Wilderness by Dean Koontz (Short story, introduction to Innocence)

Addison Goodheart is 8 and there is something very wrong with him.  His mother can hardly tolerate to look at him and sends him out into the wilderness until she can face his presence again.  She tells him the story of the midwife who, horrified by what she saw, would have killed him had his mother not pulled a knife to defend him.
One day, while wandering the woods during a banishment from the isolated cabin that is all the home he has ever known, Addison is spotted by a hunter.  The hunter, who is enraged by the sight of Addison, tracks him through the woods.
This short story is the prequel to a series which begins with the book Innocence and that was released in December 2013.  I will be adding it to my list the second I finish this review.
I adore Dean Koontz.  My favorite book of his is From the Corner of His Eye.  I am particularly pulled in by his treatment of good and evil.  No moral ambiguity for Koontz, which I find refreshing.

Broken Harbor by Tana French

I was a bit apprehensive about this book because I read another of her books In the Woods which was sooooooo disappointing.  Basically, while that one ended, a huge portion of the story was NEVER EXPLAINED.  Which is not cool Tana French.  BUT, the story itself was so intriguing, so I thought I would check this out.
I finished this book a few days ago and then I have been thinking about the story and thinking about the story.  I REALLY liked this book.  It was pretty disturbing.  It wasn't hugely gory but I just can't stop thinking about it. 
A family has been murdered and only the mother survives.  The family's computer has been wiped clean and their are signs that some weird things were going on in the house.  The story follows 2 police detectives and their quest to find out what happened and why.
It's a great book and there are a lot of things to discuss. 

The Harbor by John Ajvide Lindqvist

My month of spooky books continues with The Harbor.  This book was written by a Swede so it's a bit cumbersome what with all the names and locations. Anders is from an island.  He is married to a girl who used to vacation on the island.  One day they skate across the frozen ocean with their 6 year old daughter Maja to see the lighthouse.  Maja disappears.  It's now a few years later and after an exile, a divorce and a lot of alchol, Anders has returned to the island where a bunch of weird stuff is happening.  The sea is a major charecter in this book and it's wordy and a bit slow in parts.  It was good though, but not a book for those who like constant action. 

In the Night Room by Peter Straub

I got this book by chance.  I went online and did a search for spooky books and found one by Peter Straub so then I just reserved a bunch of books by him.  This is kind of the sequel of lost girl lost boy.  In fact, the book lost girl lost boy is a charecter in this book.  Which is confusing and awesome.  About halfway through this book I was shocked and then wanted to stop and reread the first half.  It was thought provoking and scary and good.  It's one of those books that really makes you think and rethink and then think, 'but what about...OH!'. 
It's about a bunch of stuff that I can't really tell you without giving everything away but this is a great thinker's book.  :)

lost girl lost boy by Peter Straub

This time of year, I love to read creepy books.  So I did a search and this is one I came up with.  It won the 2003 Bram Stoker Award for best novel and it is GOOD.  Here's the story:  Tim is an author.  His sister-in-law has killed herself.  He goes home for the funeral and becomes reacquainted with both his brother and his nephew, Mark.  No sooner does he get home, that he finds out that Mark has disappeared.  It seems there is a serial killer in the area targeting teen boys.  Also, Mark had recently developed an obsession with the house behind his.  He thinks it killed his mom.

Oh it's good a spooky and scary.

Defending Jacob by William Landay

 



Now this is a goooood book.  It's a legal thriller/mystery. The book opens with a man being deposed in front of a grand jury.  He is describing the death of a teen boy in his community and how his family came to be wrapped up in the case.  I can't say too much more about it but if you are looking for similar books, I would recommend Serena by Ron Rash, Before I go to Sleep, We have always lived in the Castle, The Countess, A Reliable Wife, or An Absolute Gentleman.  Perfect fall spooky books.  Enjoy!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This book is not for everyone but I liked it a lot.  It reminds me of Neil Gaiman's Star Dust.  It is a fantasy.  It is beautifully written but until you get used to the prose can be a bit of a struggle to get into.  It's about the battle between two magicians.  They have each selected an apprentice to compete against each other.  I can't describe much more without it coming across as confusing so this is stolen from Wikipedia:The Night Circus is a phantasmagorical fairy tale set near an ahistorical Victorian London in a wandering magical circus that is open only from sunset to sunrise. Le Cirque des Rêves, the Circus of Dreams, features such wonders and "ethereal enigmas" as a blooming garden made all of ice and a fire-breathing paper dragon. The circus has no set schedule, appearing without warning and leaving without notice; they travel in a train disguised as an ordinary coal transport. A network of devoted fans who style themselves "rêveurs" develops around the circus; they identify to each other by adding a splash of red to garb that otherwise matches the characteristic black and white of the circus tents. The magical nature of the circus is occluded under the guise of legerdemain; the illusionist truly transforms her jacket into a raven and the fortune teller truly reads the uncertain future, and both are applauded for their ingenuity.
The circus serves a darker purpose beyond entertainment and profit. The magicians Prospero the Enchanter and the enigmatic Mr. A.H— groom their young proteges, Celia and Marco, to proxy their rivalry with the exhibits as a stage. Prospero teaches his daughter to hone her innate talents by holding ever larger and more complex magical workings in her mind. Celia takes her position on the game board as the illusionist, adding tents and maintaining wondrous aspects from the inside. Mr. A.H— trains his orphan ward with books in the ways of glyphs and sympathetic magic. Marco takes a position as majordomo to the producer of the circus; he works from the outside in, connected to the circus but not a part of it. The two generate nightly wonders for the circus and for each other, soon falling in love despite being magically bound to a deadly competition with rules neither understands; the magical courtship strains the fate laid out for them and endangers the circus that has touched the lives of so many and cannot survive without the talents of both players.

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta

Note to self: When I write a book (ha!) my name shall not be larger than the title.

This book has a really great premise. It is current day and a large portion of the earth's population is missing. It's kind of like the rapture occurred, only most of the planet is fairly certain it was not the rapture. Why? Because there is no real pattern to who vanished. Jews, Muslims, Christians, murders, football players, all kinds of people are gone. This book is about those who are still here, the Leftovers.

The book centers around Kevin, his wife and his daughter and how they each deal with this mind blowing event. It was such a good book and I will definitely be on the lookout for more by this author.

EDITED TO ADD: OH MY! This is the man who wrote the book Election, later made into an indie movie staring that man that's married to Sarah Jessica Parker, oh! Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon. I love that movie.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

I love Neil Gaiman. LOVE HIM. However, this is not my favorite book. I read it based on a suggestion from a blog about spookiest books. I think this was intended to be a scary kids' story?

Anyway, it was also a movie and while definitely spooky, it was a disappointment to me. But I do LOVE Neil Gaiman. Check out Stardust instead.

In this book, somewhat neglected Coraline enters an unused part of her house and emerges in an alternate reality where everything is *almost* the same, but the people have buttons instead of eyes.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

You have probably seen the movie. It's a good story, but a bit slow and not that exciting. If you are looking for a BETTER book, check out We have always lived in the Castle, also by Shirley Jackson.

This author was amazing at the slowly-developing thriller. However, there are some younger authors who have surpassed her.

The basic story is a professor has rented out a creepy house and is bringing 'sensitive' people to stay in it to see what happens. The main character is a bit of a mystery and you will find yourself wishing that her background was the focus of the story.

So Cold the River by Michael Koryta

Just in time, I finished my last spooky book. (I think November I am going to try all books about thankfulness, can I even find them?) Earlier this month, I read The Ridge by the same author and really enjoyed it. I liked this one too.

A down-and-out filmmaker, Eric, is presented with a job opportunity. He is to travel to Indiana and research the father-in-law of his client and make a movie of his life. His client gives him an old bottle of Pluto Mineral Water which is the only object from the past the man has. As Eric gets to Indiana, he starts to have visions and the bottle of water is getting colder and colder...

Horns by Joe Hill

This was the 2nd of three books that I got in homage to Halloween. It centers on Ig, who wakes up one morning to discover horns growing from his head. Along with the horns, comes a few strange abilities. We also meet Ig's best friend Lee, his brother Terry and his now-deceased true love, Merrin. Merrin was murdered and while Ig was suspected, no one has ever been charged. The book was good, the premise was great but I didn't feel like it lived up to the possibilities. I would definitely recommend it and would be interested in reading more by this author. He also wrote 'Heart-Shaped Box' which I feel like I heard about but maybe not?

The Ridge by Michael Koryta

I recently got a few books at the library that were spooky, in honor of Halloween. This was one that was recommended in a local publication. The story revolves around the Ridge, an isolated area in the hills of Kentucky. The Ridge is home to a lighthouse (yes, in land-locked Kentucky), an old railroad bridge and the new home to a big cat sanctuary. Then lots of strange things start happening. It was spooky and I liked it a lot. Unfortunately, the other 2 books I got were a bit better. Well worth reading though and I will look into other books by this author.

the Nature of Monsters by Clare Clark

In the 17th century, there were two views on the cause of birth defects. One, that the child was a monster cursed by God, the other, that the mother of the child had suffered a shock that imprinted itself on the unborn child.

A doctor who has a large birth mark on his face is determined to prove that it was his mothers fault that he is marked. She apparently witnessed a massive fire while pregnant.

The doctor's method of proving himself correct is to torment pregnant women and then study their children. Brought under his control is Eliza, a 16 year old sent to him as a maid after becoming pregnant with the child of a wealthy merchant who is paying to keep her out of the way.

This book is dark and mysterious and drags a bit. I liked it more for the background than for the actual story. I think I would have preferred a non-fiction book concerning the same subject matter. It was good though. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this type of book as it is a bit heavy.

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

My friend loaned me this book and OH! was it good! A psychological thriller as good as Shutter Island. I don't even want to tell you anything about this book. Basically though, it involves a man who sends off for A Reliable Wife through mail-order. He doesn' exactly get what he expects. Spooky and thrilling and surprising.

This was Goolrick's first work of fiction, he also wrote a memoir which I will never, ever read (Think the Glass Castle) called The End of the World as We Know It.

An Absolute Gentleman by R. M. Kinder

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!

It is spooky and macabre (just looking for an excuse to use this word) but not really scary. It's haunting though and stays with you. It makes you look at people around you quite a bit differently.

The author of this book was the neighbor to convicted murder Robert Weeks. In 1987, Weeks was convicted of killing 2 women but suspected in the deaths of several other acquantences who vanished after meeting him for dinner. The author met with Weeks in prison as part of a plan to write a book about him but couldn't bring herself to serve his need for fame. Instead, she used the information from the interviews to write a fictional story as told by a killer. It is narrated by Arthur Blume and is completely chilling. He alludes to his murders as well as gives heartbreaking stories from his childhood. It was completely fascinating. Did I mention I LOVED THIS BOOK. It reminded me of another book I loved We have always lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. I will review that book another day when I start reviewing some of my favorite all time books.