Creepy(?) Reads for Halloween
I’ve been reading.
Like, reading reading. Books.
It’s a luxury I’ve not been afforded in recent months, so the fact that I’ve had two days off in a row — off off, with no required commitments or other ‘life happens’ demands on my time — has meant I’ve gone digging through my book pile{s} and managed to read two, cover to cover, in the past 48 hours.
And when I finished the most recent one, I thought, “…hmnh.”
Because it was one of those WTF was THAT?! kinds of books that was all kinds of shudder-inducing but a page-turner nonetheless.
Riveting.
Disturbing.
Totally relate-able. Utterly foreign.
Absolutely brilliant in terms of craft. Completely horrifying in terms of content.
A perfect read, in fact, for the Halloween season.
So I’m going to tell you about it (no spoilers), along with a couple others that fit the ‘horrifyingly brilliant’ bill, because {a} I know there are folks out there who are avid readers, and {b} ’tis the season.
And when I’m done, I’d love to know what you are reading. 🙂
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan
CONTENT WARNING: This book contains vivid descriptions of childhood violence trauma and resultant PTSD, dysfunctional father-daughter dynamics, spousal abuse, and suicide.
The story begins when Lydia Smith, a clerk at the Bright Ideas Bookstore, is witness to a suicide. In unraveling the mystery behind the unexpected death of Book Frog*, Joey Molina, the fact that she finds a childhood picture of herself in his pocket at his death leads to an unraveling of a different sort.
Matthew Sullivan seamlessly weaves the horror of a 20-year-old murder mystery with the terror of not knowing through the eyes of a witness in present-day death.
This is the first book of Sullivan’s I’ve read but it certainly won’t be the last. Stealing Christmas will be on my wishlist for the festive season, and no doubt I’ll be tracking down The Last Out if and when my local bookstores re-open in the new year.
*If you want to know, read the book. 😉
Endless Night by Agatha Christie
This tale of intrigue, love, curses, and murder is a chillingly believable tale that will leave you guessing til the end. Beautifully crafted first-person storytelling that is perfectly Christie, set amidst a backdrop of second-guessed reality that is utterly timeless.
Written toward the end of her career (1967), this may well be Dame Agatha’s crowning gem. If you’ve never read Christie, or are only familiar with her cozies, I’d highly recommend strapping in and hanging on for this wild ride.
Other AC books, also appropriate for seasonally suspenseful Hallo-reading: And Then There Were None and Hallowe’en Party, the latter featuring the magnificently mustachioed Hercule Poirot.
A Walk Among the Tombstones by Lawrence Block
CONTENT WARNING: heroin use, sexual torture, dismemberment
Matthew Scudder is an ex-cop, an ex-husband, and (trying to be) an ex-alcoholic. When a drug dealer’s wife goes missing, Scudder – an unlicensed P.I. with a malleable sense of right and wrong – is the one who investigates. ‘Questionable’ is Matt Scudder’s middle name. And so, quite frankly, is this book’s ending. Justice, on the other hand…
Moral ambiguity is Lawrence Block’s stock in trade, but the matter-of-fact way he punches his readers in the gut with horrors inflicted on victims in this book – while somehow remaining both a part of it and apart from it as an author – is master craftsmanship in the art of storytelling.
Another Block book – one I’m currently reading and honestly am not sure I’ll make it through (just thinking about the murder described within gives me the heebee jeebies) – in the same vein (literally, the same vein — the blood, Jeezus…) is A Dance At the Slaughterhouse.
⇐⇒
Once upon a time I said that I’m not really one for giving book recommendations.
In all honesty, that still holds true.
I mean, I’d have to know you.
And even then…
Well.
: shrug :
But for those of you who might be wondering about which shelves to peruse in search of Halloween reads…
you might
possibly
(maybe, perhaps)
…wish to try these. 🙂
⇐⇒
NOW.
What are you reading, hmmm?
I love Christie’s Poirot. They are so so good!!
I am currently reading nothing. But my next read is going to be The Appeal by John Grisham
Poirot is quite a character. Apparently there is a movie being made of Death on the Nile, though I’m not sure if/when it will be released to theaters.
Ohh, I didn’t know that!
But honestly I don’t know if it will be any good, movie adaptations of books tend to let you down.
Except maybe The Murder on the Orient Express, that was pretty much the exact same as the book
Great recommendations – I like the sound – well I think I would be interested in reading the Matthew Sullivan one.
At the moment I’m reading Strangers on a Train – Patricia Highsmith 😉
May More recently posted…The Spanking Zone ~ A short story
I was pleasantly surprised by the Sullivan novel. He’s a fairly new author, but he works (worked? maybe he just writes full time now?) in a book store, which is often an indicator of quality.
I was given Strangers on a Train a few years ago as a gift but have yet to read it. Unfortunately(?), when it comes to books (and movies too) I tend to be of the opinion that if it’s popular – and that book was crazy popular when it came out, as was the Hitchcock film and later, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, which is in the same vein – it can’t possibly be good.
(I recognize how snobbish that sounds; I don’t mean it to be, it’s more that I rarely like what “most people” like.)
I’m keeping things light and easy these days, so I’m re-reading Gerald Durrell’s Corfu trilogy. “My Family and Other Animals” (the first in the trilogy) always makes me laugh until there are tears in my eyes. Actually, ‘most anything of his makes me laugh, but My Family is a great start.
And I’m absolutely with you – I rarely enjoy books that are “popular”. (And if the book has won a Pulitzer, I can pretty much guarantee I will positively loathe it.) This was a problem for me in my recently-defunct book club…
Oh, that sounds fun — “and other animals” is pretty accurate. I think. My family tree is full of monkeys. Some of them are the flying kind, previously only known to the inhabitants of Oz. 😋
I’m reading several books at the moment. The only one currently in reach is The Good German. It is written by Dennis Bock and was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Not sure I like it actually though it is based on alternative history. Hitler is killed in 1939 and Goering takes over. Germany wins the war by developing the atomic bomb first. America has a treaty with Germany as does Russia…
Typically I love thrillers so gory scenes are often part of the genre. Death on the Nile has already been made into a movie (twice I think). So I’m guessing this is a new adaptation. I didn’t think much of one of the earlier movies. Glad to see you post. It seems a long time since you’ve written. Maybe you’re just spending your free time reading—which is never a bad thing. Stay safe!!
I often work through multiple books at once, as well.
Typically I enjoy historical fiction, but I’m not too certain about alt-history. My gut instinct is that I’d dislike it, especially considering how much alt-reality is pedaled as truth these days.
And yes, the movie is new. I forget who’s in it. Scarlett Johansson maybe? I only saw the preview once, and the guy playing Poirot had a spectacular mustache. 😉