Favorite Mystery, Thriller, Horror Novels?
PKM0515
Posts: 3,089 Member
Share your scary or not-so-scary picks here! Boo! 👹 👻
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My absolute the scare-the-pants-off-you book is:
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
I also enjoyed:
My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp
The Elementals by Michael McDowell2 -
Oh, Heart-Shaped Box! I read that one when it first came out.
I have a love/hate relationship with Dean Koontz, but Intensity and False Memory really got to me for different reasons. And I loved Midnight. Also, By the Light of the Moon.
I like a lot of his books, actually, but they became more and more pretentious, imo, which I don't care for. It's been a while since I've read one.
I like John Harwood. He doesn't seem to publish that often, but I loved "The Ghostwriter" and I liked "The Seance."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harwood_(writer)
I've read a lot of really good, scary books. I need to try to remember a few more. (Another one is Riley Sager's "Lock Every Door.")
And I can't forget Bram Stoker's "Dracula"!1 -
@trooworld I remember you mentioning that book The heart-shaped box, I'm off to read it!
I've read a lot of horror, John Saul is similar to Dean Koontz. I like Clive Barker and thenBrian Lumley's Necroscope series a lot. Most of my books are in my closet, I'll have to reply in there so I remember everything! My mom worked in a bookstore after she was done teaching, I have hardbacks of my favorites. I loved Laurel Hamilton until she turned her series more into erotica. Anne Rice is another good one.0 -
@Katmary71 I hope you like it.
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@trooworld I loved it, it was a great read! One of my cats jumped on the bed at a scary part and scared me! It stays in your head after you read it too.
I just finished an urban fantasy series, it was pretty good if you like a tattoo artist shape-shifting dragon.0 -
@Katmary71 LOL! That would have scared me, too. I'm glad you liked it. Yes, it does stay with you. What was the name of your urban fantasy series? I'm just curious. I'm listening to a fantasy right now: The City We Became. It's fabulous so far.0
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@trooworld I'm blanking on the name of the author darnit and my Kindle is on my bed in the other room! I share a Kindle account with my mom and she bought them, I can't even remember the author's name right now! I have to prop pillows up on each side of me in the recliner with my laptop desk on them so it doesn't touch my legs, it'd take me forever to get up so I'll have to get back to you! The first 3 were really good, the fourth not as much, it was more about vampires and it seemed more like she was trying to squeeze in an extra fantasy creature, I don't know. It could also be that it was harder for me to pay attention because I was doing worse. Ironically I read up on NOS4A2, I may have to read that, I like how he writes! I'm going to check out the other books you recommended too, I think I'd do better reading horror versus light fiction. I can't read anything too slow right now as it's hard to concentrate, I don't need to read every hue of a flower in an English garden, get to the meat!
Another one I was thinking of is the Amityville Horror books, those were really good, I read those as a teen and saw the movies as well. I really need to get situated in my closet to post more because all the shelves are rows of books!
In the urban fantasy vein Jasmine Galenorn is good, she writes a series with three sisters though she has some wild sex scenes, not like Laurel Hamilton where she became so focused on erotica it was unreadable but one sister has more than one husband. They're good books aside of that, one sister is a witch, one a shapeshifter, and one a vampire.
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@trooworld It's Luanne Bennett, the first is Blackthorn Grove.0
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@Katmary71 I'm sorry you aren't doing well. Does it help to distract yourself with reading? I get what you are saying. I hope you like NOS4A2. I saw the movie of Amityville Horror, it was pretty good. I haven't read the book, though. I'll read up on Blackthorn Grove and Jasmine Galenorn and see if they are my thing. Thanks for the recommendations!0
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@Katmary71 I just looked up Luanne Bennett on Goodreads and Amazon. They said the first book is Crossroads of Bones and it is currently free on Amazon for Kindle! I got it and hope to read it soon. Thanks again for the recommendation!0
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@trooworld Great, I hope you like it! Youre right, I think the one I mentioned was the 4th. I liked the first three, the last two I'm mixed on. It kind of felt like she's 1. Trying to squeeze in a ton of different types of creatures and 2. Prove she's the biggest badass dragon/woman who is smarter than everyone else. I consider myself to be a feminist but at one point the thought "she needs to shut up and let her boyfriend take the lead" went through my head and I never think like that! My mom feels the same way.0
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Do any of you like Barbara Michael's? She's one I have in my closet that I haven't read for ages and enjoy. I had my boyfriend get all my Anne Rice down but got bored reading one last summer so they're collecting dust. Mary Higgins Clark is always good, I didn't read her last ones before she dies but liked her a lot.0
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Do any of you like Barbara Michael's? She's one I have in my closet that I haven't read for ages and enjoy. I had my boyfriend get all my Anne Rice down but got bored reading one last summer so they're collecting dust. Mary Higgins Clark is always good, I didn't read her last ones before she dies but liked her a lot.
I love Barbara Michaels! "Aimee, Come Home" brings me back to my early teens; it's on my Kindle. "Stitches in Time also" comes to mind.
Which books of hers do you have, Kathy?0 -
PKM0515 They're all up in the closet, I remember I loved the one that took place in Egypt because it was so different, I haven't read them in like 25 years, we should pick one to read together!0
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@Katmary71, I'm definitely up for that!
Did you ever read "Cat's Prey" by Dorothy Eden?
For those who might be interested in Barbara Michaels:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/78354.Barbara_Michaels0 -
Ooh, just remembered "Be Buried in the Rain" too! I had a sudden memory of reading the paperback at lunch on a rainy day at a long-ago (decades) job.0
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Looking over Barbara Michael's books reminds me of how good she is, I need to get those down! I wish I could post pictures in the forums, you guys would laugh at my closet! It's huge and there's a bunch of shelves for shoes and instead it's all books and my shoes are in the corner. I don't think I've read Cat's Prey, I'm off to look for it!
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@Katmary71
Here's a link to some "Cat's Prey" info...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3995031-cat-s-prey0 -
@PKM0515 That sounds interesting, I'll check it out soon! I've been kind of bored with urban fantasy lately, I'll see if I can get it through the library. I need to come on this forum when I have the library app open so I can put holds on everything you all are recommending. I'll probably do it to all of Kristin Hannah, she's so good! I'm tempted to read a Barbara Michaels now.0
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Kathy, let me know if you a choose a certain Barbara Michaels. I'll see if I can get it and (re-)read at the same time.0
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Let me see if I can see them, if I could change the picture on this group I'd take a picture of my closet, you guys would get such a kick out of all the books where shoes should be!2
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https://www.amazon.com/Joe-Hill-Heart-Shaped-Century-Ghosts-ebook/dp/B00KVIBX2U/ref=sr_1_257?tag=slickdeals&ascsubtag=6f300caa92fc11ebb140aa402ec8805f0INT&dchild=1&qid=1617285886&rnid=3441883011&s=digital-text&sr=1-257
Joe Hill 4-pack of books for $3.99, I thought you all may be interested in it since you got me into him! I'll probably get it.0 -
Thanks, Kathy!
I read "Heart-Shaped Box" a long time ago, and it was good; but for some reason I haven't been excited to read another one of his.
I feel like reading an "older" horror story, something along the lines of "Rosemary's Baby" (Ira Levin) or "The Sentinel" (Jeffrey Konvitz). Anybody have any suggestions for me?
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@PKM0515 I'm thinking but nothing is coming to mind, I've never read The Sentinel. I wish it wasn't so hard to get to all my books or I'd go through them and let you know! I pretty much just saved favorite authors. I'm guessing you read Carrie by Stephen King? If you think of anything good let me know, maybe do it for us to read?
I went ahead and bought the 4-pack, I liked Heart-Shaped Box.
I read part of The Library of Unfinished Books and my concentration isn't too great right now so I had trouble following all the people so I switched to American Dirt and that's easier for me to follow right now. I don't know what the deal is as I read a lot of fantasy but since my pain situation it's harder to imagine than regular fiction. I am enjoying it so I'll finish it in the next week or two, I'm around 40%.0 -
@Katmary71 That's a great deal. I already have them all but that's super. Sorry you are having trouble concentrating. I'm almost done with "The Library of Unfinished Books" and am loving it. I hope you like "American Dirt".
@PKM0515 You might read the synopsis of "The Entity". It's super terrifying BUT I recommend with a big caveat: I must give a trigger warning for rape. That's not a spoiler, btw. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/380203.The_Entity?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=wjayPWBhHZ&rank=10 -
The Entity is really good, I didn't read the book but saw the movie and had a nightmare. It's supposedly based on a true story, I can't even imagine going through that.0
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@Katmary71 I think for me, that is what is part of it being so terrifying! That it is based on a true story. I should have said in my original post that I don't *think* I've read it but have seen the movie. BUT...the book is supposed to be just as terrifying.1
