A few years ago I read and enjoyed the famous book by Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House. You can find my review of that here. So when a publisher suggested I take a look at a new release coming this fall that had been the first book approved by Jackson’s estate to return…
I read the blurb of The Stroke of Winter by Wendy Webb in a publisher’s catalogue and was immediately intrigued; a renovation of a bed and breakfast gone awry due to a potential haunting? All taking place within a frozen lakeside tourist town? Sounds perfect! I wasn’t familiar with this author, but she appears to…
Last year I reviewed the three latest releases from Biblioasis’ Haunted Bookshelf Series, a set of pocket-sized ghost stories meant to be enjoyed on Christmas Eve, as per an old tradition. I loved them, and really enjoyed the whole concept of reading ghost stories for the holidays ( I appreciate a good scare any time…
Although Possessed by Jowita Bydlowska has ghosts in it, but they are beside the point. Mental health struggles, abusive behavior, and depression are truly at the heart of this book. A work of literary fiction that made me uncomfortable, I found myself moving between episodes of interest and horror, mainly due to the thoughts and…
The atmosphere of The Ghost Woods by C.J. Cooke is a winning combination of ghosts, witches, creepy houses, and eerie secrets that you’re better not knowing. I read this book a few weeks ago and some of the images are still floating through my head, not because I was surprised by them but because the…
Boy oh boy this book scared me. Scared me to the point of avoiding my dark basement kind of scary. I chose it to go with my ‘dangerous water’ segment that I’m putting together for my next radio column, and I thought I was being clever by choosing this particular theme while I was on…
As I continue to read through my recently-released spooky books for Halloween collection, I’m treated to a wide variety of genres that incorporate elements of horror into their narratives. Today’s novel, The Orphan of Cemetery Hill by Hester Fox leans heavily into the historical fiction arena, with a healthy dose of supernatural to allow this…
I’m no stranger to the spookiness of Andrew Pyper’s books so I knew his latest, The Residence, would be scary. It was indeed terrifying, and just looking at the cover of it reminds me of all the chilling scenes that were so vividly described it felt like I was watching it on a movie screen….
When a book opens with a family tree, you can expect a few things; there will be many characters, there will be drama, and you will have to refer back to said family tree throughout the book to ground yourself in what’s going on. If any of those things intimidate or bore you as a…
So I know Halloween is over, but I’m the type of person who likes to read spooky stories all year around, especially in the winter when I’m curled up by my fireplace. Agnes, Murderess by Sarah Leavitt landed on my doorstep unexpectedly, so the good folks at Freehand Books must have known how much I…
I didn’t realize this until half way through, but this is the second book I’ve read by Diane Setterfield. The first book I’ve read of hers is called Bellman & Black, which I read back in 2014 but didn’t write a review for (according to my 2014 list). Anyway, I don’t remember much about that…
The horror genre is a paradox for me. I love reading scary books and watching scary movies, but as soon as I close the book or turn off the television, I regret my actions immediately. I’m the kind of person that has an overactive imagination (I blame all the books I read) so whenever I’m…
