Get your spooky on with these three books!

It is almost time for Halloween and I have read three books recently that were definitely spooky.

Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott was our October book for the Mystery Book Club.

About: "Honey, I just want you to have everything you ever wanted. That’s what Jacy’s mom always told her.

And Jacy felt like she finally did. Newly married and with a baby on the way, Jacy and her new husband Jed embark on their first road trip together to visit his father, Doctor Ash, in Michigan’s far-flung Upper Peninsula. The moment they arrive in the cozy cottage in the lush woods, Jacy feels bathed in love by the warm and hospitable Doctor Ash, if less so by his house manager, the enigmatic Mrs. Brandt.

But their Edenic first days take a turn when Jacy has a health scare. Swiftly, vacation activities are scrapped, and all eyes are on Jacy’s condition. At the same time, whispers about Jed’s long-dead mother and complicated family history seem eerily to be impeding upon the present. As the days pass, Jacy begins to feel trapped in the cottage, her every move surveilled, her body under the looking glass. But are her fears founded or is it paranoia, or cabin fever, or—as is suggested to her—a stubborn refusal to take necessary precautions? The dense woods surrounding the cottage are full of dangers, but are the greater ones inside?"

This was a good spooky read. Jacy and Jed, newlyweds with a baby on the way, go to visit Jed's dad in a remote area of the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. It is late fall and the weather can change in an instant. Jed's father, was a physician but quit practicing after Jed's mother died when Jed was a baby. He lives alone and has a housekeeper, Mrs. Brandt, that lives in the cottage nearby. As above Jacy has a complication with her pregnancy and wants to head home. But Dr. Ash warns against the trip. Jacy gets sicker and sicker, Mrs. Brandt is always hanging around. There's whispering about Jacy. Even the local doctor says it's better if Jacy stays, as she seems to be worse and worse. The house is creepy, the people are creepy, there is something unknown going on. 

I liked it and felt it was a good page turner. Something of the medical stuff seemed far fetched, but it is a fiction book. I did want a different ending. The ending left us with some questions but it was an eding you would "see" in a movie. 

https://www.meganabbott.com/

The Ghost of Kali Oka Road by M.L. Bullock

About: " On the Gulf Coast, Things Don’t Just Go Bump in the Night They Terrorize You and Sometimes You Disappear! The paranormal investigators at Gulf Coast Paranormal thought they knew what they were doing. Midas, Sierra, Sara, Josh and Peter had over twenty combined years of experience investigating supernatural activity on the Gulf Coast. But when they meet Cassidy, a young artist with a strange gift, they realize there’s more to learn. And time is running out for Cassidy.

When Gulf Coast Paranormal begins investigating the ghosts of Kali Oka Road, they find an entity far scarier than a few ghosts. Add in the deserted Oak Grove Plantation, and you have a recipe for a night of terror."

 

I won a free copy of the audio version of this book. I would describe it as urban legend meets current day ghost hunters. The book starts with a version of a story we all heard as kids. Teenagers parking in a remote area. One leaves the car for some reason or other and meets a violent death. Other versions are teenagers alone in a house and one goes outside and something happens. Jump to current time. Cassidy is a young adult, whose sister disappeared several years ago. Cassidy recently has been having dreams and urges to paint what she dreams. She doesn't know if these are clues or messages about her sister. She finds out there is a local ghost hunter/investigators in town and is invited to their next meeting. They are looking for new cases to investigate and Cassidy seems to be having some dreams related to  what will be their next case.

This is book one of a series. It is a short book so good for getting in the spirit of Halloween. Spooky for sure. I enjoyed it and am intrigued to listen to the next book. I am wondering about Cassidy and her sister.

https://www.mlbullock.com/

The Death of Clara Willenheim by Charlotte Lesemann

About: "Surrounded by family secrets, suspicious deaths, and her own repressed memories, fifteen year-old Clara Willenheim lives as a prisoner in her ancestral estate in 1860s Bavaria. Her only chance of escape is to journey through the castle’s secret passages, unraveling her family’s dark history and its place at the center of a vast web of crime. Driven by the capricious and vengeful ghost of her long-dead aunt, Clara opens doors that threaten powerful enemies, a place where she’s forced to choose between righting past wrongs or losing her own life."

A historical Gothic mystery brimming with suspense and plot twists, The Death of Clara Willenheim is layered in rich, period detail. The novel explores the cost of selflessness and the struggle to choose between justice and vengeance. But at its heart, it’s a story about how, when one part of ourselves dies, something greater can rise in its place."

This book is a debut novel for Charlotte Lesemann and comes out October 29, 2024, just in time for Halloween.

Set in the 1800's, Bavaria, (where all good gothic classic novels take place), a huge creepy old house, full of tunnels, locked rooms, catacombs, ghosts, rain and something evil in the midst. Clara's father has just died from a possible suicide. She lives in this old, old mansion with her mother and grandmother and sinister servants. She is not allowed outside during the day, or outside of her room at night. A ghost of a 15 year old distant cousin, Cora, appears to her and confirms, there is something really wrong going on in this house. Together they try to find out what it is and put a stop to it. There is a lot of atmospheric tension and urgency as Clara explores the tunnels and rooms underneath the house. The descriptions are definitely scary and creepy. There are some disturbing things but you won't be able to put the book down before finding out how it all ends...

https://charlottelesemann.com/

(I received an ARC and voluntarily provided this review.}

There you go. Three spooky stories to get you in the Halloween mood.

Tiggy Jones Mysteries by Virginia King

Hi all. We are having second summer here and I can't wait for it to leave.

I want to share the newest mystery series by Virginia King. You may remember me talking about the Selkie Moon series.  This series has three books with the fourth book coming out 10/18/24. I have read all of them and really enjoyed them.

Tiggy, short for Antigone, is a 30 something young woman from Australia that inherits a boathouse in an English village from a grandmother she never met. As she settles in, she meets Baxter, a teenager who is taking care of the grandmother's dog, Raider. Raider is a Dalmador (dalmation/labrador mix). Baxter is on the spectrum, but becomes an important character in the series. Raider joins Tiggy in the boathouse and is never too far away in all they mysteries that come up. Tiggy writes mysteries, by the way.

A Scrap of Silk is Tiggy Jones book one.

About: "A surprise inheritance. A locked cellar. A shocking secret from her family's past.

When 30-year-old mystery author Tiggy Jones inherits an old boathouse in England from the grandmother she never knew, her shock turns to excitement.
Until she stumbles upon the hidden cellar and can’t find the key.
Soon she’s tangled in a desperate search through mysteries past and present, threats, betrayals and misdirections to uncover a long-hidden secret.
All the time struggling against someone determined to stop her.
As her new life unravels, what horrors will Tiggy discover about her family history?
And will she survive them?"

A Missing Signature (book two)

About: "A friend with secrets. A dangerous painting. A tangle of clues that don’t add up.

When mystery author Tiggy Jones leaves a London auction house, she glimpses a woman who looks a lot like her missing friend, Nessa.
The chance encounter spirals into a complex and deadly mystery that won’t let Tiggy go: coded messages, strange disguises and an old French portrait that she fears is a fake.
Will the unscrupulous art dealer really stop at nothing to get his hands on it?
And why won’t Nessa tell Tiggy the truth about what’s going on?
As the mystery deepens, and a second person is found dead, Tiggy realizes that her amateur sleuthing is not safe.
For others. And for herself."

A Deadly Concoction (book three)

About: A bag of baffling clues. A string of mysterious deaths. A race to expose the truth 

When mystery author Tiggy Jones launches Mystery Week in her local town in Devon, she opens a donated bag of ‘mystery items’ to entertain the audience. But the first thing she holds up has a nasty stain on it. Is it blood? Or is someone playing a trick to embarrass her?
Tiggy rescues the moment and takes the bag home, only to discover it’s full of perplexing evidence. With her curiosity piqued, she begins to untangle the connections between the clues.
Why has the isolated distillery at Larrington Hall on Dartmoor seen so many deaths over the last twenty years?
Does the 500-year-old legend behind its exclusive blue liqueur hide a dangerous secret?
And when Tiggy gets close to uncovering one truth too many, will the purpose behind the bag of evidence turn deadly?
Join Tiggy Jones, with her dog Raider, as she discovers that researching a mystery novel is usually safe but investigating a murder or two is perilous."

A Trace of DNA (book four will be out October 18, 2024)

About: " A glittering reputation. A dogged amateur sleuth. Sinister secrets that won’t stay buried.

When mystery author Tiggy Jones receives an email from a famous forensic scientist, she’s shocked that Dr. Helena Loxton is offering her private life as the plot for her next book. Tiggy’s dangerous curiosity is piqued.
But there's a catch.
In exchange, Dr. Loxton wants Tiggy to research some things she’s forgotten from her past, especially one crucial thing that’s keeping her awake at night.
Wouldn’t she do better with a private investigator?
And after too many real mysteries that have turned out to be crimes, Tiggy has sworn off acting like an amateur PI.
Hasn’t she?"

Don't you love the covers of the books? I would say these books are traditional mysteries. There is a bit more to them than a cozy mystery. Tiggy is an amateur sleuth. They take place in and English village and there are a lot of locals. There is a dog. But the stories are not light and humorous. Tiggy gets into a lot of jams, plenty of danger and thriller type moments. We find out (and so does she) a bit more about her life with each book. They are just enjoyable to read and I highly recommend the series.

As I mentioned, book four comes out next Friday. I found this one very interesting as there is a DNA aspect in the investigation. We see so much of that in crime dramas now and because I dabble in genealogy, I loved that thread in book four. 

Bonus:  A Scrap of Silk will be $.99 on Kindle Daily Deal on October 31, 2024. Good chance to give this series a try.

The Library Book and Expats

 October is here but it still feels like summer here. Looking forward to cooler weather.

After the Mystery Book Club read Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone, I read: 

The Expats by the same author. It is the first book in the Kate Moore series.

About: "Kate Moore is a working mother, struggling to make ends meet, to raise children, to keep a spark in her marriage . . . and to maintain an increasingly unbearable life-defining secret. So when her husband is offered a lucrative job in Luxembourg, she jumps at the chance to leave behind her double-life, to start anew.

She begins to reinvent herself as an expat, finding her way in a language she doesn’t speak, doing the housewifely things she’s never before done—play-dates and coffee mornings, daily cooking and unending laundry. Meanwhile, her husband works incessantly, doing a job Kate has never understood, for a banking client she’s not allowed to know. He’s becoming distant and evasive; she’s getting lonely and bored.

Then another American couple arrives. Kate soon becomes suspicious that these people are not who they claim to be, and terrified that her own past is catching up to her. So Kate begins to dig, to peel back the layers of deception that surround her. She discovers fake offices and shell corporations and a hidden gun; a mysterious farmhouse and numbered accounts with bewildering sums of money; a complex web of intrigue where no one is who they claim to be, and the most profound deceptions lurk beneath the most normal-looking of relationships; and a mind-boggling long-play con threatens her family, her marriage, and her life."

I liked it pretty well. It is a good spy/espionage book. You aren't sure who are the good guys. Plenty of twists. Similar to Two Nights in Lisbon with the hidden identities and sneaking around. If you like Two Nights in Lisbon or other books by Chris Pavone, I think you would like this book. 

There is a second book in the series: The Paris Diversion. Kate Moore book #2. 

I also started The Library Book by Susan Orlean on audio. 

About: "On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As the moments passed, the patrons and staff who had been cleared out of the building realized this was not the usual fire alarm. As one fireman recounted, “Once that first stack got going, it was ‘Goodbye, Charlie.’” The fire was disastrous: it reached 2000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who?

Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling book that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.

In The Library Book, Orlean chronicles the LAPL fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives; delves into the evolution of libraries across the country and around the world, from their humble beginnings as a metropolitan charitable initiative to their current status as a cornerstone of national identity; brings each department of the library to vivid life through on-the-ground reporting; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; reflects on her own experiences in libraries; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago.

Along the way, Orlean introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters from libraries past and present—from Mary Foy, who in 1880 at eighteen years old was named the head of the Los Angeles Public Library at a time when men still dominated the role, to Dr. C.J.K. Jones, a pastor, citrus farmer, and polymath known as “The Human Encyclopedia” who roamed the library dispensing information; from Charles Lummis, a wildly eccentric journalist and adventurer who was determined to make the L.A. library one of the best in the world, to the current staff, who do heroic work every day to ensure that their institution remains a vital part of the city it serves."

This is a nonfiction/true crime book. I like some true crime and since this is about books and libraries I wanted to give it a try.

I did find the information the author discusses about how libraries work - how books are acquired and processed for libraries, interesting. How many staff it takes to manage a library, especially one the size of the Los Angeles Public library. All the roles a public library plays in a community - besides checking out mystery books for me. :) I found it interesting that the LAPL played/plays an important role in serving the homeless community, helping them use the resources to hopefully better their lives. I also found the history of libraries interesting.

The book also tells the story of the main suspect and his life.

I did not finish it but I thought I would talk about it anyway for people that may be interested in this topic. I think it is a good nonfiction book. I wanted to get to the crime sooner though and ended up not finishing it.  But if this interests you, give it a go. It did win a  Goodreads Choice Award and was nominated for a Best Nonfiction award in 2018. 

Just finished Beware the Woman by Megan Abbott. I will be telling you what the Mystery Book Club and I thought about it.