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.

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.

The Hand that Trembles by Kjell Ericksson

I should probably stop reading all these Swedish books. I am not chosing them on purpose, it's just one of those coincidences that happens in life. HOWEVER, you would think I would notice the author's name. I always find them a bit off. As if maybe something is missing in translation.
Anyway...this book is part of a series following a female police officer and her cases. In this book, a female foot is found. Also, a fellow police officer is troubled by a cold case. The story is interesting, but having not read any others in the series, I didn't love it. I liked it enough that if I easily came across others in the series, I would pick them up, but probably won't seek them out.

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.

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

This is Joe Hill's first book. I picked it up as part of my creepy Halloween reading. A couple of weeks ago, I read his other book Horns which I really liked. This one was good, but it dragged a bit or else I just wasn't in the mood for it.

Here's the deal: A Ozzy Osbourne-type aging rock star collects morbid curiousities. His assistant alerts him to the internet sale of a ghost. They buy the ghost, the ghost comes and terriorizes him. He tries to return the ghost, but all is not as it seems. BOO! It was a great premise but I got lost a bit. I do think it's worth reading though, but I found my self skipping ahead (which I rarely do).

Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon

This is one of those books I picked up because ANOTHER book I was reading mentioned Chabon as an author of 'intelligent' books. WHY DO I PAY ATTENTION TO THIS? I think this was a movie as well. This book is DUMB. Nothing happens. Well, a lot of stuff happens, but it's dumb. The main character is constantly stoned, has a wife, a mistress, steals someone's prized possession, gets attacked by a dog, the dog gets shot, drives around with the body of dog in the car. Then he befriends a lying weirdo, takes him to his soon-to-be-ex wife's parents' house, kills their unwanted giant snake, drives around with the body of the snake next to the body of the dog. At one point there is a tuba and a transvestite. Oh, and the main character has been writing the same book, Wonder Boys, for 7 years and the mistress is pregnant and he may sleep with his young roomate and then he smokes another joint. I will never get why 'intellectuals' think this type of garbage is intelligent. I am sure that they would give a million examples of how this is symbolic of something stupid, how the story follows the story that the character is writing, etc. I DON'T CARE. This is a dumb, stupid book.

The Cypress House by Michael Koryta

As part of my theme on authors I HAVE liked, I got this book by the author of The Ridge. I liked this book, but probably not as much as The Ridge. That will teach me to read books in the order they were published. In Michael Koryta's case, I think he is getting better.

This book follows Arlen. He can see when death is approaching. He and his young friend Paul are on a train bound for a depression-era work project in the Florida Keys when Arlen sees death in the eyes of all his fellow passengers. He tries to warn them, but no one except Paul will listen. He and Paul leave the train and end up headed on a journey that gets 'curiouser and curiouser'.

I liked this book, though I had figured out portions of it before the end. If you like thrillers, this is a great author to read. I have one other of his books sitting on my shelf. I will let you know how it goes :)

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

This is the first book I read through kindle from my local library. It was odd and I wondered if portions were left out when it was digitized. The story is about the two granddaughters of the founders of a women's club in a mountain town. There are random instances of the supernatural that aren't well seamed into the story and not really commented on by the characters. At times, I wondered if I was going crazy. After finishing the book, I am not totally clear what the title means, which is something that really bothers me. Parts of the story were good but it was just odd in a 'what am I missing?' way.

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 Countess by Rebecca Johns

Based on the true history of Erszebet Bathory, this book is so good. It reminded me a bit of Serena by Ron Rash (will have to check if I blogged that one). The book starts as the Countess is being walled into a room in her tower as punishment for the multiple murders she has committed. It then flashes back in time to recount her life and how she ended up where she did. At its core it is the life of a psychopath and endlessly fascinating. Liked it a lot and will definitely be checking out her first novel Icebergs.

Adam & Eve by Sena Jeter Naslund

This book was good and interesting and irrelevant. I kept waiting for a greater meaning or a sense of enlightenment or something to think about and NOTHING.

But it was good. Basically, this woman Lucy(or Eve) is left alone after her husband dies (or was murdered?). She falls in with a plot to smuggle a version of GENESIS out of one country into another. En route, her plane crashes into a weird, impossible Eden, complete with a sexy yet possibly mentally derranged Adam.

Then a bunch of other stuff happens and in the end nothing really happens and it was stupid. :)

Maybe This Time by Jennifer Cruise

This book is chick lit with a twist of ghosts, orphans, haunted mansion and quirkiness. It was cute and romantic and I liked it.

Andie is divorced and shows up at her ex-husband (of 10 years) to hand over all 10 years worth of uncashed alimony checks. She is getting remarried and wants to be done with him. He asks her to do him one last favor and go take care of 2 orphans who are in his charge. They are troubled and it's a bad situation that he has held at arms-length (it's not the strongest story line ever). So she goes and the house is haunted and all kinds of hi-jinks occur. It's an interesting mix of silly romance novel with a bit of a mystery (but not much of one). I did like it though. It was 'cute'.

the Law of Love by Laura Esquivel

I could not get through this book. It was just too odd. I did love Like Water for Chocolate, but saw it first in movie form. Maybe that helped?