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2022 Activities and Challenges
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2022 Fall Flurry of Holidays Challenge -- October Reviews and Discussion
The Lost Village by Camilla Sten, 3.5 stars. This one qualifies fo October, because it was definitely damn scary! Eerie and mysterious, and frightening.
Well, this one definitely fit the scary tag.
It was dark and somewhat disturbing. Which I don't really tend to go for. But I was sure engaged in it. There are some themes of mental illness in there. Its for sure not a pick-me-up pick. This book does appear to have a lot of raves. Its for sure not my genre, so you can take my thoughts at whatever value you choose. But I rather enjoyed it, despite my discomfort and out of genre standpoint. I think many of you might really like it. What a contrast from the rather silly Halloween-ish romance I am reading now. Could use an in-between. I certainly hope Chris Bohjahlin's Hour of the Witch will do the trick.
I seem to be completely out of sync with these monthly theme challenges. I read one of the scarier books I would ever find myself reading in September - The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. Now reading a gothic romantic suspense set in the southwest with strong Native American themes I am finishing this weekend...isn't Native American month or day or whatever in November? I am using it for 'Scary' and maybe flurries but I am laughing at myself. I also read a Christmas novella last weekend! Clearly I follow my own path and time table. 😉
Theresa wrote: "I seem to be completely out of sync with these monthly theme challenges. I read one of the scarier books I would ever find myself reading in September - [book:The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle|363..."In the USA Indigenous Peoples Day is Oct 10 this year (ILO Columbus Day)
In Canada they celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day in June
Book Concierge wrote: "In Canada they celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day in June ..."We had our "Truth and Reconciliation Day" (or "Orange Shirt Day") on Friday (Sept 30). Is that close enough to October to count? :-)
LibraryCin wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: "In Canada they celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day in June ..."We had our "Truth and Reconciliation Day" (or "Orange Shirt Day") on Friday (Sept 30). Is that close enough to O..."
I say yes! And I am claiming my read for October Flurries!
Vermilion by Phyllis A. Whitney3 stars - Indigenous People and American Gothic with a solid dark creepy atmosphere and a few stormy night scenes that had me turning on more lights while reading. I am also a wuss.
Lindsay, a successful fashion designer in NYC, receives a mysterious note urging her to go to Sedona, AZ to confront her half-sister Sybil about their father's murder a year earlier. Even though the last thing Lindsay wants to do is confront her cold hateful older sister, she feels compelled to go. Arriving in Sedona, Lindsay not only discovers a landscape that draws her, but many secrets of her own family are revealed and she must confront both her love for Sybil's husband and her own alterego she has named Vermilion.
Whitney was crowned the American Queen of the Gothic Mystery in the mid-20th century with good reason, and she imbues that mastery of gothic suspense throughout the plot, the beauty of Sedona, and the dark troubling atmosphere Lindsay finds around her. She also brings the glories of Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon (which impressed me more than Sedona itself on my visit to that area in 2016) to rich recognizable life. Whitney visited and researched every location used in her books. It shows. I may have to reread this next time I visit Sedona.
The book is also reasonably rich in Hopi art, craft, and lore adding much to the story and playing a big part in Lindsay learning of her family and roots.
Hold on to your hats!!! Spiritual Girl is about to give a serious pan! Don't we all just love to see a scathing review? The truth is that while I might giggle, I always feel for the authors who put their heart and soul into writing a book. This is something they believed in, labored over, gave their heart into. Oh come on! This is now making it very hard for me to write a colorful scathe. I just can't do it. Sorry, my higher self just ruined a perfectly good dissatisfied rant. I will be forced to keep it classy.
I will say this. A light silly book got sillier and less comprehensible as it went on. Now I get it, that the more you become a serious Goodreads reader, the more absolutely fabulous books you read, sometimes light and fluffy doesn't do it anymore. But I do have some beach reads and pool reads, that are not even "mid-brow" and I enjoy them anyway, despite the tropes. But it takes a lot for a person like me, who is afraid of offending the author, to give a one star. So I will let that lone little star speak for itself.
I did write in one of my updates, and I thought it was kind of funny, that the book reminded me of a version of a really bad Charmed episode. And I loved Charmed. Even the very few less great ones. I loved even those. But if you can imagine my least favorite most campy charmed episodes being the standard fare, then this would have been bad for even that. And yet, there was a little feeling of Charmed in there. Like if the writers were either on drugs or out of ideas. Or just not in the mood. Kind of like we needed 58 minutes to wrap it up and clap one's hands and say onto the next, and that was exactly what it was. They cleared it up compactly, even if it made no real sense, and went on their merry way. Except there is a sequel. Can you get a "yuck" out of me? Maybe just to know I was thinking it.
So here is the question I pose. This book landed on my TBR because a lot of people loved it. This got some fairly good raves. So I am asking very seriously. Its not a challenge, its an invitation. Tell me why you loved it, why it appealed. Often books I have not appreciated, I appreciate more when others tell me why it struck them somehow. So this invitation is genuine. What about the Ex Hex, made you feel like you had been on some kind of a ride, or got a certain feeling? Help me connect this one. Help me make some sense of this.
Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice4 1/2 stars
In Interview with the Vampire, a young journalist interviews a man who turns out to be a vampire. The vampire, Louis, tells his story of how he came to be a vampire and his life as a vampire through the years. This was a really compelling story. I loved the format of the storytelling. It really draws you in and keeps you wanting to know what happens next. The characters were very complex. The ruminations on what it means to live and what is evil was interesting. Louis story was tragic and left me a bit unsatisfied, but also interested in reading more of the series to see what others views of their conditions are.
Oops! Just realized I missed adding the shelf for "Fall flurry of holidays 2022". It's there now for those of you who add your own books!
The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison
5 Stars
The Gardener likes to keep "butterflies". His "butterflies" are young women that he has kidnapped and tattooed wings on. They are kept isolated in his garden where he does as he pleases with them.
The FBI discovers the garden and interviews Maya. Maya tells the story of the garden and what has gone on. The book flips through the past events at the garden and the present, in which Maya is telling her story.
I really enjoyed this one. It's pretty creepy, but kept me on the edge. Last night it reached a point where I COULD NOT STOP READING! I was fighting sleep trying to finish it.
- 3 stars#7 of the Mercy Thompson series, Mercy is an indigenous walker and a shapeshifting coyote. It also has werewolves, vampires, fae and most supernaturals who consider humans to be food or prey. That counts for Halloween, right?
Review: The Mercy books are always enjoyable. I enjoy the community of quirky folk that she has collected. The books are just a bit too overreaching as the try to include everyone and act as bridge for a larger story arc but still very fun. I love how Mercy is growing into herself each book, becoming more comfortable with her magic, her Coyote's gift and her people.
In this one, the wolf pack is taken by feds and Mercy fights to protect those left behind while working the scene to get the pack found. Larger politics are at work and Mercy and her wolves are easily identifiable pawns. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out in the end.
- 4 starsA powerful collection of stories centered on David, part of the Penobscot community in Maine. The first story has his mother leaving his father and returning to her home in Maine and dating one of the local medicine men. The stories revolve around David, his family and friends skipping back and forth in time from when David is a child to his adult years. Talty deftly weaves daily life, community traditions and beliefs with the family difficulties and stories. Drugs and alcohol seem much more accessible than more positive opportunities. Throughout though, the love and community support for each other really stands out. People share what they have and forgive what is missing. David breaks from his own mother at one part and his friend's mom takes care of him and in return he supports her son. While struggling, David still finds time to visit the older people in his life and bring their comfort requests or chop firewood. It is a difficult life but there are beautiful aspects as well.
I appreciated learning more about a community close to home and would love to read more.
Indigenous People's Day- Not quite sure why it is tagged as horror or fantasy. David and his friends scare themselves a bit with traditional myths of scary creatures and curses but they don't actually appear as more than a belief in the stories.
Ann☕ wrote: "
by Joanne FlukeHannah Swensen is the owner of a bakery in a small town called Lake Eden where nothing much exciting happens, excep..."
Ann, let me know how this ties in with Fall Flurries in October, I'm probably missing something obvious.
People Person by Candice Carty-Williams - 4 StarsI liked Queenie when I read it, so I was really happy to read the latest book by the same author. People Person tells the story of 5 half-siblings who had met only once before, yet they came together when one of them was in need. As well as telling the story of the developing relationship, this book also looked at society, the lack of trust many have in the police, absent fathers, toxic relationships and strong women. I didn’t mind that some parts of this book were a bit difficult to believe as I loved seeing the interactions between the siblings. I really liked how this book ended and the journey that the five siblings went on to forge a relationship with each other, and maintain that relationship over the years. I’ll definitely be reading more by this author.
October is Black History Month here in the UK, so I would say that this fits, especially with the discussion about Cyril having been left in the Caribbean when his Mum moved to the UK for work, and only going to join the family when he was 15 and they had the money to pay for his ticket. There were also mentions around the lack of trust black people have in the police, and talk about the police never having done anything to help them.
Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian4.5 stars
Mary Deerfield is the wife of prominent Boston miller, Thomas. It is 1662 and the fear of witchcraft is a real concern to everyone; several witch hangings have occurred in surrounding towns. Outwardly Thomas is soft-spoken, polite and admired while at home he is abusive and cruel. More than once Mary has tried to hide her bruises from others by covering them with clothing or her cap. The latest injury, when Thomas stabbed the tines of a fork into her hand, became Mary's breaking point. She returns to her parents home and proclaims that she wants to divorce her husband.
The scandal rocks the town as a divorce is almost unheard of except in the cases of desertion or adultery. Mary becomes the object of fierce speculation when it is learned that two forks, or Devil's tines, were buried outside her front door. The Deerfield's servant, Catherine, is convinced her mistress is dabbling in witchcraft and soon much of the town is in agreement. Mary has no idea who buried the forks but is determined to solve the mystery. Unfortunately she may find herself on the gallows before she can learn the identity of the culprit.
What a frightening story! It is told masterfully by the gifted Bohjalian but it is scary nonetheless. How despairing these young women must have been knowing that nothing they could say or do would convince people of their innocence. Any ordinary thing that Mary did was twisted to appear sinister. Her life with Thomas was a complete nightmare but a woman was never believed before a man. Mary is a wonderful character and one who did not back down even when she may have had to face her own death. I really enjoyed this one.
Fruit of the Drunken Tree - 4 starsFor Hispanic Heritage Month
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A chilling four stars for this one. I had waited until this October to pick it up, in honor of this eerie witchy times that we currently have- although fall is my favorite season, actually. I think its beautiful and the weather is just perfect. Plus its New England. Who can beat a New England Fall? Simply Stunning. Anyway, I have digressed. Back to the Darkness.
This Chris Bohjahlin novel, follows Mary Deerfield, who petitioned the court twice. Once to try to get free from a domestically abusive husband, the next because she was accused of witchcraft. And the story is told rather true to the narrative historical accounts, although there is a lot of creative historical fiction in there as well.
How frightening and scary these times, when women could be accused with no fact but fear to back them up. When it made no sense how the law worked, and in every case to disempower and fail to protect women of good standing. And here we are four years later, and the same non-sensical churchy fear based arguments are still with us. Where lies are taken as justice, and fear drives laws that fail. Very very dark to me.
The novel was excellently written, and I would like to talk about the ending with those who have read it. Those who know me, know I abhor spoilers of any kind that would even remotely affect a readers experience of the book. But that said, I look forward to making a connection or two.
May you all have beautiful Octobers, Halloweens and these surrounding gorgeous fall days!
I think I have one--does necromancy count? It deals with the dead coming back and doing things under the control of the necromancer. There is also alchemy (with magic, although in the book they claim it's science.) In the interest of full disclosure it's on another planet but it the people in it are human.
Karin wrote: "I think I have one--does necromancy count? It deals with the dead coming back and doing things under the control of the necromancer. There is also alchemy (with magic, although in the book they cla..."I think most spooky, scary stuff will work for October.
Give the Dark My Love by Beth Revis1 star, but you might like this much better than I did (y/a) There is necromancy so there are undead in this eventually.
I want to preface this by saying that normally I rate Revis very high--5 stars for her Across the Universe trilogy and 4 stars for The Body Electric
This was a huge disappointment for me because I hated the premise and story. If I hadn't been reading this for a challenge I have been doing well in, I wouldn't have bothered. It's not that Revis didn't write well (read her acknowledgements, she had lots of great support in doing that), but it is dark, dreary and (view spoiler)
Plus, I am really not interested in necromancy. In addition, I found it completely bogus to keep calling magic science and give bogus explanations about balance (regarding the alchemy in other areas.) This was the place I couldn't suspend my disbelief--call it magic and I'd have gone with that premise.
Fear on the Phantom Special by Edward Marston - 3 starsOn Halloween night 1861 a train is hired to take a group of friends to a spot in the forest where they plan to have a picnic and party. On the way one person goes missing. Inspector Colbeck and Sergeant Leeming who work for the railroad are sent to investigate.
This was a fun mystery and the first I have read in the series (although it is number 17). The book changes narrators often and there are actually two stories going on. The main investigation takes place in the Lake District where the Railway detective is sent to find out what happened to the missing person and look into another missing person case from 10 years prior. The second investigation takes place closer to home when an item is missing from Inspector Colbeck's father-in-law. This story was definitely related to Halloween. I do plan on reading others in the series as time allows.
Undermajordomo Minor by Patrick deWitt - 3* - My ReviewThis book tells a picaresque tale in the manner of a dark fairy tale or fable. I can picture it as the equivalent of a ghost story being told around a campfire, complete with gothic elements, castle, journey, illness, death, rats, and a mysterious Very Large Hole. It is set in eastern Europe. Protagonist Lucien Minor is, at the outset, leading a directionless life. He contracts pneumonia, nearly dies, and is offered a chance for a job at the remote castle of Baron von Aux, working for a majordomo, where he becomes an “undermajordomo” (of the tongue-in-cheek title). He meets a cast of eccentric characters and embarks on a number of adventures.
Patrick deWitt is one of my favorite authors. This book contains the author’s trademark storytelling infused with dark humor, but I think it loses its way in the second half and the ending is rather unsatisfying. This book is more farcical or bizarre than scary, but it was scary enough for me to count it for my annual Halloween-themed read. and Fall Flurries!
PBT Comments: Any book with a Very Large Hole is something I had to read :-)
Content warning: (view spoiler)
The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James - 4 StarsThis is the second book I have read by this author, and I have really enjoyed them both. It was more of a psychological thriller than a horror, although there were paranormal aspects. This book was completely gripping, and I did not want to put this down, reading late into the night to finish it. I liked both Carly and Viv, and how their stories often mirrored each other. I didn’t at all work out what had happened to Viv until it was revealed, which shows how well done the mystery was, but I liked how tenacious both Viv and Carly were about investigating something that others shied away from.
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo - 4 StarsSet in 1930s Malaysia, this work of historical fiction about the intertwined lives of an orphan houseboy and a girl working in a dancehall to pay off her mother’s debts was a really interesting read, and different to other books I had previously read. I had previously heard of the Chinese superstition about men who turn in to tigers when I read Man Tiger by Eka Kurniawan, but I much preferred how this book included this superstition in its story. I really loved the bits of the book that showed Malaysian and Chinese superstition and mythology, and this book really got under my skin at times, completely drawing me in to the story, and making me apprehensive about what might happen next, especially when the ghosts appeared, as they seemed to signal that there was some form of danger about.
Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym - 5* - My ReviewSet in London, this is a quiet book about two men and two women who work together. They do not know each other well personally but have worked in the same office for years. The two women retire. When one of the retired women appears to be declining, the others try to help, but it is difficult not to intrude on her privacy. It is a beautifully written character study about aging. Each takes a different approach. These characters feel so authentic and the situations true to life. It is melancholy but leaves the reader with a sense of optimism that something positive will come out of the sadness. I loved it.
It is set in autumn and could also be interpreted as the autumn of life. I read it for Fall Flurries.
Forgot to post this here when I originally posted my review for the monthly tag, but: Bunny by Mona Awad - 4 stars - Review is here!
Definitely counts as a spooky read because it was rather disturbing in a surreal, "I'm not sure what is fantasy and what is reality" sort of way.
Hour of the Witch / Chris Bohjalian3.5 stars
In 17th century Boston, Mary has been married to Thomas for 5 years. He is incredibly abusive toward her, both physically and mentally, but always when there is no one else to notice anything askew. When Mary finally decides she can take it no longer (after he has put a (new-fangled) fork (aka Devil’s tines) through her hand), she is determined to divorce him. In the meantime, though, there have been whisperings of witchcraft. There is a woman in town who dislikes Mary, and Mary and Thomas’ indentured servant also suspects Mary of witchcraft (in part, due to those forks!).
This was good. It felt slow-moving even though we got to Mary’s petition for divorce fairly early on in the book, but of course, this wasn’t the entirety of the story. There were a couple of twists toward the end. I found the bit about the forks interesting – that is, they were a new item and people looked on them suspiciously. I had no idea! I did like the book, but there are others by the author that I’ve liked better.
The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling
3 stars
This is the 2nd book in the The Ex Hex series that Amy read the first one of. I read the first one last October/Halloween and the 2nd this year.
As Amy mentioned, they are silly and fluffy. I think you definitely have to go into the book knowing that for it to be enjoyable. I didn't necessarily love it but it was cute and entertaining. I loved the bit of silliness to it too. It made me giggle in many parts.
The Ex Hex was focused on Vivi and Rhys and the Kiss Curse is focused on Vivi's cousin Gwyn and Rhys's brother Wells. The plot follows the same recipe but in this one I absolutely fell in love with the side characters, the Baby Witches and Sir Purrcival.
If you want something light, that doesn't make you think, that makes you laugh here and there and has a Halloween theme featured throughout, then take a chance :)
Ann☕ wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Ann☕ wrote: " by Joanne FlukeHannah Swensen is the owner of a bakery in a small town called Lake Eden where noth..."
Thank you. I've added The Birds in instead.
Play Book Tag discussionThe Haunting of Hill House
This topic is about The Haunting of Hill House
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October 2022: Scary > The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (edit)
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message 1: by DianeMP - rated it 4 stars10 minutes ago
DianeMP | 444 comments"Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone." So begins the Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Every time I read that segment I get a chill down my spine, even on a second reading.
The Haunting of Hill House is a great ghost story. It happens in large part to the interaction between the mansion and the main character Eleanor Vance. Eleanor is the young woman around whom the uncanny events of the novel come together. She is a complicated and distinctive individual, peculiar even, although not so particular that she fails to engage the reader's sympathy. We experience the novel from within Eleanor's consciousness and however unreliable we know her to be, we are wedded to her. When the house infiltrates her psyche, the reader, so thoroughly bound upon her, is also invaded.
The prevailing mood of the Haunting of Hill House, the spell of the book that so many readers have found it hard to shake, is one of physical and psychic claustrophobia. The surrounding hills bear down on the house, the doors and windows refuse to remain open, some rooms are entirely encased in other rooms and as another character puts it, the decor was designed by Victorians, who "buried themselves in folds of velvet and tassels and purple plush." It is a very comfortable place in some ways--the beds are soft and the cooking is excellent--but its cushioned embrace is suffocating.
***********!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!***************
Hill House is "not sane" as the narrator informs us, so presumably it is not only alive but existing under conditions of absolute reality - a strange assertion to make about a house, especially a haunted one. Although Eleanor's experiences at Hill House will be both bizarre and fantastic, and
she will eventually become deranged enough to deliberately drive her car into a tree, what she is headed toward is not a delusion but a collision with this "absolute reality." Hill House will force her to acknowledge that she will never be free, that her dreams of leaving her corrosive past and her family behind are illusions, that wherever she goes she will only find the same hell she was running away from. Escape is a mirage. This is the real horror of Hill House.
Eventually, Eleanor finally agrees to surrender to Hill House, to bury herself in its " folds of velvet and tassels and purple plush," The horror underlying Eleanor's full cycle journey is real as well as ghostly. It is the recognition that the harder you try to escape, the more likely you are bound to repeat the actions that keep you tethered to the past.
The novel ends with the same lines that open it, closing the circle:
Hill House itself, not sane, stood against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, its walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks - 4* - My ReviewI do not read zombie novels; however, I had heard good things about this one. So, in the spirit of “never say never,” I gave it a try. This book is an oral “history” of the zombie apocalypse. As the story opens, it has already occurred, and the narrator is interviewing participants from across the globe. My main complaint is the way women are portrayed. Other than that, I have to admit being pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the storyline. It will not, however, become standard fare in my reading list.
I read this for the “scary” tag, fall flurries, and the “zombies” buddy read.
The Lost Village / Camilla Sten4 stars
Alice is a filmmaker still looking for her big break. Maybe this is it? Her grandmother grew up in a small isolated town in Sweden where something odd happened in 1959. Everyone disappeared. All almost-900 of them. (Alice’s grandmother had already moved to Stockholm by then.) There was one decomposing woman tied to a post in the town square and one baby still alive. 60 years later, Alice gets together five people to go film a promo to raise money to create an entire documentary trying to figure out what happened in this town all those years ago. But things go very very wrong...
The start of this book pulled me right in. It did go back and forth in time between Alice and her crew there for five days filming and back in time to the townspeople and what went on at the time. It did slow down for a while with some set-up, but it picked up again. Creepy… those isolated buildings just left with stuff still on the table, etc. It was all so sudden.
The Resting Place by Camilla Sten - 3 stars - Review is here!Adding it to the October list because it has a spooky, remote location – a manor in the Swedish countryside. However, I didn't find the book scary myself and thought of it more as a mystery/thriller.
A Good Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson 5 stars
Qualifies for October by being scary.
This is an excellent book. It is a thriller that had my attention from the start. The author does a very good job of balancing teenage drama with solving a murder. This keeps the story less scary and more entertaining. In it Pippa is working on a high school project and is looking at an old criminal case where a past student, Andie, goes missing and is resumed to have been murdered. Pippa is able to get friends of Andie to start talking to her and this leads to new clues that she pursues.
People involved in the crime begin to get worried as Pippa continues her investigation and they threaten her anonymously. The author invents creative ways for Pippa to get information. The technology and verbiage in the book is also very modern, making Pippa and her friends seem like normal kids. The reader sees Pippa take chances and show bravery.
There are many suspects in the book as the story goes along and characters are inter-related. This makes for a big mystery and Pippa shows her maturity level in taking on this project. There are few people Pippa can trust and help keep her out of harm's way. Her family is very important to her even though they do not know extent that Pippa is willing to go for this mystery. There are parts of the story that the reader just needs to go with, but overall the book is exciting and hard to put down.
The Hotel Nantucket by Elie Hilderbrand4 stars
This qualifies as October because it includes a ghost as a character.
This is another fun read by Elin Hilderbrand. The main characters all work at or are related somehow to The Hotel Nantucket. The historical building has finally reopened after years of being unoccupied and with it stories of it being haunted by a ghost. Lizbet is the manager of the hotel and is dealing with a recent break up with her boyfriend. Many other characters are growing in their jobs and personally. They deal with many types of customer personalities and are especially attentive to a mother and her two children who moved in for the summer.
The characters all have flaws and their backstories are different and interesting. Their relationships are really what the book is about. They also all would like the hotel to succeed and receive a high rating from a famous travel reviewer. Hilderbrand's additional of the ghost, Grace, in the book could have been awkward, but it turned out to be charming. Grace wants people to know she was murdered in a fire there long ago and hopes her story is finally told.
I enjoyed the book and its descriptions of the hotel and the people who go in and out of it everyday. The character interactions seemed well thought out and the reader wants them to be successful. Fans of Elin Hilderbrand will like this novel.
I realized that I had forgotten to post my review of Fruit of the Drunken Tree which I did for Fall Flurries for Hispanic Heritage Month:Review- https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History / Tori Telfer4 stars
This book looks at historical women serial killers. There are a number of stories of different women in different places and times, from the 13th century up to the 1950s.
As interesting as I found all of these stories as I read them, they do read like short stories, so (unfortunately) by the end, I have already forgotten details of the earlier stories in the book. Even so, I was certainly very interested and very much “enjoyed” reading the stories.
Many of the women killed via poison, but not all. There were a few very cruel women included (that is, they killed by other cruel ways); the two that immediately come to mind were both nobility in their respective countries and time periods. I really liked the author’s writing style, and she even injected a bit of humour at times. I also liked that the author was also able to find out personal information on these women, not just information about the murders they committed (she talks in the afterword about cutting out a couple of people she wanted to include, but she just couldn’t find enough info on them).
You can sense, see and hear them but no touchy, Ghost. 
3 stars
A good collection of ghost stories. Some are more engaging than others but all lack that pull you in, make you feel like you are experiencing what the living were going through. I also would have liked a little more background story in many of the short stories and pictures. After saying all that there are a couple of stories that will make you sleep with the lights on.
In honor of Yom Kippur ... there is a major Jewish character in this novel.
Murder In Grub Street – Bruce Alexander – 3***
Book two in the Sir John Fielding mystery series. This was much more complicated than the first book, and I admit my attention wandered a bit. There is religious fervor, multiple personalities, professional jealousy, anti-semitism, dreadful conditions of tenement buildings, and a light-fingered imp of a thief to complicate the case. Still, I love the way that Alexander has taken bits and pieces of history and woven them into these mysteries.
LINK to my full review
Witches and wizards and demons .... Oh, My!
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J K Rowling – 4****
The seventh, and final, episode in the uber popular Harry Potter series, provides a few surprises and a satisfying ending to the story of the Boy Who Lived vs You Know Who. The series has always been aimed at this confrontation, and some of the scenes were truly frightening. I appreciated the several bits of humor that provided some relief from the seemingly relentless danger. And can I just say that I want one of those evening bags!
LINK to my full review
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan AlamThis was a spooky, atmospheric book.
I saw that this book has had lots of quite negative reviews and low ratings, but I thought it did what it set out to do well. Very early on in this book I started to feel unsettled, which is what I imagine the author wanted the reader to feel, as it did mirror what the characters were feeling. They had been cut off from knowing what was going on in the world due to the sudden, lasting blackout in Long Island with both the TV and internet down, and there already having been no mobile phone service, and so they could not know what had happened in New York. This sense of suspense and unease was exactly how I felt whilst reading the book. I also liked how the author examined race and class, with the white family who had rented the home in the Hamptons being unable to believe that it belonged to the black couple who showed up seeking somewhere to stay, and claiming that they owned the house. I own another book by this author, and I am looking forward to reading it soon.
The InvisiblesThe Invisibles by Rachel Dracus; 1 star
This was pretty horrible. Do you know how sometimes you stick out a book, because you are at least trying to figure out the mystery, only to realize that the mystery never really existed, and that storyline was never really the point of an absolutely pointless book? Time was odd. The story never once aligned with time. I kept expecting a dreamscape, or ghostscape/deathscape, or medical coma, because only that would make sense. But no, we were supposed to think all of this was the actual experiences and events in real time. The ghost part of the story had little to no role, the hidden manuscript wasn't, the missing brother, nothing happened with that. We never understood the father's purpose, the ghost's purpose. Fabulous Italian men were drawn to and stayed with women that they never should have, who in real life would have not ever had sustained a relationship. But most oddly, on page 96, the ghost of Percy Blythe Shelley (an Invisible) told Saffron that one of the two sisters would not make it past New Years Day, which got my attention and got me to continue reading - but then nothing ever happened with that. No dangled end got tied up in any way, except for rushed marriages and unlikely renewed sisterhood. It was both ridiculous, lacked substance, and was a complete waste of time.
But what it did do, was allow me to read a somewhat ghosty story that had been on my radar for some time. This one can now forever be off my radar and TBR, and I can focus on more wonderful reads that make sense and draw you in. I am now off to read and hopefully enjoy the Firekeeper's Daughter. Wish me far better luck. At least I get the point for the October Fall Flurries Challenge for a ghost themed book, which I suppose is reason enough to have wasted the time and money.
The Turner HouseThe Turner House by Angela Flournoy – 4 Stars
One of the characters is haunted by a ghost ("haint").
This was a really enjoyable family saga about the Turner family who live in Detroit. The story is told in multiple timelines, starting in the 1940s with the story of Francis and Viola going through to the present day with the stories of their 13 children, who by now are middle-aged. It was interesting to see not just how the family has grown and the changing dynamics, but to see what had happened to Detroit and the black families who lived there just before Obama was elected, and the collapse and then repair that the city was going through. Several social issues are covered in the book, including gambling addition, what happened when a house needs to be sold for less than the loan on it, people with failing health and a lack of healthcare, job loss and racial inequality. One part of the book I did struggle with was the relationship Cha-Cha has with his therapist who he goes to see because he is haunted by a ghost, called a “haint” who has stayed with him since he was a child. I struggle to believe that a therapist would be that unprofessional to allow themselves to get closer to a client than they normally would because they wanted to learn something about themselves.
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill 4 starsThis full-on ghost story was actually genuinely scary. I love a book where the outcome is in doubt.
Jude Coyne is an aging heavy metal rock star. He's a collector of odd, macabre memorabilia, so when the opportunity to buy a ghost is presented to him, he says Yes without another thought.
The ghost is delivered via the dead man's suit - the ghost follows along. And since Jude bought the suit, he now owns the ghost too.
From the very first moment, the suit causes trouble. The actual ghost appears not long after and appears to have some personal grudge against Jude.
What follows is non-stop action, Jude trying to outrun and hopefully find some way to stop the ghost before the ghost destroys (and ends) his life.
Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury – 5*****
Bradbury was a master of suspense and sci-fi. Here he turns his imagination loose on every child’s dream – and nightmare. Who doesn’t love to be scared on a carnival ride? Like the best roller coaster, Bradbury S-L-O-W-L-Y drew me up the incline of suspense, dropped me into terror, and then evened out to let me catch my breath, only to realize there was another, steeper, incline ahead. When, finally, the ride was over I was giddy with relief … and wanted to “go again!”
LINK to my full review
And Now She's Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall4 stars
scary
This book is certainly a thriller. In it Grayson Sykes is working on her first case as a private detective. She is searching for a woman and a dog that have gone missing. As Grayson digs deeper she finds layers of deception. The woman is not who she said she was and she may be involved in fraud and other crimes. Grayson is also not who she lets on to be and her past is quickly catching up to her.
This is an exciting book and through Grayson's backstories the reader sees how she has changed and hardened over the years. Grayson is trying to find information on the case she was hired for, but also looking to protect herself. The author does a good job of keeping people guessing how it will play out until the end. It is the unknown elements in the book that create tension and cause characters to be scared. However, this is part of what makes a good mystery and you want to keep on reading.
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
The Asylum (other topics)When the Stars Go Dark (other topics)
Inheritance: A Visual Poem (other topics)
Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna (other topics)
Calling for a Blanket Dance (other topics)
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Oscar Hokeah (other topics)Rumaan Alam (other topics)
Max Brooks (other topics)
Joanne Fluke (other topics)
Erin Sterling (other topics)
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*Credit to Nicole R whose words I used, almost in full.