Happy Halloween Readers,
I thought I would share some of my Halloween reads that left to read till the spooky season. For each book I am recommending I am including the synopsis and my thought. These are books that I loved but can’t seem to gather the right words to review them.
Synopsis: After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.
Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemí’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.
Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and
gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge
of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High
Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from
prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and
madness.
And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.
Thoughts: I adored the premise of this book as the horror
elements in this book are intriguing and the atmosphere was top notch. The
horror elements were interesting, unique and I was fascinated. This story is atmospheric,
it was insanely terrifying, spin-tingling and out right horrifying. I’ve read a
couple of books that have promise this level of horror, but in my experience,
so few deliver but Silvia story got it spot-on in this book.
Good Girls Don’t Die by Christina Henry
And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.
Synopsis: Celia wakes up in a house that isn’t hers. She doesn't recognize her husband or the little girl who claims to be her daughter. She tries to remember who she was before, because she is certain that this life―the little family-run restaurant she owns, the gossipy small town she lives in―is not her own.
Allie is supposed to be on a fun weekend trip―but then her friend's boyfriend unexpectedly invites the group to a remote cabin in the woods. The cabin looks recently assembled and there are no animals or other life anywhere in the forest. Nothing about the place seems right. Then, in the middle of the night, someone bangs on the cabin door…
Maggie, along with twelve other women, wakes up in a shipping container with the number three stamped on the back of her T-shirt. If she wants to see her daughter Paige again, Maggie must complete The Maze―a deadly high-stakes obstacle course.
Three women. Three stories. Only one way out...
Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison
Synopsis: A cynical twentysomething must confront her unconventional family’s dark secrets in this fiery, irreverent horror novel from the author of Such Sharp Teeth and Cackle.
Nobody has a “normal” family, but Vesper Wright’s is truly...something else. Vesper left home at eighteen and never looked back—mostly because she was told that leaving the staunchly religious community she grew up in meant she couldn’t return. But then an envelope arrives on her doorstep.
Inside is an invitation to the wedding of Vesper’s beloved cousin Rosie. It’s to be hosted at the family farm.
Have they made an exception to the rule? It
wouldn’t be the first time Vesper’s been given special treatment. Is the invite
a sweet gesture? An olive branch? A trap? Doesn’t matter. Something inside her
insists she go to the wedding. Even if it means returning to the toxic
environment she escaped. Even if it means reuniting with her mother, Constance,
a former horror film star and forever ice queen.
When Vesper’s homecoming exhumes a terrifying secret, she’s forced to reckon with her family’s beliefs and her own crisis of faith in this deliciously sinister novel that explores the way family ties can bind us as we struggle to find our place in the world.
Thoughts: Since reading Such Sharp Teeth I have been
I love with Rachel’s dark sense of humour. Black Sheep was brutal, strange, and
a little gory but also entertaining and funny at parts. It’s a horror combination
that I love but it’s hard to get just right. After each book I am loving Rachel’s
horror style a little more.
The Axeman's Jazz by Ray Celestin
When Vesper’s homecoming exhumes a terrifying secret, she’s forced to reckon with her family’s beliefs and her own crisis of faith in this deliciously sinister novel that explores the way family ties can bind us as we struggle to find our place in the world.
Synopsis: New Orleans, 1919. As a dark serial killer – The Axeman – stalks the city, three individuals set out to unmask him…Though every citizen of the ‘Big Easy’ thinks they know who could be behind the terrifying murders, Detective Lieutenant Michael Talbot, heading up the official investigation, is struggling to find leads. But Michael has a grave secret – and if he doesn’t find himself on the right track fast – it could be exposed…Former detective Luca d’Andrea has spent the last six years in Angola state penitentiary, after Michael, his protégée, blew the whistle on his corrupt behaviour.
Now a newly freed man, Luca finds himself working with the
mafia, whose need to solve the mystery of the Axeman is every bit as urgent as
the authorities’.Meanwhile, Ida is a secretary at the Pinkerton Detective
Agency.Obsessed with Sherlock Holmes and dreaming of a better life, Ida
stumbles across a clue which lures her and her trumpet-playing friend, Lewis
‘Louis’ Armstrong, to the case and into terrible danger…As Michael, Luca and
Ida each draw closer to discovering the killer’s identity, the Axeman himself
will issue a challenge to the people of New play jazz or risk becoming the next
victim. And as the case builds to its crescendo, the sky will darken and a
great storm will loom over the city…
Thoughts: The Legend of the Axeman of New Orleans is a
little true crime guilty pleasure. The concept of having people play jazz to
avoid being murdered is slightly fascinating. This is an excellent debut book; I
know I’ve admitted to loving the legend but I loved the extra depth Ray has
added to the story. The book is descriptive
and brings New Orleans to life it’s also effortless being transported back into
time where racism and corruption are rife, and the mafia. Or I have rewatched the
Interview with a Vampire series too much. This is a brilliant story exploring a
real historical crime.
Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer
Synopsis: Dexter meets This Savage Song in this dark fantasy about a girl who sells magical body parts on the black market — until she’s betrayed.
Nita doesn’t murder supernatural beings and sell their body parts on the internet—her mother does that. Nita just dissects the bodies after they’ve been “acquired.” But when her mom brings home a live specimen, Nita decides she wants out — dissecting living people is a step too far.
But when she tries to save her mother’s victim, she ends up sold on the black market in his place — because Nita herself is a supernatural being. Now Nita is on the other side of the bars, and there is no line she won’t cross to escape and make sure no one can ever capture her again.
Nita did a good deed, and it cost her everything. Now she’s going to do a lot of bad deeds to get it all back.
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