Spooky Reads: Halloween Reading Recommendations 2020.

 Hello! 

& 

Happy Halloween! 

Whether you celebrate Halloween or not, I think this a good time to read some good old horror novels and watch some scary films and get scared good and proper.

So I figured I'd share some good spooky books I've read this year. 

Some are thrillers.

Some are horror. 

And others have a clear spooky vibe but aren't exactly scary. 

So I am hoping there is something for everyone here. 

Cool, let's get started. 

1. My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix: This is one of my more recent reads, I read this in the very beginning of the month and it was everything it promised to be. Scary. 80s. Female friendships. And what I loved best about it was how realistic it felt, like the reactions of the characters and how they handled certain situations was just spot on. 

Pick it up if you enjoy some 80s pop-cult references and if possessions are your jam. 

I really enjoyed it and I enjoyed that this book was peppered with little extra bits of 80s paraphernalia- like odd ads and pamphlets and cassette covers. 

4/5 

2. Watch Over Me by Nina Lacour: Now, this one isn't exactly a horror novel. It has ghosts, quite a few of them actually but it's not exactly scary. It's unsettling and atmospheric and moody but not very spooky. This  is a perfect read for anyone who is easily scared and not horror's biggest connoisseur. This is story full of heart and tragic pasts and moving on. 

And ghosts. 

A lot of ghosts. 

I read this in one sitting. I think under two hours, it is a fairly short read, so it's something you'll breeze through. 

4/5 

3. The Patient by Jasper Dewitt: This one is a straight up horror. 

It's quite scary. 

A mental asylum, a strange patient who belies any kind of diagnosis and several mysterious deaths that occur around him. 

Really creepy and atmospheric and a perfect read for this time of year. 

I especially liked the wonderful marriage between psychiatry and mental asylums and spooks. 

Perfect really. 

And soooo freaking creepy. 

I enjoyed this immensely and read it on a particularly rainy day in Bombay. 

4/5 

4. Rules for Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson: This book just made me giddily happy. 

A book about books, more specifically a book about a bookshop that sells thriller books! 

I mean, come on, what's not to love? 

Plus, I do enjoy most of Peter Swanson's books and this one full of references and hat tips to classic thriller fiction was an absolute delight to read. 

Not perfect. 

But good. 

And it will give a mile long recommendation list too. 

What else do you need?! 

Serial killers. 

Thriller Books. 

Cold cases. 

Yes. Yes. Yes. 

4/5 

5. The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James: This one was also a pleasure to read. I read this back in March I think and it was perfectly spooky and kept you guessing. It's a perfect blend of a thriller and a horror. So if you're a fan of one or both genres this is a perfect read for you. 

There are ghosts and a haunting and a serial killer.

All good things really! 

Plus there is a time split narrative about a missing woman in the 80s and someone in present day looking for her. So there is so much to keep you hooked and invested. I remember being so sucked into this world that I had a hard time putting this book down. 

Good fun! 

4/5 

6. Home Before Dark by Riley Sager: This was one of my most awaited releases of this year and for good reason. This one has some very Amityville Horror vibes and is a hat tip in a big, big way. 

This is a time split story too, the action moves back and forth in the same house but decades apart. 

A hunted house. 

A missing girl.

A family with a secret. 

And a young woman trying to make sense of her family's infamous exit from a famous haunted house.

It was fun and just what I hoped it would be.

The ending and the big reveal I saw coming but it was still good time. 

3.5/5 

7. The Shadows by Alex North: Another horror + thriller mix that I enjoyed quite a bit this year. 

A group of friends and an unleashed evil that changes their lives forever. 

And a grown man coming back to his hometown to make sense of it all.

25 years apart in the same small town that has something odd going on, this was a very pacy and atmospheric read. It wasn't as good as The Whisper Man, which I read last year and LOVED. But it was sufficiently fun and creepy, even though several of the big twists were easy to guess. 

3/5 

Apart from these, this is also a great time to read some Agatha Christie and let her magic do it's thing. 

:) 

Happy Reading Folks. 

And a Happy Halloween to you! 

I am about to go see something spooky and celebrate in the only way I know how. 

:)