Which is the true nightmare, the horrific dream that you have in your sleep or the dissatisfied reality that awaits you when you awake?”
Justin Alcala
Every spooky season, I ramp up my creepy reading. The second there’s a snap of cold weather I immediately start to decorate my porch, the thrillers pile up all over the house. Yes… I’m that person with a book I carry around, a bathroom book, and an audiobook going at the same time. Usually they’re all different genres so it doesn’t get confusing.
This year, spooky season began in mid-September and I’ve been LOVING everything about it, especially the new books I’ve discovered and read. With only one week until Halloween, you’ve still got time to get some spooky reading in. Below are just a few of my most recent favorites where thrillers are concerned. Let me know what you think if you end up reading them!
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
One woman quickly realizes her new neighbor is not who he says he is and isn’t quite human.
It takes an entire book club to save the town and rid it of the evil that rooted under their noses.
- The perfect blend between creepy & quirky
- Women save the day
- Not your average vampire thriller
The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa Matlin
When a couple moves into a house where a notorious murder occurred, strange things start happening.
Sanity is questioned and no one can be trusted. Is it ghosts or is the house out to get them?
- The perfect blend between creepy & quirky
- Women save the day
- Not your average vampire thriller
Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
Highly recommend this in audiobook format. The sound effects added such an amazing creep factor to it that you won’t get just from reading it.
Two sisters and one brutal murder lead to a series of vengeful acts that could raise Hell itself.
- Fantasy thriller
- Witches, demons, and dark magic. Need I say more?
- The first in a captivating series that gets better with each book
None of This is True by Lisa Jewell
I don’t normally enjoy this author’s books a ton, but this one was a massively good read.
Two birthday twins meet by chance, or was it? One is a podcaster who quickly finds herself reporting on what could be the next big series of her career.
The other is a troubled woman who is entwining herself deeply into the other’s life.
- Who and what to believe? You won’t know until the end…maybe.
- Twisty and spine tingling
- Psychological thriller at its best
The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon
Aidan Thomas is the absolute picture of hometown hero and upstanding citizen.
Everyone loves him…except for the woman trapped in his basement.
- Impossible to put down
- Suspenseful throughout the entire read
- Favorite thriller on this list
Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik
What’s a good Halloween spooky book list without a real, entirely non-fiction situation that will scare the pants off you?
Rabies has a 100% kill rate and has been around for thousands of years. Where did it come from? How was it treated? How far has the medical community come?
- Ultra informative and easy to understand
- Great examples of how different cultures and people from different time periods reacted to and treated the virus
- Favorite non-fiction book of the year so far
Curious Artifact 