For the last Spook Reads Friday of 2023, I thought to recommend and highlight upcoming scary book recommendations that you need to put on your 2024 reading list right away. I know my spine got a tingle just by reading these book synopses.
So make sure to check out these haunting 2024 book recs…
But only if your heart can take it… 🎃
The Last Murder At The End Of The World by Stuart Turton
Expected Publication Date: May 21
Solve the murder to save what’s left of the world.
Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched.
On the island: it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they’re told by the scientists.
Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn’t solved within 92 hours, the fog will smother the island–and everyone on it.
But the security system has also wiped everyone’s memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer–and they don’t even know it.
And the clock is ticking. (Credit: Sourcebooks Landmark)
One of Us Knows by Alyssa Cole
Expected Publication Date: April 16
Years after a breakdown and a diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder derailed her historical preservationist career, Kenetria Nash and her alters have been given a second chance they can’t refuse: a position as resident caretaker of a historic home. Having been dormant for years, Ken has no idea what led them to this isolated Hudson River island, but she’s determined not to ruin their opportunity.
Then a surprise visit from the home’s conservation trust just as a Nor’easter bears down on the island disrupts her newfound life, leaving Ken trapped with a group of possibly dangerous strangers–including the man who brought her life tumbling down years earlier. When he turns up dead, Ken is the prime suspect.
Caught in a web of secrets and in a race against time, Ken and her alters must band together to prove their innocence and discover the truth of Kavanaugh Island–and their own past–or they risk losing not only their future, but their life. (Credit: William Morrow & Company)
A Game of Lies by Clare Mackintosh
Expected US Publication Date: April 23
They say the camera never lies. But on this show, you can’t trust anything you see.
Stranded in the Welsh mountains, seven reality show contestants have no idea what they’ve signed up for.
Each of these strangers has a secret. If another player can guess the truth, they won’t just be eliminated – they’ll be exposed live on air. The stakes are higher than they’d ever imagined, and they’re trapped.
The disappearance of a contestant wasn’t supposed to be part of the drama. Detective Ffion Morgan has to put aside what she’s watched on screen, and find out who these people really are – knowing she can’t trust any of them.
And when a murderer strikes, Ffion knows every one of her suspects has an alibi . . . and a secret worth killing for. (Credit: Sourcebooks Landmark)
The Midnight Game by Cynthia Murphy
Expected Publication Date: July 2
Six strangers. One night. But how many survivors? When a group of six strangers who have only ever spoken on a creepy Deddit thread decide to meet IRL, they have one plan in mind: they are going to play The Midnight Game and summon the Midnight Man. Rules of the game are simple: Do not turn on the lights. Do not go to sleep. Do not leave the building.And once you start the game, you must finish it–there’s no other way out… (Credit: Delacorte Press)
Island Witch by Amanda Jayatissa
Expected Publication Date: February 20
Being the daughter of the village Capuwa, or demon-priest, Amara is used to keeping mostly to herself. Influenced by the new religious practices brought in by the British Colonizers, the villagers who once respected her father’s craft have turned on the family. Yet, they all still seem to call on him whenever supernatural disturbances arise.Now someone–or something–is viciously seizing upon men in the jungle. But instead of enlisting Amara’s father’s help, the villages have accused him of carrying out the attacks himself.
As she tries to clear her father’s name, Amara finds herself haunted by dreams that eerily predict the dark forces on her island. And she can’t shake the feeling that it’s all connected to the night she was recovering from a strange illness, and woke up, scared and confused, to hear her mother’s frantic cries: No one can find out what happened. (Credit: Berkley Books)
