Halloween is upon us! For the next few weeks, I’ve decided to highlight my most recent favorite scary tales, and this week I’m looking at ghost stories!
It seems I haven’t actually read a lot of ghost stories recently, so some of these picks may seem unusual. However, ghosts play a part in each book, and I absolutely loved each one of these:
The Girl with Ghost Eyes by M.H. Boroson. I read this book two years ago, and it ended up in my top ten at the end of the year. It was that good. This story combines Chinese folklore, ghosts and lots more in a fast-paced mystery with a kick-ass female main character. Talos released a new edition of this book with a new cover (personally, I’m not a fan of the original cover, shown above), and I’m hoping it draws in new readers.
Shutter by Courtney Alameda. This was such a wonderful surprise! Alameda’s debut isn’t a ghost story per se, but there are ghosts and spirits in the story. Micheline Helsing is a ghost hunter who uses her DSLR camera to trap spirits. It’s such a cool concept, and believe it or not, it was super scary. Alameda’s next book is coming out soon (after a three year wait!) and I am so excited.
The Family Plot by Cherie Priest. I read this last year and absolutely loved it. This is a haunted house story that delves into the world of house salvaging. I fell in love with the atmospheric Southern charm and the feisty female characters. This story has plenty of scares and is a perfect October read.
Fellside by M.R. Carey. After adoring The Girl with All the Gifts, I was eager to read Carey’s follow-up. And although Fellside was a completely different animal, I ended up loving this more than I expected. The main plot focuses on life in a women’s prison, and the author doesn’t shy away from the cruelties that take place there, but there is also an interesting ghost story that added even more emotional depth.
Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day by Seanan McGuire. And McGuire makes it onto another one of my lists! This novella may not look like a ghost story (if you’re judging it by its cover) but one of the main characters is a ghost living in New York City who unfortunately died before she was supposed to, and so she lives in an in-between state until she can earn her true death. As is her style, McGuire gives the reader a completely different spin on the classic ghost story.
I have to say you know I’ll agree with The Family Plot and Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day. I loved them both so much. I’ve also heard great things about Shutter and I just checked and I have The Girl With Ghost Eyes on my Kindle. Glad to see it gets such high praise from you!
Barb (boxermommyreads) recently posted…TTT – A Related Switch Up
Shutter sounds very intriguing and the perfect read for the coming Halloween 🙂
I will keep that in mind…
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…TV Review: STAR TREK DISCOVERY – first (spoiler free) impressions
I’ve got to get going on that Cherie Priest book. I read Fellside thinking it was a sequel to The Girl With All The Gifts. They pulled a fast one over on me with that tricky cover!
I still keep meaning to read Shutter one of these days
Lisa @TenaciousReader recently posted…Review: The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
I’m going to have to look into The Girl with the Ghost Eyes and Shutter. The title, The Girl with the Ghost Eyes, reminded me of a funny Chinese film I watched on Netflix almost exactly 10 years ago called My Left Eye Sees Ghosts. Not at all related to the book, but I think the book sounds fascinating also. And I love photography so Shutter is right up my alley. 🙂
Several of Johnnie To’s other films were major influences behind THE GIRL WITH GHOST EYES: The Mad Monk (1993), Wu Yen (2001), Election (2005) and its 2007 sequel. I can’t say My Left Eye Sees Ghosts was an influence, but I did love it: https://www.facebook.com/matthew.boroson/posts/417115981660300
Good to know, thanks for sharing your influences!
Though I am too much of a wuss to read these – I’ll tweet these as they all look cracking reads for those who don’t suffer nightmares:))
I still need to read The Girl With Ghost Eyes! And fantastic topic and list of books, by the way, I think you’ve given me an idea for my Halloween Top Ten Tuesday freebie post in a couple of weeks 🙂
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…Book Review: A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne
I loved The Girl with Ghost Eyes. I’ve read four of these so seeing as we agree on so many books then clearly I should pick myself up a copy of Shutter too.
Thanks
Lynn 😀