Reading right now:

            “Charlotte’s Story” by Laura Benedict. The residents of Bliss House are haunted by their pasts and the house makes sure that they never recover. In 1957, Charlotte Bliss lives with her husband and two children in southern Virginia. After the death of her daughter, the disturbing truth comes out about her husband’s past and she finds herself held prisoner at Bliss House with only the ghost of her mother-in-law as company. This is the second Bliss House novel which is more about the house’s effect on those that live there than any continuing character. This is a great series to read if you want to be scared to death around Halloween. 

On hold right now:

            “Boxes” by Pascal Garnier. Published after French noir author Pascal Garnier’s death, “Boxes” follows the decent of a man named Brice into depression and madness. After packing everything in boxes and moving, Brice waits for his wife to join him in their new home, but she never does.     

    

Other mysterious things:

            I can’t resist continuing the scary book list for Halloween. There are so many coming out that sound scary and fun. So if you want a scary book for Halloween, these new offerings include everything from the darkly disturbing police procedurals to cozies feathering ghosts and more ghosts. Thomas Callaghan’s “A Killing Winter” is a noir debut with a Russian homicide detective investigating a mutilated woman’s death. The third book in the Haunted Vintage mystery series by Rose Pressey comes out soon and is called “Haunt Couture and Ghosts Galore.” “A Ghostly Murder” is the fourth book in Tonya Kappes’ Ghostly Southern mystery series which features funeral director Emma Lee. Another haunted house story is William Gay’s “Little Sister Death” which is based on Tennessee’s Curse of the Bell Witch. Carolyn Hart’s sixth book in the Bailey Ruth series is “Ghost to the Rescue.” At Halloween, it might be time to escape your comfort zone of always reading mysteries and expand into Horror. Go back in time to read some of the great scary authors of all time: Peter Straub, Chuck Palahniuk, Stephen King, Joe Hill, David Wong, Clive Barker, Dan Simmons, Max Brooks, John Ajvide Lindqvist. There are also lots of scary serial killer books from the likes of Thomas Harris, Jim Thompson, Karin Slaughter, PJ Tracy, T. Jefferson Parker, Jeff Lindsay, Alex Kava, and so many others. So enjoy a good scare in book shape over Halloween.

Reading right now:

            “Ghost of a Potion” by Heather Blake. This is the third in Blake’s Magic Potion mystery series with Carly Bell Hartwell. Carly owns a potion shop where her customers are always satisfied unless murder interferes. All the characters in the series are interesting including the Southern setting which adds to the overall charm of the books. You really can’t go wrong reading these paranormal mystery cozies. Carly’s latest investigation starts off at a Halloween party where a local architect is going to make a big announcement. Unfortunately, he’s found dead with Carly’s boyfriend’s Mother standing over him with the murder weapon in hand. While Carly attempts to clear her boyfriend’s Mother, she is distracted by persistent ghosts that flock around her (which happens in greater numbers during the Halloween season).

On hold right now:

            “Bread of the Dead” by Ann Myers. This is the first of a new series set in Santa Fe where Tres Amigas Café chef Rita Lafitte is preparing for the Day of the Dead. When her landlord is found dead, she is convinced that the police are wrong when they say it is a suicide and starts snooping around with the help of her boss. Unfortunately, it seems that a great many people might have wanted her landlord dead and when one of her suspects winds up dead she starts wondering if she might be next.

Other mysterious things:

            Almost every paranormal series has at least one book that takes place around Halloween for obvious reasons, but many mystery writers have written Halloween themed mysteries. The latest Murder, She Wrote mystery is one such book (“The Ghost and Mrs. Fletcher” by Donald Bain). This month Kathi Daley’s “Ghostly Graveyard” will be the 17^th in the Zoe Donovan series. Also coming out this month the third book in Leigh Perry’s excellent Family Skeleton series is Halloween themed and is called “The Skeleton Haunts a House.” Other Halloween themed books that have come out in the past include, “Candy Corn Murder” by Leslie Meier, “The Legend of Sleepy Hallow” by Kylie Logan, “A Flame in the Wind of Death” by Jen J. Danna, “Death of a Neighborhood Witch” by Laura Levine, “Bone to be Wild” by Carolyn Haines, Donna Andrews’ “Lord of the Wings,” Judith Ivie’s “Dirty Tricks,” Susan Wittig Albert’s “Witches Bane,” Rita Mae Brown’s “The Hunt Ball,” W.J. Burley’s “Wycliffe and the Scapegoat,” “Hallowed Bones” by Carolyn Haines, “Trick or Treat Murder” and “Wicked Witch Murder” by Leslie Meier, “Hallowe’en Party” by Agatha Christie, “Death of a Neighborhood Witch” by Laura Levine, Isis Crawford’s “A Catered Halloween,”