Shivers Up Your Spine...

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Reads With Thrills & Chills…

The God Of The Woods - Liz Moore

First Lie Wins - Ashley Elston

The Ascent - Adam Plantinga

Kill For Me, Kill For You - Steve Cavanagh

Hunted - Abir Mukherjee

Nightwatching - Tracy Sierra

Here Lies A Vengeful Bitch - Codie Crowley

House Of Glass - Sarah Pekkanen

End Of Story - A.J. Finn

Widows Guide To Dead Bastards - Jessica Waite

Bang Bang Sisters - Rio Youers

Assassins Anonymous - Rob Hart

A World Of Hurt - Mindy Mejia

The Switch - Lily Samson

The Confession - Charolette Bigland

Book Of Evidence - John Banville

Year Of The Locust - Terry Hayes

One Perfect Couple - Ruth Ware

Rabbit Hole - Kate Brody

Who I Want To Be When I Grow Up...

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Coming Of Age Books…

All The Colours Of The Dark - Chris Whitaker

Treasure Hunters Club - Tom Ryan

Joe Nuthin's Guide To Life -

Once Upon An Effin' Time - Buffy Cram

Wasps In The Ice Cream - Tim McGregor

Drivers Seat - Muriel Spark

Murders Of Molly Southborner - Tade Thompson

Boys Life - Robert McGammon

This Story Is A Lie - Tom Pollock

The Verifyers - Jane Pek

The Book Eaters - Sunyi Dean

Fortune Seller - Rachel Kaperke

Beautyland - Marie Helene Bertino

Kittentits - Holly Wilson

Troop - Nick Cutter

Boys In The Valley - Philip Fracassi

What's Not Mine - Nora Decter

Pallbearers Club - Paul Tremblay

Nosy Parker - Lesley Crewe

Good Times, Bad Times...

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A Literary Odyssey Of Good & Evil…

Contrary to popular belief, right and wrong, moral and immoral, are not always on opposite ends of the spectrum of good and evil. The line between is much finer than that. Heroes and villains represent an embattled dichotomy, and they require one another to propel a story forward. Some of our most iconic fictional characters are rivaled by equally magnetic baddies. Thank goodness! If the vexing villain were to be removed from the tale, what fun would that be? Here I have gathered for you the stories of the saints, and the sinners. The devil himself might not show up, but I make no promises.

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Carnivale Of Curiosities - Aimee Gibbs - Top Book Pick!

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Carnivale Of Curiosities - Aimee Gibbs - Top Book Pick!

Fantasy

Rating: 9/10

“It took three hours to kill Charlotte Bainbridge. An egregious amount of time for exsanguination.” With an opening line like that, this reader let my mind take me to all the weird and wonderful places this book could lead. Cast with wondrous and eccentric characters, this book pulls you deep into a world where many people die. What’s left to ponder is how long they stay that way. An absolute gem of a book!

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Unfortunate Side Effects Of Heartbreak & Magic - Breanne Randall

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Unfortunate Side Effects Of Heartbreak & Magic - Breanne Randall

Fiction

Rating: 8/10

Sadie thought it was going to be just another day, but when she hit bad omen number four, she knew she was in trouble. Seven bad omens in a row meant a nightmare was around the corner. She should have locked herself away for the rest of the day. Picture a literary mashup of elements from Practical Magic & Gilmore Girls, and that is what you are in for with this utterly charming read!

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Secret Lives Of Booksellers & Librarians - James Patterson & Matt Eversman

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Secret Lives Of Booksellers & Librarians - James Patterson & Matt Eversman

Books On Books

Rating: 7.5/10

After reading this cover to cover I declare the following: I am a natural born bookseller. The fact that I am no longer employed to do so makes no difference. There’s still time, so I am putting it out into the universe. Truth be told, when I am in my local Book City, its rare I don’t put a book in some poor unsuspecting strangers hands!

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Frozen River - Ariel Lawhon - Top Book Pick!

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Frozen River - Ariel Lawhon - Top Book Pick!

Historical Fiction

Rating: 8.5/10

When Martha is called to examine a dead man who has been entombed in ice, she has no idea that her life is going to become much more troublesome. Because of her position as a Midwife, she is privy to what goes’ on behind closed doors and the secrets people keep in ways most women of the time were not. This historical fiction pick was a change of pace for me and I loved it. Martha is my kinda girl!

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Friday Afternoon Club - Griffin Dunne

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Friday Afternoon Club - Griffin Dunne

Memoir

Rating: 8/10

In his prologue Dunne recalls a conversation he had with his father, himself a writer. “A writer will always be selling someone out, their story becoming collateral damage in the telling of the authors tale.” I’m not sure why he included that, as he does no such thing in his own memoir. He opens the door to a life enriched by fame and privilege as well as tragedy and darkness. Beautifully done.

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Dictionary Of Obscure Sorrows - John Koenig

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Dictionary Of Obscure Sorrows - John Koenig

Language & Reference

Rating: 8.5/10

Do you ever struggle to find that word that perfectly fits what you are feeling only to find yourself unable to express it? Well, whatever half-baked, unfinished, yet to be articulated feeling you have tumbling around in your brain, this book will find a way to name it. Every nook and cranny of this is a joy to read! Of course, it’s all made up. But aren’t all the best tales we tell ourselves.

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Anna O - Matthew Blake

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Anna O - Matthew Blake

Thriller

Rating: 8/10

Anna is a bright writer with a future full of infinite possibility. Then one night she stabs two people to death in her sleep and never wakes up. Ben is a forensic psychologist with an expertise in sleep related homicides, who years after the murder is tasked with waking Sleeping Beauty to get to the truth. Ironic that a book where sleep plays a pivotal role made sleep a tad difficult!

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Read With The Lights On...

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More Daylight To Keep You Safe…

Dead Eleven - Jimmy Juliano

You Like It Darker - Stephen King

Heads Will Roll - Josh Winning

William - Mason Coile

Family Business - Jonathan Sims

Incidents Around The House - Josh Malerman

Sleep Tight - J.H.Markert.

Good Dogs - Brian Asman

Ghost Station - S.A. Barnes

Middle Of The Night - Riley Sager

Graveyard Shift - R.L.Rio

Such Lovely Skin - Tatiana Schlote-Bonne

Devils Kill Devils - Johnny Compton

The Night Guest - Hildur Knutsdottir

Don’t Eat The Pie - Monique Asher

The Eleven - Kyle Rutkin

Craft: Stories I Wrote For The Devil - Ananda Lima

The Queen - Nick Cutter

Horror Movie - Paul Tremblay

Pump Up The Volume...

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Books With A Musical Theme…

We Sold Our Souls - Grady Hendrix

High Fidelity - Nick Hornby

Girl - Blake Nelson

Space Opera - Catherine Valente

Signal To Noise - Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Songs In Ursa Major - Emma Brodie

More Than Maybe - Erica Hahn

Fever House - Keith Rosson

The Farewell Tour - Stephanie Clifford

The Vinyl Underground - Rob Rufus

This Song Will Save Your Life - Leila Sales

The Music Shop - Rachel Joyce

A Song For A New Day - Sarah Pinsker

Guitar Notes - Mary Amato

Spin - Colleen Nelson

Impossible Music - Sean Williams

How to Kill A Rock Star - Tiffanie DeBartolo

Bootleg Stardust - Glenn Dixon

Sweet, Soft, Plenty Rhythm - Laura Warrell

No Happy Endings Here...

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Curl Up With A Noir Novel…

Titanium Noir - Nick Harkaway

The Ascent - Adam Plantinga

The Road To Heaven - Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson

Shifty’s Boys - Chris Offut

Someone To Watch Over Me - Dan Bronson

Twice The Trouble - Ash Clifton

The Rope Artist - Fuminori Nakamura

All The Sinners Bleed - S.A. Cosby

Hurricane Blonde - Hailey Sutton

Three Assassins - Kotaro Isaka

Bright Young Women - Jessica Knoll

City On Fire - Don Winslow

Drive A - Merritt Graves

Head Full Of Lies - Jordan Farmer

Girl In The Eagle’s Talons - Karin Smirnoff

The Confession - Charlotte Bigland

Scorched Grace - Margot Douaihy

A Little Blood And Dancing - Tyler Parker

All Souls Lost - Dan Moren

Nightwatching - Tracy Sierra - Top Book Pick!

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Nightwatching - Tracy Sierra - Top Book Pick!

Thriller

Rating: 8.5/10

An ingenious and suffocating thriller that plunges you into the story with the first sentence and is bound to keep you up past your bedtime in the race to get to the last one. There was someone in the house. We open with a woman standing immobilized by fear, in the shadows that exist between her, the intruder who has invaded her home, and her children. She told them that monsters didn’t exist. She lied.

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You'd Look Better As A Ghost - Joanna Wallace

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You'd Look Better As A Ghost - Joanna Wallace

Thriller

Rating: 7/10

If you can’t stomach a thoroughly unlikable narrator with a dark psyche, move along fair reader. Claire is a part time serial killer intent on keeping her “hobby” secret, despite the efforts of a blackmailer with hideous taste in fashion who is smarter than she looks. But here’s the thing, is it wise to tangle with a serial killer? Despite them seemingly not fully committed to full time devotion to their craft. Probably not.

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The Grimm Reader...

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Let Horror Fiction Reign…

When it comes to the dark Fu*ckery of the human heart, there are no limits.” Stephen King

Horror fiction, at its finest, feeds whatever crazed deviance you are exploring, or depraved hunger you are attempting to satiate. And those of us brave enough have an invitation to vicariously experience all our worst possible nightmares on those pages. In my latest feature I’ve got all the angles covered. So follow me…if you dare!

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101 Books To Read Before You're Murdered - Sadie Hartmann - Top Book Pick!

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101 Books To Read Before You're Murdered - Sadie Hartmann - Top Book Pick!

Books On Books

Rating: 8.5/10

This delightful compendium of books and other fun facts on horror fiction is a must! But know this, a steady diet of horror can ruin you for other genres. You will be reading another style of book and find yourself wondering, when does the blood start flowing, when do the monsters come out to play with us. You have been warned.

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If Something Happens To Me - Alex Finlay

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If Something Happens To Me - Alex Finlay

Thriller

Rating: 7/10

Ryan has been reliving the same night in excruciating detail for more than five years. The car door ripping open. The crushing blow to the head. The hands yanking him from the car. His girlfriend Ali’s piercing scream. Waking up with no trace of Ali to be found and only a vague description of the attacker. Is it any wonder he ends up the prime suspect?

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Home Is Where The Bodies Are - Jeneva Rose

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Home Is Where The Bodies Are - Jeneva Rose

Thriller

Rating: 8/10

After their mother dies, three estranged siblings reunite to sort out her estate. While going through decades of their parent’s belongings, they stumble upon a collection of home videos (note that cover!) that reveal a dark family secret. A light, fun and engaging read that might have you rushing to the attic of your childhood home to unearth your own family’s long buried secrets!

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