Cam and Jules are just an average young couple. But Cam isn’t quite the everyday man he appears to be. As the son of North Carolina’s richest woman, he tries everything to escape both his inheritance and the home of the legendary McTavish family.
When a family death pulls the couple back to the stately Ashby House, Jules is awestruck at the opulent surroundings. And even more awe-inspiring is the life of the woman behind them- Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore, Cam’s late adoptive mother.
Ruby’s storied past began when she was the victim of a famous childhood kidnapping. Her legend continued as she found love, and was widowed…four times over. Amidst the rumors of her husbands mysterious deaths, she earns the moniker “Ruby Killmore.'” Even in death, Ruby oversees Ashby House from a life size oil painting, reminding Cam that one can never run from family. As Cam and Jules unveil the family’s storied past, secrets come to light that threaten their relationship, the inheritance, and the future of the McTavish name.
This was a twisty read told through Ruby’s own letters and the alternating perspectives of Cam and Jules. Rachel Hawkins thrills again with a story of a old money, old secrets, and an even older house. Slightly reminiscent of a gothic novel, The Heiress is a book that will have you flipping pages to find out what happens next.
There are secrets yet undiscovered in the foundations of the notorious Crowder House. Vera must face them and find out for herself just how deep the rot goes.
I was introduced to Sarah Gailey this year and have loved everything I’ve read so far. Spooky house stories are a win anytime of year.
After a young Japanese woman’s life falls apart, she moves into a flat above her eccentric uncle’s bookshop, staying rent-free in exchange for working at the store and developing a passion for Japanese literature.
This is a quietly paced gem of a book. A short read perfect for all book lovers.
To earn the last credit she needs to graduate, Lydia Chass teams up with foul-mouthed Bristal Jamison to transform her listener-friendly local history podcast into a hard-hitting, truth-telling expose as they investigate an unsolved murder from their small town’s past.
Warned by her brother that their mother seems “off,” Sam visits and discovers a once-cozy home with sterile white walls, a her mom a jumpy, nervous wreck and a jar of teeth hidden in the rosebushes.
Felling the Nazis, painter Remedios Varo and her poet lover await exit papers from a safe house on the Riviera and take refuge in a mysterious bookshop that opens up a world of occult learning that sparks creative genius.
Learn how to speak like a Midwesterner in this humorous and self-deprecating look at their common phrases and sentiments and featuring an ode to the Garage Fridge.
Ope, lemme just tell you- this light-hearted look at the Midwestern states and our odd speech patterns was a fun read.
During her annual televised baking competition on her Vermont estate, celebrated baker Betsy Martin, hailed as “America’s Grandmother,” finds murder in the mix when a body is discovered, and everyone is a suspect.
Investigating an estranged sibling’s suspicious drowning at their grandmother’s estate, Jax connects the tragedy to the unsolved case of a housewife who in 1929 allegedly succumbed to a wish-granting spring.
Jennifer McMahon is always a must-read for me, and the alternating timeline of this book made this one hard to put down.
“Rachel” has lived a life of captivity for years. Abducted by a serial killer, she has been held in a shed on his property…until one day when he is forced to move, taking her with him.
Aidan is a widower who always lends a hand in his community. He’s an upstanding citizen who is mourning the loss of his wife while raising a teenage daughter. He catches the eye of local restauranter Emily, all to eager to lend her support. Too bad he’s hiding a secret- he’s murdered eight women and is holding a ninth captive.
Moving into the new house doesn’t mean the end of Aidan’s abuse. Although Rachel now has a bed to sleep on, she is still handcuffed and assaulted daily, despite the fact that she now sleeps down the hall from Aidan’s daughter, Cecilia. As Rachel gets to know Aidan and Cecilia on a deeper level, she starts to wonder about the women who have come before…and the ones who will come after.
Told through the voices of Rachel, Cecilia, and Emily, with each character experiencing a very different version of one man. Small town life, passing time, and grief all play a part in this page-turner. This was a disturbing, brooding read, similar in style to Gillian Flynn or Room by Emma Donoghue.
There are so many wonderful, new books being published but since it is still Women’s History Month, I wanted to focus on…women authors! I’ve created a list of a few recently published books by debut women authors to continue our celebration of Women’s History Month. From witches to thrillers to family strife, we’ve got it covered.
“When his wife, unable to handle the demands of motherhood and feeling the dreams she had slipping away once again, disappears, leaving their toddler son behind, Sam finds his vision for their future shattered, in this heartrending love story that explores what happens after a marriage collapses.”
“A woman investigating her brother’s apparent suicide finds herself falling for her prime suspect—his darkly mysterious girlfriend—in this edgy Southern gothic thriller.”
“Told over five centuries through three connected women, this riveting novel follows Kate, in 2019, as she seeks refuge in Weyward Cottage; Altha, in 1619, as she uses her powers to maintain her freedom; and Violet, in 1942, as she searches for the truth about her mother’s death.”
“A funny, sharply observed novel of family, wealth, love and tennis, this zeitgeisty debut follows three women in an old Brooklyn Heights clan: one who was born with money, one who married into it, and one, the millennial conscience of the family, who wants to give it all away. Rife with the indulgent pleasures of affluent WASPS in New York and full of recognizable if fallible characters, it’s about the peculiar unknowability of someone else’s family, about the haves and have-nots and the nuances in between, and the insanity of first love-Pineapple Street is a scintillating, wryly comic novel of race, class, wealth and privilege in an age that disdains all of it.”
“A powerful debut novel follows a Puerto Rican family in Staten Island who discovers their long missing sister is potentially alive and cast on a reality TV show, and they set out to bring her home.”
“In 1852, young widow Margaret Lennox, taking a position as governess to an only child at an isolated country house in the West of England, starts to feel that something isn’t quite right and, as her past threatens to catch up with her, she learns the truth behind the secrets of Hartwood Hall.”
“Seven years after the mysterious death of her best friend, Aubrey, Maya comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman dies in front of the same man Aubrey did, leading her back to a New England cabin to finally uncover a truth that could save her.”
Summer Cartwright is a 16-year-old influencer living a charmed Hollywood, California life. She’s rich, well-connected, and she just signed a massive book deal for an upcoming tell-all style memoir. When a new post from Summer’s Instagram account announces that the social media star will be dead in the next five minutes, the guests are her Halloween party think it’s just part of the entertainment. Her friends know different. That’s not Summer’s brand. Something is wrong. There were right-Summer was actually dead. As the police begin to investigate, those closest to Summer begin their own search for the killer. The suspect list keeps growing as the motive for the murder appears to be the book she was working on. If Summer was dead, would the book and the dark secrets it was set to reveal go away?
Told from the points of view of Summer’s bff, Grace, Summer’s ex-boyfriend Adam, Summer’s number one fan, Cora, and her one-time roommate, Lanie, Live Your Best Lie is a twisted, suspenseful debut. The narrator does an excellent job of juggling the various character points of view as well as flashbacks, but the inclusion of social media posts and comments, police interviews, and newspaper articles make for an interesting read. A delightfully wicked read as well as a timely cautionary tale-social media never tells the whole story and influencers only show what they want you to see.
Hand this to fans of Karen McManus and Maureen Johnson and anyone else who likes to solve the puzzle along with the characters. The clues are there for the clever reader, but so are the red herrings. Readers who make it to the end will be rewarded with a final twist you won’t see coming.
Thank you to Netgalley, Disney Audiobooks, and Melissa de la Cruz Studios for an advanced reader copy.
Today is publication day for The Cloisters by Katy Hays!
When Ann Stilwell is assigned to an internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she’s expecting a ho-hum summer working with the curatorial staff. Instead, she ends up at The Cloisters, a renowned medieval museum filled with unique artifacts and eclectic staff members.
As Ann gets to know the staff, secrets come to light throughout the shadowy hallways of the museum. Curator Patrick shows a focused interest on a 15th-century deck of tarot cards as part of a special research project he seems to be conducting. Research assistant Rachel is everything Ann wants to be, and the two form a quick bond. The museum draws Ann into the world of under the table antique dealers, poisonous plants, and researchers willing to risk it all.
This book combines the mysterious world of 15th century spiritualism with 21st century intrigue. This debut academic thriller is bound to grab your interest if you liked The Secret History or Ninth House.
Photo credit: The Met Cloisters
If nothing else, reading this book serves as an introduction to The Met Cloisters. A spectacular setting for a novel, the real life museum is as intriguing and beautiful as described.
-Melinda
*I received a review copy from the publisher. This is my honest review.
The trick-or-treats haven’t started yet but it’s never too early to indulge in some spooky tales. Whether you fancy a recent thriller, a classic haunting, or creepy creatures, there are plenty of books to keep you sleeping with the lights on till next year.
If you like a fast-paced psychological thriller, explore some of these titles:
“A viciously funny thriller about wellness—the smoothies, the secrets, and the deliciously deadly impulses. Lifelong New Yorker Ronnie Khan never thought she’d leave Queens. She’s not an “aim high, dream big” person—until she meets socialite wellness guru Marley Dewhurst. But when the glam gurus around town start turning up gruesomely murdered, Ronnie has her answer: all is not well in wellness town. As Marley’s blind ambition veers into madness, Ronnie fears for her life.”
“Lives unravel amid the revelry on an eerie and remote island as family and friends assemble for a glam wedding in an updated Murder on the Orient Express. Each of the principal characters has a reason to want one of their number dead. The narcissistic bride, the unstable bridesmaid, the odd wedding planner and her husband, the resentful plus-one, the groom and his former schoolmates, who are revealed to be a pack of sadistic bullies. By the time the worst of them is found murdered, readers will not be sorry and might, in a Christie moment, have wanted to kill her or him themselves. This is one guest list no one would want to be on.”
“Paul Strom has the perfect life: a glittering career as an advertising executive, a beautiful wife, two healthy boys and a big house in a wealthy suburb. And he’s the perfect husband: breadwinner, protector, provider. That’s why he’s planned a romantic weekend for his wife, Mia, at their lake house, just the two of them. And he’s promised today will be the best day ever.”
Interested in the classics? Here are a few to sink your teeth into:
“For those who still dream and remember, for those yet to experience the hypnotic power of its dark poetry, step inside. The show is about to begin. Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. The carnival rolls in sometime after midnight, ushering in Halloween a week early. A calliope’s shrill siren song beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained. Two boys will discover the secret of its smoke, mazes, and mirrors; two friends who will soon know all too well the heavy cost of wishes…and the stuff of nightmares.”
“Set on the obligatory English moor, on an isolated causeway, the story has as its hero Arthur Kipps, an up-and-coming young solicitor who has come north from London to attend the funeral and settle the affairs of Mrs. Alice Drablow of Eel Marsh House. The routine formalities he anticipates give way to a tumble of events and secrets more sinister and terrifying than any nightmare: the rocking chair in the deserted nursery, the eerie sound of a pony and trap, a child’s scream in the fog, and most dreadfully–and for Kipps most tragically–The Woman In Black.”
“Idealistic young scientist Henry Jekyll struggles to unlock the secrets of the soul. Testing chemicals in his lab, he drinks a mixture he hopes will isolate – and eliminate – human evil. Instead it unleashes the dark forces within him, transforming him into the hideous and murderous Mr. Hyde.”
Zombies, vampires, and clowns keep you up at night? Hope these aren’t too creepy for you…:
“If you’ve ever wondered what ingredients to use to create a zombie out of a living person, your search ends with this one-of-a-kind novel. “I died on the night of the most beautiful day of my life” so begins the testimony of Hadriana Siloé, a sensuous pale-skinned Creole woman who, on the Saturday evening of Jan. 29, 1938, collapses at her wedding altar. She had earlier taken a mysterious potion that induces living death. An icon of Haitian literature serves up a hotblooded, rib-ticking, warmhearted mélange of ghost story, cultural inquiry, folk art, and véritable l’amour.”
“Quinn and her father moved to tiny, boring Kettle Springs to find a fresh start. But ever since the Baypen Corn Syrup Factory shut down, Kettle Springs has cracked in half. The town is caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress. It’s a fight that looks like it will destroy the town. Until Frendo, the Baypen mascot, a creepy clown in a pork-pie hat, goes homicidal and decides that the only way for Kettle Springs to grow back is to cull the rotten crop of kids who live there now.”
“Welcome to Mexico City, an oasis in a sea of vampires. Domingo, a lonely garbage-collecting street kid, is just trying to survive its heavily policed streets when a jaded vampire on the run swoops into his life. Atl, the descendant of Aztec blood drinkers, is smart, beautiful, and dangerous. Domingo is mesmerized. Vampires, humans, cops, and criminals collide in the dark streets of Mexico City. Do Atl and Domingo even stand a chance of making it out alive? Or will the city devour them all?”
That weekend was supposed to be a fun, secret getaway. Ditching prom for a weekend of hiking, camping, drinking, just Claire and her best friends, Kat and Jesse sounds like a dream. But something goes horribly wrong and Claire can’t tell anyone what happened. She has no idea why she was the only one to come down from the mountain where all three hiked. Claire struggles to regain her memories and as the months pass with no news of her friends’ whereabouts she grows more frustrated. Taking matters in to her own hands, she resolves to get answers. This was a fun thriller. Complex relationships, plenty of red herrings, and big twist will keep readers wondering about what really happened that weekend. If you like a slow-burning mystery and unreliable narrators and a whole lot of karma, check out That Weekend.
Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley– An iconic work of early English literature is updated in Headley’s feminist adaptation, bringing to light elements never before translated into English.
A Hawk in the Woods by Carrie Laben– A suspenseful, dark tale of family trauma, abuse of power, and the bonds of sisterhood that centers on supernaturally gifted twins Abby and Martha Waite and follows Abby’s choices after she discovers she has been diagnosed with late stage melanoma.
The Push by Ashley Audrain– A tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family and one woman’s deeply affecting and difficult story of motherhood, womanhood, grief, and guilt.
Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith– Haunting and inspired, this novel looks at the stories of three women in Vietnam, weaving together Vietnamese folklore and themes of national and racial identity, women’s bodies and their burden, and sweet revenge.
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca– A standout novella featuring an interesting combination of atypical structure, beautiful writing, and body horror about two women who meet in a queer chat room. This book, and the ending in particular, will keep you thinking long after you finish this short work.
Love and Fury: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft by Samantha Silva– An amazingly well-crafted and beautiful historical fiction novel of Mary Wollstonecraft – arguably the world’s first feminist and one of the world’s most influential thinkers. Inspiring and enlightening.
Betty by Tiffany McDaniel– Perhaps my most favorite book of the year, this heartbreaking and remarkable novel is inspired by the life of McDaniel’s own mother. Set in rural Ohio during the 50s, readers follow Betty Carpenter, as she endures terrible discrimination, violence, loss, and love in this luminous and often emotionally difficult book.
The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling– A beautifully written gothic romantic thriller with a dash of magic and horror. Drawing inspiration from such classics as Bluebeard and working the dangerous bridegroom trope, Starling delivers an engaging and tense tale.
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo– A skillful and fantastical reimagining of The Great Gatsby that reimagines Jordan Baker as a queer Vietnamese immigrant, embellishing upon Fitzgerald’s original plot with commentary on gender, race, and sexuality, set in a magical Jazz Age New York.
Maggie Holt was five when her parents bought the sprawling Victorian estate called Baneberry Hall. The young family spent just three weeks in the house before they fled in fear, abandoning their belongs, never to return. The nonfiction account of the horrors and hauntings of Baneberry Hall, written by her father, was an international bestseller. While Maggie has no memory of the events that are outlined in the book, the story itself has haunted her for 25 years. She has never believed that the book was true, but she has never managed get her divorced parents to reveal to her what really happened in that house. When her father passes away she is shocked to learn that she has inherited Baneberry Hall. Why did her father still own the house? Maggie returns to a house she doesn’t remember with the intention of restoring it and selling, putting the nightmare forever in her past. Her arrival in town is not a welcome one. People that she knows a characters in the book are real people and they have stories of their own to tell. Maggie is interested in learning the truth, but as events outlined in the book begin to occur again in the house, Maggie is forced to consider that her father’s account may be more fact than fiction after all.
I went in to this book blind. I have read and enjoyed other books by Riley Sager, so I assumed I would also enjoy this one, despite my terror of haunted houses. Thanks, dad, for letting 5 year old me watch Amityville Horror. Totally scarred for life. But I digress…Anyway, we have a haunted house with a nonbeliever living in it. I want to be a nonbeliever, so I was onboard with Maggie’s goal to disprove the validity of her father’s book. Also, side note, I love a book within a book. But dang it, if that house isn’t creepy and probably haunted and it turns out a lot of the things in the book ARE true. Will Maggie finally learn why they fled in the middle of the night? You bet she does. Did I see the answer coming? NOT. AT. ALL. This is a perfect spooky season (aka, October) read that left me questioning everything to the very surprising end.
If you are into spooky, haunted houses, you should join us for Novel Scares, a horror book club. This month we are talking about another cursed how, The Good House by Tananarive Due. Register now to receive the Zoom link.
Read it or Weep 