With the days getting shorter and the fall season underway, it’s a good time to take a break from beach reads and transition to some mysterious and ghostly books!
Our Book Clubs Manager Anne Brangwin has compiled a list of chilling October reads to haunt our dreams.
Dr. Sleep by Stephen King
When I heard there would be a movie version of this novel coming out in November, I quickly checked out Dr. Sleep with the intention of reading it while there was long, light-filled days. Now with the time change looming, the book is still sitting on my nightstand, waiting for me. Dr. Sleep continues the story of Daniel Torrance, who was introduced in the classic horror novel The Shining. Dan is now middle aged and struggling with alcoholism which, after what happened at the Overlook Hotel, is not surprising. After years of roaming, he lands in a small New Hampshire town hoping to settle down. Unfortunately, the quiet life he is seeking is not to be. Contacted telepathically by a young girl named Abra, who is gifted with the “shining” as he is, they go on to fight a dangerous group of travelers called the True Knot.
My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Imagine having a very beautiful younger sister who always gets what she wants. Then imagine she is killing off her boyfriends and you are the one who has to clean up her mess. Set in Lago, Nigeria, My Sister the Serial Killer explores the very complicated relationship between sisters Koreda and Ayoola (the serial killer). Very responsible Koreda is the head nurse at a local hospital and is also taking care of her sister and widowed mother. Taking care of them also means covering up her sister’s crimes and helping to dispose of the bodies. When Koreda falls in love with a handsome doctor and Ayoola steals him away, she must wrestle with her moral code and also her loyalty to her family.
The Chain by Adrian McKinty
When author and librarian Nancy Pearl visited North Central Washington this past spring, she mentioned a detective novel, The Cold Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty, that she had stayed up really late reading. Intrigued, I checked it out and then quickly devoured it AND the other five books McKinty’s Sean Duffy series. I was really excited when I heard he had written a new stand-alone novel, The Chain, released this summer. The Chain is a parent’s worst nightmare and it also sat on my nightstand for a bit. Single mom, Rachel Klein, is on the way to her oncologist appointment when she gets a call on her cell phone that she does not recognize. Upon answering it, she is informed that her daughter has been kidnapped, and she must pay $22,000 (in bitcoin) ransom AND kidnap another child before her daughter will be released. If she breaks the chain by going to the police, bad things will happen.
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White
For a truly chilling and gothic tale, this young adult novel fits the bill. My good friend gave this to me for my birthday, and I have been saving it to read before Halloween. It did not disappoint! Suffering orphan Elizabeth is taken away from an abusive living situation and hired as Victor Frankenstein’s childhood companion by the Frankenstein family. She believes that being the best companion to Victor is her only protection from being sent back to the streets. So when Victor goes away to college and disappears, Elizabeth journeys to find him. When she finally finds Victor, Elizabeth must come face to face with both the man and the monster.
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