to her brother, Chris, and now with a child of her own to protect, Katie struggles to separate the real threats from the imagined. Then she gets the phone call: Chris has gone missing and needs his big sister once more.
Meanwhile, Detective Laurence Page is facing a particularly gruesome crime. A distinguished professor of fate and free will has been brutally murdered just hours after firing his staff. All the leads point back to two old cases: the gruesome attack on teenager Christopher Shaw, and the despicable crimes of a notorious serial killer who, legend had it, could see the future.
Will you be reading any spooky/scary reads this month? Do you have any of these on your list?
