8 spooky book recommendations from indie bookstores to get you in the spirit
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Quick Read
Whether you’re looking for a scary book that will make you want to leave the lights on, or something thematic that won’t cost you sleep, these books from recent editions of Ask a Bookseller will help you get in the mood for spooky season.
Thrills and chills
“Her Last Breath” by Taylor Adams
Jackie Fuchs of The Book Keepers in Hutchinson says “Her Last Breath” is a twisty thriller-mystery that kept her guessing. With a killer lose in a cave deep underground, this is not a book for the claustrophobic, unless, like Fuchs, you believe in exposure therapy through reading.
“Witchcraft for Wayward Girls” by Grady Hendrix
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Fun-fact: Horror master Grady Hendrix is one of the most commonly recommended authors in our series! Coco Casey of Buxton Books in Charleston, S.C., recommended “Witchcraft for Wayward Girls,” about a group of pregnant teenage girls in a maternity home who discover a spell book that pulls them into the world of witchcraft and the supernatural. The horror in this book, however, lies in the girls’ real-life situation, which is historically based.
“The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones
Horror master Stephen Graham Jones’ name has also come up more than once over the years. Ben Mayne of Tattered Cover Book Store in Littleton, Colo., recommends “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” for fans of “Sinners” and “Interview with a Vampire.”
"Throughout the story, you kind of side with him a little bit, and then you hate him again, and then you kind of realize that he might not be the bad guy in this conversation that they're having,” Mayne said. “It's super emotional, terrifying.”
“The September House” by Carissa Orlando
Ryan Elizabeth Clark of Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, N.H., places “The September House” atop her list of horror favorites: “Carissa Orlando has taken the haunted house trope, flipped it on its head, and given us a brilliantly clever novel about so much more than ghosts.”
Books about ghosts and mortality ... that aren’t scary
“The Great Wherever” by Shannon Sanders
In “The Great Wherever,” four opinionated ghosts haunt the family farm they should have inherited and try to influence their descendants’ decisions over what to do with the land. Victoria Ford of Comma, a bookshop in Minneapolis says the writing in this debut novel is wry and atmospheric.
“I See You’ve Called in Dead” by John Kenney
Christina Tabereaux of The Snail on the Wall in Huntsville, Ala., recommends the novel, “I See You’ve Called in Dead,” about an obituary writer who, at a drunken low point one evening, publishes his own obituary and finds himself on leave. Told with dark humor and heart, this is a novel about grappling with legacy and choosing life and friends.
“Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt” by Ben Reeves
The main character in this book is Death, himself, and his name is Travis. He is there to comfort, though not intervene, at a person’s final moments, though his job becomes a bit more complicated when he’s pulled into the daily lives of his neighbors. Amy Erickson of Detroit Lakes says "Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt" is beautifully written and woven with vignettes, large and small, about the lives of myriad characters.
“The Hounding” by Xenobe Purvis
Mary Ellen Phillips of Maria’s Bookshop in Durango, Colo., recommends the historical fiction novel “The Hounding.” Set in Oxfordshire, England, in 1700, this story about a rumor-gone-wild has Salem witch trial vibes. The treatment of women and women’s health is central to this story, which is packed with strange-but-true historical details.
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