Scary books are not everyone’s cup of tea, but for those who love the thrill of a bone-chilling novel, the following books might be just what you need.
A Babysitter’s Secret by Casey Kelleher
This was definitely the epitome of a psychological thriller. While it was dark, chilling, and unnervingly frightening, I found it incredibly gripping, and I couldn’t put it down. Sasha discovers on her mother’s deathbed that she was adopted. Hoping to learn about her past she turns up at the house she was born and lived in as a young child. She is mistaken for a new babysitter! So what does she do? She pretends she is! As she starts to recall her memories things get twisted!
Both main protagonists were entirely unreliable, but given the storyline and their backgrounds, it just worked perfectly! I didn’t particularly like either of them, but again, that’s what made the story compelling. I just had to know what the deal was!
I was trying to connect the dots and work out how everything was related, and it kept me guessing until the reveal of the tense set-up and shocking twist had me gasping in horror!
I felt very sorry for Cecelia and how she ended up in the situation she did, and I’m on pins and needles for her for the unknown and unpredictable future.
This title was released on May 24, 2023
None of this is true by Lisa Jewell
I was immediately sucked into this unnerving and gripping story.
There’s just something morbidly fascinating about true crime podcasts- although that’s not how it sets out.
Alix a popular podcaster and the unassuming Josie meet while celebrating their 45th birthday at the same restaurant, they are in fact, birthday twins! A few days later, Josie deliberately crosses Alix’s path. What starts out as a seemingly innocent friendship and regular podcasting session, soon turns into a nightmarish situation.
Secrets are revealed, shocking events happen, and everything flipped and Alix becomes the subject of her own podcast!
I found Josie to be creepy, stalkerish, and obsessive in nature and an incredibly
unreliable narrator, which just feeds your need to discover the truth! And none of this is true… or is it?
This one is set for release on July 20, 2023
Bunny by Mona Awad
One I did not like
I think the line with Kari’ (one of the characters) thoughts about herself sums this book up for me: “This must be just too brilliant for you to grasp. Surely you must have missed something, ” and that’s how I feel. Did I miss something?
Samantha’s vivid imagination was absolutely insane, I feel that this book was her thesis and that basically, no one was ‘real’ except maybe the Lion, and even he was fictionalised.
Reasons I believe that this was her thesis ( a work of fiction in fiction) :
1. most of the characters weren’t real, In one particular scene in Mini, the waiter approached the table with the supposed group of them, while they were laughing and asked if they were OK, (and not service-wise) I feel that would only happen if someone was alone and cackling away to themselves. The pronouns at this point also became questionable.
2. Another is she tended to get fixated on something like a dog with a bone, eg: height, why were so many characters really tall? And the fabric choices of the dresses the Bunnies wore, were all really odd and not something standard. It seemed ‘made up’ or exaggerated.
3. And how characters created by writers land up by almost seeming real to authors. I think these characters become almost part of Samantha and are essentially an extension of her.
The whole fever dream set me on edge and had me feeling out of control, and I like control and feeling like I know what’s going on, so this book was not one for me. But it certainly has haunted me and made me question EVERYTHING I read.
A series I cannot read because I’m a wimp
Ok stalkers scare me, so this is a series I cannot read, but I know it’s popular and very chilling.
You by Caroline Kepnes
When a beautiful aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card.
There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.
As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.
A terrifying exploration of how vulnerable we all are to stalking and manipulation, debut author Caroline Kepnes delivers a razor-sharp novel for our hyper-connected digital age.
The rest of the series
2: Hidden bodies.
3:You love me.
4: For you and only you.
Reading avidly from the age of 9 I am now a homeschooling and homesteading mom who incorporates reading and books into just about every aspect of my life. We live on a small holding on the outskirts of GQ with a menagerie of pets - more often than not there is at least one farm animal inside. I do bits of freelance writing and am currently writing my first novel. Last year I decided to share my love of reading by reviewing books and promoting the books and their authors. STAY INTOUCH WITH LAUREN Instagram Blog TikTok
Leave a Reply