Halloween 2021 Reads

If you enjoyed The Book of Accidents, then you’ll love Revelator.

“Revelator is a great piece of Southern Gothic horror, mixed with a healthy smattering of body horror. What Daryl Gregory has done was give us a slice of early 1900s Americana, revealing dark things that lie in the hearts of man and in the shadows of a mysterious cave in the hills. Heaping with devotion, belief, and the ways man will try to capitalize on them, Revelator is terrifically engrossing. As his first foray into horror, Daryl Gregory doesn't disappoint! As for the narrator, Reagan Boggs, I don’t know if her accent is real or just well-done, but she did a bang-up job in all regards!”

Nicholas, Mysterious Galaxy Books

Devolution

“Incredible. Every Max Brook book is everything you could ever want it to be and then some and Devolution is no exception. His most traditionally structured work yet, Devolution is an epistolary account of the town of Greenloop, a small, isolated, high- tech community situated in the middle of the Cascades and what befalls it after the fictional eruption of the entirely real Mt. Rainier that ravages the North-Eastern coast. It's a fabulous horror novel that tricks you into gaining some survival skills along the way. And through all the spatter, the gore, guts, and splintered skulls, it's outlandish premiss is ground (maybe by a 40+ shoe- sized foot?) into harsh reality through hard science and facts that exposes mankind's current and far too numerous weaknesses. What's evolution and what is devolution? I'm still not sure long after I flipped the final page. Definitely worth the listen on Libro.fm. They get Terry Gross from Fresh Air to actually play Terry Gross from Fresh Air and it doesn't get better than that.”

Conner, BookBar

Adventures in Babysitting meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this funny, action-packed novel about a coven of witchy babysitters who realize their calling to protect the innocent and save the world from an onslaught of evil.

Seventeen-year-old Esme Pearl has a babysitters club. She knows it's kinda lame, but what else is she supposed to do? Get a... Read more »

The Once and Future Witches

“Alix Harrow’s The Ten Thousand Doors of January was my favorite book last year, so I had incredibly high expectations when I picked up The Once and Future Witches. This book is very different, but I adore it just as much! Set in the late 1800s in a world with a slightly alternate history from ours, women are fighting for the vote and losing. Three wayward sisters decide to challenge the patriarchy by bringing back witchcraft. Told through familiar stories twisted in new ways, this book is incredible. You will not be able to put it down, from the beautifully written introduction to the pulse-pounding ending!”

Carrie Deming, Dog Ear Books

Delilah and Gavin’s new love is threatened by a force uncomfortably close to home in this haunting novel from New York Times bestselling duo Christina Lauren, authors of Beautiful Bastard.

His shirt is black, jeans are black, and shaggy black hair falls into his eyes. And when Gavin looks up at Delilah, the dark eyes shadowed with bluish circles... Read more »

In a Dark, Dark Wood

“When a mystery author is invited to a former friend’s bachelorette party, she’s shocked to learn that the groom is her own ex from years ago. Her hurt feelings quickly become the least of her concerns, though, when the awkward event turns deadly. This murder mystery has it all: strong characterization, perfect pacing, and chilling atmosphere. Even if you see the ending coming, it’s a thrill to read along the way.”

Sam, Phoenix Books

In this chilling Shirley Jackson Award-nominated novel, a small, quiet Midwestern town is unremarkable save for one fact: when the teenagers reach a certain age, they run wild.

When Lumen Fowler looks back on her childhood, she wouldn't have guessed she would become a kind suburban wife, a devoted mother. In fact, she never thought she would... Read more »

If you enjoyed The Death of Jane Lawrence, then you’ll love Within These Wicked Walls.

“Once you start Within These Wicked Walls, you won't be able to step away from the halls Magnus Rochester's cursed manor. Eerily beautiful, has some incredible frights and a far more compelling romance than its inspirational material. Perfect for anyone who loves a good gothic novel and an ill-fated romance.”

Courtney, Underbrush Book Club

The charges: explosive

Alex Cross has never been on the wrong side of the law-until now. Charged with gunning down followers of his nemesis Gary Soneji in cold blood, Cross is being turned into the poster child for trigger-happy cops who think they're above the law. Cross knows it was self-defense. But will a jury see it that way?

The evidence:... Read more »

The toughest cases hit closest to home.

Alex Cross left his hometown, and some awful family tragedies, for a better life with Nana Mama in Washington, DC. He hasn't looked back.

Now his cousin Stefan has been accused of a horrible, unthinkable murder, and Cross drives south with Bree, Nana Mama, Jannie, and Ali to Starksville, North Carolina,... Read more »

In all of Alex Cross's years with Homicide, Washington, DC, has never been more dangerous.

After shots pierce the tranquil nighttime calm of Rock Creek Park, a man is dead: what looks at first like road rage might be something much more sinister. But Alex has only just begun asking questions when he's called across town to investigate a new... Read more »

A young boy is found horribly murdered in a mock crucifixion. Is the murderer the elderly woman who witnessed the crime? A neurologist who can no longer bear the pain life inflicts on its victims? A psychiatrist with a macabre sense of humor and a guilty secret? A mysterious mental patient, locked in silent isolation?

Lieutenant Kinderman... Read more »

"Weeds" by Stephen King: When a meteorite lands on his property, Jordy Verrill envisions an easy payday. Unfortunately for Jordy, this is no ordinary rock—and the uncompromising force inside has found its first target.

"The Price You Pay" by Kelley Armstrong: Never pay more than you owe. Sounds like easy advice to follow. But for Kara and her... Read more »

Young Jude Brighton has been missing for three days, and while the search for him is in full swing in the small town of Deer Valley, Oregon, the locals are starting to lose hope. They're well aware that the first forty-eight hours are critical and after that, the odds usually point to a worst-case scenario. And despite Stevie Clark's youth, he... Read more »

"The Deep End" by Robert McCammon: Everyone thinks the drowning death of Neil Calder in the local swimming pool was a tragic accident. Only his father knows better. Now, on the last night of summer, Neil returns in search of revenge.

"Interval" by Norman Prentiss: Flight 1137 from St. Louis by way of Nashville has gone missing. As anxious... Read more »

"The Collected Short Stories of Freddie Prothero" by Peter Straub: A mere child yet a precocious writer, young Freddie records a series of terrifying encounters with an inhuman being that haunts his life and seems to predict his death.

"Group of Thirty" by Jack Ketchum: When an award-winning horror writer on the downward slope of a long career... Read more »

Of the many admiring reviews Bram Stoker's Dracula received when it first appeared in 1897, the most astute praise came from the author's mother, who wrote her son: "It is splendid. No book since Mrs. Shelley's Frankenstein or indeed any other at all has come near yours in originality, or terror."

A popular bestseller in Victorian England,... Read more »

"The Departed" by Clive Barker: On All Hallows' Eve, a dead and disembodied mother yearns to touch her young son one last time. But will making contact destroy them both?

"Creature Feature" by Heather Graham: What could be better publicity for a horror convention than an honest-to-goodness curse? It's only after lights out that the hype—and... Read more »

"Everything You've Always Wanted" by Mick Garris: It was supposed to be the night of his life—a celebration of his one hit slasher flick. But the price of admission is higher than this has-been filmmaker ever could have imagined.

"The Land of Sunshine" by Kealan Patrick Burke: Although she was mute long before the affair that nearly wrecked... Read more »

A chilling new novel about a girl who must delve into her past if she wants to live long enough to have a future when a series of murders that are eerily similar to the dark stories her brother used to tell start happening in her hometown.

Lana used to know what was real. That was before, when her life was small and quiet. Her golden stepbrother,... Read more »