Welcome to this week’s edition of Friday Book Round-Up. Recently, I have become a huge reader of gothic suspense. Maybe it’s because Halloween is arriving in 19 days or that the weather is getting cooler, but I love this genre of spooky fiction. I thought it might be fun to list my recent reads. Do you have a favorite? I’d love to know so I can wishlist them.
The Girl in the Picture by Kerry Barrett
Two women. One house. Centuries of secrets.
East Sussex Coast, 1855
Violet Hargreaves is the lonely daughter of a widowed industrialist, and an aspiring Pre-Raphaelite painter. One day, the naïve eighteen-year-old meets the mysterious and handsome Edwin on the beach. He promises her a world beyond the small coastal village she’s trapped in. But after she ignores warnings about Edwin, a chain of terrible events begins to unfold for Violet…
East Sussex Coast, 2016
For thriller-writer Ella Daniels, the house on the cliff, where she’s moved with her young family, is the perfect place to overcome writer’s block. But there’s a strange atmosphere that settles once they move in – and Ella’s intrigued when she hears stories of brutal murders in the house next door more than 150 years ago. When Ella uncovers a portrait of a beautiful young girl named Violet Hargreaves, who went missing at the same time as the horrific crimes, she becomes determined to find out what happened. And in trying to lay Violet’s ghost to rest, Ella must face ghosts of her own…
This haunting timeslip tale is perfect for fans of Kate Riordan, Tracy Rees, Kate Morton and Lucinda Riley.
Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb
The ghosts of the past come calling in a spellbinding heart-stopper from the “Queen of the Northern Gothic.”
After the end of her marriage, Kate Granger has retreated to her parents’ home on Lake Superior to pull herself together—only to discover the body of a murdered woman washed into the shallows. Tucked in the folds of the woman’s curiously vintage gown is an infant, as cold and at peace as its mother. No one can identify the woman. Except for Kate. She’s seen her before. In her dreams…
One hundred years ago, a love story ended in tragedy, its mysteries left unsolved. It’s time for the lake to give up its secrets. As each mystery unravels, it pulls Kate deeper into the eddy of a haunting folktale that has been handed down in whispers over generations. Now, it’s Kate’s turn to listen.
As the drowned woman reaches out from the grave, Kate reaches back. They must come together, if only in dreams, to right the sinister wrongs of the past.
Greythorne by L.M. Merrington
How did Lucy Greythorne die? From the moment Nell Featherstone arrives at Greythorne Manor as a governess to eight-year-old Sophie, she finds herself haunted by the fate of the mistress of the house, and entranced by the child’s father, the enigmatic Professor Nathaniel Greythorne. When a violent storm reveals Lucy’s body is not in her grave, Nell becomes suspicious about the Professor’s research. But what she discovers in his laboratory will turn all her ideas about life and death, morality and creation on their head. Enthralled by a man walking a fine line between passion and madness, Nell must make an impossible choice between life, death, and life after death, where any mistake could be her last.
Don't Look Back: A haunting mystery perfect for the long, dark nights by Ben Cheetham
Adam’s eyes swelled in horror at the sight that confronted him. Henry was standing with his back against the front door, pale and rigid, his left hand pressed to his neck. Blood was seeping between his fingers, running down his wrist and dripping from his elbow onto the back of Jacob’s head. Jacob was facedown on the tiled floor, arms outstretched to either side with blood pooling around his wrists. There was a faintly metallic butcher’s shop smell in the air... After the tragic death of their eleven-year-old son, Adam and Ella are fighting to keep their family from falling apart. Then comes an opportunity that seems too good to be true. They win a competition to live for free in a breathtakingly beautiful mansion on the Cornish Lizard Peninsula. There’s just one catch – the house is supposedly haunted. Mystery has always swirled around Fenton House. In 1920 the house’s original owner, reclusive industrialist Walter Lewarne, hanged himself from its highest turret. In 1996, the then inhabitants, George Trehearne, his wife Sofia and their young daughter Heloise disappeared without a trace. Neither mystery was ever solved. Adam is not the type to believe in ghosts. As far as he’s concerned, ghosts are simply memories. Everywhere he looks in their cramped London home he sees his dead son. Despite misgivings, the chance to start afresh is too tempting to pass up. Adam, Ella and their surviving son Henry move into Fenton House. At first, the change of scenery gives them all a new lease of life. But as the house starts to reveal its secrets, they come to suspect that they may not be alone after all…
The Grave of Katherine Embry: Gothic Suspense by Renee Ross
Some families hide their darkest secrets, others bury them... After the sudden death of her father, Kate's cold-hearted grandmother treats her like a lowly servant inside her isolated estate. Falling in love with a young stable hand only complicates matters when she discovers her rival for his affections is Clara -- the one person who has treated her with kindness since her ordeal began. Now Clara will stop at nothing to eliminate the competition even if it means that her friend has to die. But, according to the gravestone in the family plot, Kate Embry is already dead.
Have a gothic suspense/fiction recommendation? Share in the comments below and don’t forget to share using the buttons below.
MRS N, Book Addict