A decade ago, when he started working at Old Devils bookstore in Boston, Malcolm Kershaw published a blog post listing the most unsolvable murders appearing in classic mystery novels.  No one read it.  At least that's what Malcolm thought.  Now, ten years later, a string of murders has been committed and FBI agent Gwen Mulvey thinks the killer is using his list as a guide map.  

When Gwen asks for Malcolm's help, he hesitates.  Truth is, he knew one of the victims.  If he tells Gwen, suspicion might land on him, which is the last thing he wants considering all the secrets he's keeping ...

I don't want to say too much about the plot of Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson.  The less you know going into it, the better.  Despite its appearances, the novel features a slow-burn kind of story that becomes more engrossing as it goes.  Malcolm is not a super likable character, although he is a sympathetic one.  I related to his love of books and mysteries, even though his constant references to genre classics made me feel woefully under-read!  While I had my suspicions about certain members of the story's cast, Eight Perfect Murders did keep me guessing, which kept me reading even though it's not exactly an edge-of-your-seat thriller.  While I didn't love this book, I did appreciate its original premise, its twists and turns, and the fact that I was still thinking about the story days after I finished it.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything really comparable.  You?)

With Halloween at the end of this week, it's no surprise that today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is a holiday freebie.  I don't know how you feel about Halloween, but it's not my favorite.  Although I'm all about candy (as long as it's chocolate), I've never been a fan of dressing up.  Just not my thing.  Ghost stories have always thrilled me, although truth be told, I'm a pretty big wimp when it comes to scary things!  In the past, my husband and I have spent Halloween evening sitting in our driveway handing out candy and visiting with neighbors while we supervised our kids' trick-or-treating efforts.  Now that our youngest is a month away from her 12th birthday, she's decided she wants to trick-or-treat with her friends in their neighborhood without any parents tagging along.  Fine by me.  Way I figure it, these unwanted parents will stick a bowl of candy on our porch, turn off the lights, and stay inside with popcorn and a scary-ish movie.  We'll see.  What about you?  Any big plans for Halloween?

Back in high school, I spent many nights hiding under my covers with a flashlight and a chilling horror novel.  The older I've gotten, though, the wussier I've become.  I still love me a shivery ghost story or a haunting Gothic thriller, as long as it's not too terrifying.  For my TTT list, I decided to highlight some of the creepy novels from 2020 and 2021 that are on my TBR list.  These are sure to give me a good fright!

Before we get to that, though, I want to give a shout out to our lovely host, Jana.  Click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl to give her blog some love and find out more about Top Ten Tuesday.

1.  The Haunting of Brynn Wilder by Wendy Webb—In search of a life reset, the titular character checks into a boardinghouse on the shores of Lake Superior for the summer.  There she finds camaraderie with a group of similarly lost souls.  Her peace is short-lived—soon she's hearing voices, being plagued by nightmares, and wondering what's inside the mysterious room at the end of the hall ...

2.  The Whispering House by Elizabeth Brooks—Haunted by the recent suicide of her sister, Freya Lyell decides to visit the place of her death.  When she enters mysterious Byrne Hall, she sees a portrait of her sister hanging on the wall.  Freya's never seen the picture and she knows her sister has never been to the house.  What is her sister's likeness doing in a house she's never been to?  What do its owners know about her death?  What dark secrets is the house hiding?

3.  The Shadow in the Glass by J.J.A. Harwood (coming March 18, 2021)—In this dark Cinderella retelling, a miserable maid finds her only solace in the bewitching library inside her stepfather's home.  One night as she's lost in her world of books, her fairy godmother appears to grant her seven wishes.  Each comes with a price—how much is Ella willing to risk for a magical respite from her many troubles?

4.  Don't Tell a Soul by Kirsten Miller (coming January 26, 2021)—I read Rebecca earlier this year and was seriously underwhelmed, but this modern-day YA version still sounds compelling.  It concerns Bram, a young woman who goes to live with her grieving uncle in an effort to escape her old life.  The old mansion he's renovating is seriously creepy and the town he lives in is filled with suspicious, unwelcoming people who tell chilling tales about missing girls associated with her uncle's manor house.  Is the place haunted?  Should Bram be wary of her strange uncle?

5.  The Nesting by C.J. Cooke—Set in Norway, this Gothic thriller sounds absolutely terrifying!  It concerns a nanny who takes a job watching two young children while their father finishes building his dream home on an isolated fjord near a deep, looming forest.  When strange things start happening in the house, the nanny begins to suspect that the kids' dead mother might not be as dead as they all supposed ...

6.  Girls of Brackenhill by Kate Moretti—When her aunt dies in a car accident, a woman travels to the Catskills to help the woman's dying husband.  Being there brings back haunting memories of a troubling disappearance sixteen years ago.  As the woman digs into the past, disturbing family secrets start coming to light.

7.  The Lost Village by Camilla Sten (coming March 23, 2021)—People have been mysteriously vanishing from an old mining town for years.  Alice, a documentary filmmaker, is obsessed with the place and wants to make a movie about it.  When she takes a crew to the village, strange things start to occur.  Can they figure out what happened to all the missing townspeople before they become the next ones to vanish without a trace?  

8.  It Will Just Be Us by Jo Kaplan—A crumbling mansion on the edge of a swamp, Sam Wakefield's ancestral home is a decaying pile built by her mad ancestors.  Already full of ghosts, the house shifts when Sam's pregnant sister moves in.  A new ghost haunts the mansion's corridors.  What does it want?  And why is it leading Sam toward a mysterious forgotten room?  Actually, this one might be a little too creepy for me ...

9.  The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni—When Alberta Monte receives a letter informing her that she's inherited not just a title but also a castle in Italy, she's skeptical but curious.  She'll take any chance to learn more about her mysterious family.  Soon, she discovers that her ancestry is much darker than she ever imagined.

10.  The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis (coming February 3, 2021)—I enjoy McGinnis' dark YA novels, so I'm excited for her newest.  The first in a planned duology, it concerns Tress Montor, a teen whose whole life changed when her parents disappeared while taking her best friend home one night.  Desperate for answers, Tress uses a raucous Halloween costume party as a cover for forcing her former bestie to come clean about what really happened that night.  Sounds intriguing!

Spooky books aren't on the menu for me this Halloween since I'm deep into middle-grade reading for the Cybils Awards, but I'm hoping to get to these chilling reads at some soonish point.  Have you read any of them?  What did you think?  Are you reading anything creepy this Halloween?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on yours. 

Happy TTT!   

Shy, awkward Lucy Harper has always relied on her imaginary friend, Eliza Grey, to comfort her in times of distress.  When her 3-year-old brother disappeared decades ago after sneaking out of the house to follow Lucy on a midnight adventure, Eliza was there to calm her troubled mind.  Instead of fading away as her creator aged, Eliza grew larger than life until Lucy hardly knew where Eliza ended and she began.  When Lucy sold her first mystery novel featuring Eliza as a tough-talking police detective, Eliza became a beloved star.  Four books later, the author is only just beginning to realize how thoroughly Eliza has taken over her life, both professionally and personally.

When Lucy decides to take a break from her pretend friend, penning a new book that does not feature the popular character, it does not go over well—not with her publisher and not with Dan, her unpublished husband who's always been jealous of his wife's success.  When Dan vanishes one night under strange circumstances, the police question Lucy, clearly suspicious.  Lucy's sure—pretty sure—she had nothing to do with his disappearance, but lately, with Eliza taking up all her head space and her memories straying more and more often to her brother, who has never been found, Lucy's not really sure of anything.  Did she hurt her husband?  What really happened when her younger sibling went missing all those years ago?  Lucy's mind has always been a place where fact and fantasy collide.  What is truth and what is not?  What did Lucy do?

Gilly Macmillan is one of my favorite writers of psychological suspense and her newest, To Tell You the Truth, does not disappoint.  Its premise seems a bit far-fetched, but it offers a unique and intriguing setup to a story that's full of didn't-see-that-coming twists.  A creepy, atmospheric vibe runs through the novel, adding another unsettling layer to the narrative.  Lucy is an undeniably odd duck but she still makes for a sympathetic and compelling heroine.  All of these elements in addition to a fast-paced, surprising plot combine to create a riveting, edge-of-your-seat read.  I ripped through this one while sitting at the DMV with my 15-year-old son for three hours and it definitely made the wait more tolerable.  I don't know if To Tell You the Truth is my favorite Macmillan yarn, but it's a thrilling read that I very much enjoyed.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other Macmillan novels as well as those by Mindy Mejia, Megan Miranda, and Lisa Jewell)

Twenty-two years old and newly married, adventurous Jane Forrester is ready to set the world on fire.  Although her straight-laced husband would prefer she spend her days sipping iced tea at the country club with the other wives in their circle, Jane is anxious to begin her career as a social worker with the Department of Public Welfare.  She can't wait to play Superwoman to Raleigh's most pitiable citizens.  

When Jane begins making house calls in poor, rural Grace County, she's shocked to see her charges living in absolute squalor, the likes of which she has never experienced in her privileged life.  Her heart especially aches for 15-year-old Ivy Hart, an epileptic orphan who labors tirelessly on a tobacco farm just to keep a roof over her family's heads.  As caretaker of her ill grandmother, her sister with special needs, and her sister's toddler, Ivy's barely got enough strength to make it through the day.  When it's suggested that Ivy might be a prime candidate for North Carolina's eugenics program, Jane's torn.  While it's obvious the young woman can't handle one more stressor, "voluntary" sterilization seems extreme, even for a penniless child with no future.  The more time Jane spends with the Harts, the more she longs to ease Ivy's burdens.  When dark secrets start to surface, she must decide just how far she's willing to go—how much she's prepared to risk—to give Ivy the chance she deserves.

Until I picked up Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain, I had never heard of North Carolina's eugenics program, which operated between the 1930s and 1970s.  While the aim of the initiative was to sterilize only the mentally-challenged inmates of public institutions, it was more widely applied, leading to the sterilization of over 7500 people.  Many of the operations were coerced and performed on impoverished Black women.  Chamberlain brings the issue to vivid, heartbreaking life in Necessary Lies, an emotionally-charged historical novel that definitely hit me right in the feels.  The women at its center—Jane and Ivy—are both sympathetic characters who are so well-drawn they feel real.  My heart ached for them both.  Their stories are compelling and riveting, which made for a novel that is as gut-wrenching as it is engrossing and thought-provoking.  Although Necessary Lies tells a grim story, in the end it's a hopeful novel.  The tale moved me with its complex characters, intriguing conflict, and powerful storytelling.  I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book, which I enjoyed very much.

(Readalikes:  I haven't read The First Lie by Diane Chamberlain yet, but it's a novella that tells Ivy's story.)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find