The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons

Colquitt and Walter Kennedy are horrified when construction starts on the wooded vacant lot next door to their suburban Atlanta home. They worry that their routine of dinner parties and drinks on the patio will be disturbed, and that the ultra-modern home going up will ruin the character of their sleepy, traditional Southern neighborhood. However, when they meet the charming young couple who are moving in and their charismatic architect, they warm to the idea and even the new house.

Then a series of disturbing tragedies begin to visit the couple in the house next door until they move away, their relationship broken. The house goes up for sale, and troubled Anita and her husband move in. Anita begins to report bizarre incidents when she is home alone, but surely they are merely the product of her fragile emotional state? Colquitt and Walter watch again as their neighbor’s lives are ruined, and it begins to seem to them that something in the house is changing its inhabitants, bringing out the worst in them. Then a third couple moves in and terrible things happen to them, too. Rational Colquitt struggles to explain what is happening next door as madness and murder plague her once-peaceful neighborhood. What lengths will she and Walter go to to protect themselves and their home? Is there even a way to stop what’s happening?

This is the perfect haunted house story, and nothing like anything else you’ll read this Halloween.

Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin

Rachel is on a date— one of her first since her divorce and her foray into online dating— when her date asks her daughter’s name. When he learns it’s Aviva, he can’t help but bring up disgraced congressional intern Aviva Grossman, who had an affair with the handsome, beloved, and very married Florida Congressman Aaron Levin. That Aviva is, of course, Rachel’s daughter, and so ends the date.

Rachel has barely heard from her daughter since the end of the affair, when Aviva fled South Florida to get away from the scandal and attempt to get on with her life. Now, even though it has been more than a decade, Aviva is still reviled while the congressman is still in office. Aviva has had to reinvent herself as Jane, a small-town wedding planner. When she decides to rekindle her love of politics by running for mayor, she risks the collision of her carefully planned new life and her notorious past.

Zevin tells the story of the Avivagate scandal and its aftermath through the eyes of the women it has affected the most, including the congressman’s wife and Aviva herself. The story is in turns hilariously funny, tender, and moving. Zevin’s flawed but likable characters and her skill at weaving humor into a thought-provoking story make it a must-read.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

The Little Stranger opens just after World War II, when only three members of the Ayers family—mother, son, and daughter—remain at Hundreds Hall, the family estate in England’s West Midlands. It was once a grand and stately manor, but it has fallen into disrepair as its inhabitants have suffered personal tragedy and financial ruin. The family calls in Doctor Faraday when one of their two remaining servants falls ill. Faraday, the son of a former Hundreds Hall nurserymaid, has fond memories of the estate from his boyhood and is shocked to see it in its present state. He finds the servant perfectly healthy but terrified of a “bad thing” in the house. Faraday, ever the rationalist, diagnoses her with a case of homesickness. However, he finds himself drawn in by the Ayers family, particularly the gruff-but-charming daughter, Caroline. As he spends more time with Caroline, he learns of strange, unsettling events that seem to be plaguing the inhabitants of Hundreds Hall. Can they be explained rationally, or is there something more sinister afoot?

Waters delivers an atmospheric, spine-tingling read that will hook you from the very first page. An absolute must-read for fans of Daphne du Maurier, Henry James, Agatha Christie or Charles Dickens. Read it before the movie comes out in 2018!

Security by Gina Wohlsdorf

Manderley Resort is like nothing else. Rising from the California coast like a giant’s tooth, it is destined to be an opulent getaway for the super-rich. It is beautiful almost to a fault (who ever heard of white carpet in a hotel?), right down to the last rose in the hedge maze. It also takes security to new heights, with owner and developer Charles Destin, Jr. calling it “the most secure hotel ever built.” With the grand opening gala just weeks away, security is the last thing on type-A manager Tessa’s mind. Her to-do list is a mile long, her boss is a perfectionist, and she is much more concerned with things like getting the phones working, having the maid get that little blood spot out of the carpet, and finding time to deal with the mysterious man from her past who has just shown up out of the blue. What Tessa doesn’t realize is that her staff is being slaughtered one by one by a pair of masked killers. But why are they targeting the hotel staff? What do they want? Can Tessa make it out alive?

The reader gets a security camera view of the action because after all, at Manderley, someone is always watching. This inventive, darkly funny novel has plenty of self-aware nods to the slasher movie genre throughout and is sure to delight movie buffs and horror readers alike.   

The Dry by Jane Harper

Federal Agent Aaron Falk has not been back to his remote Australian hometown since he and his father were run off twenty years ago. Aaron thought he would never go back until his childhood best friend, Luke, murders his own family and kills himself. Aaron receives a note from Luke’s father that reads simply: “You lied. Luke lied. Be at the funeral.” Reluctantly, he attends the funerals in the claustrophobic, drought-stricken farming town of Kiewarra. The locals, already on edge and starting to turn on each other in the relentless heat, are determined to hound Aaron out of town for a second time. He is more than happy to go until Luke’s father asks him to look into the murder-suicide that his son has been blamed for, and Aaron starts to suspect that Luke was framed. Along the way, Aaron must also confront the secrets buried in his and Luke’s past, where another murder lurks.

The Dry is a gripping, atmospheric page-turner. Secrets are revealed piece by piece with perfect timing that will leave you unable to put the book down. Harper’s characters and setting are so well-drawn that you will be able to feel the heat and you’ll be looking over your shoulder for suspicious locals. A summer must-read for mystery fans.

Watch Me Disappear by Janelle Brown

Jonathan and Billie are the perfect couple. They met on public transit, fell in love at first sight, and got married on a beach two weeks later. Nearly two decades later, they have a house in Berkeley, an environmentally-conscious teen daughter, and a seemingly perfect life. Billie is a stay-at-home mom who loves yoga and hiking, and Jonathan has worked his way up the ladder at a tech magazine. But their perfect life comes at a price. Jonathan is a workaholic, and Billie, a wild child in her youth, begins to grow bored and disillusioned with their life together. So, Billie decides to take a page from Cheryl Strayed's playbook and hike out her problems solo on the Pacific Crest Trail. Instead, she vanishes on her hike, leaving behind only a lone boot.

A year later, with Billie close to being declared legally dead, their daughter Olive begins to have hallucinations (or are they visions?) of her mother, very much alive. As Jonathan and Olive begin searching for answers, they find a tangle of secrets in Billie's past that makes them question everything about the woman they loved and thought they knew.

Janelle Brown weaves a compelling, twisty tale that will keep readers turning the page and guessing right up until the last sentence. A great summer read, perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl.

You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott

Devon Knox was born to do gymnastics—literally. In the womb, she kicked her mother, Katie, hard enough to break a rib. As a toddler, she possessed a quiet focus and a physical ability beyond her years. When teenage Devon’s gymnastics coach asks her parents how far they will go to nurture her potential—her Olympic potential—they are willing to do anything. The Knox family devotes themselves wholeheartedly to Devon’s career, spending long hours at the gym, traveling relentlessly to meets, and spending money they don’t have on coaching and equipment. When the boyfriend of one of Devon’s coaches is killed in a hit-and-run and the coach begins making bizarre threats against Devon, Katie starts looking into the young man’s death herself. With each step closer to the truth, Katie becomes less and less certain about the one thing she thought she knew best—her family.

Megan Abbott is particularly gifted at crafting characters, making even the most minor character in You Will Know Me come to life. Her writing is taut and suspenseful, and will keep readers guessing right up to the last page. Abbott also does a masterful job of bringing the claustrophobic world of competitive gymnastics to readers who don’t know a vault from a salto.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

The Wayfarer isn’t the most beautiful ship ever to roam the galaxy, but for Rosemary Harper, it’s now home. Rosemary isn’t a spacer—someone who lives primarily out in the open of the Galactic Commons—far from it. In fact, she’s never even left her home planet before. But open space does seem to be the ideal place to escape her troubled past, so she accepts a job aboard the Wayfarer. The ship has a truly motley crew, both human and alien, and life aboard tends toward the chaotic. When the captain decides to take a lucrative commission building a wormhole on the other side of the galaxy for a strange and largely unknown race, things get downright dangerous and Rosemary must learn to trust her crew mates in order to survive.

Though this is Becky Chambers’ debut novel, her writing is masterful and already feels classic. The galaxy she has created feels lived-in and true, thanks largely in part to the care with which she crafts the many species that people it. An absolute must-read for sci-fi aficionados and fans of series like Joss Whedon’s Firefly. Even readers who have never picked up a science fiction title before will appreciate Chambers’ quirky characters and careful world-building.

The Trespasser by Tana French

Detective Antoinette Conway grew up mixed-race and without a father in conservative Dublin, Ireland, so she’s used to not fitting in. She has always worn her differences defiantly and proudly, and styled herself a lone wolf, happy to be an outsider. She didn’t think she would fit right into Dublin’s all-male Murder squad, but she didn’t expect the level of harassment she’s receiving—pee in her locker, spit in her coffee, her paperwork thrown away and her cases jeopardized. It’s clear to Conway that everyone in the squad wants her out except for maybe her rookie partner, Steve Moran.

As the harassment begins to take a toll on Conway’s psyche, she and Moran are handed a seemingly straightforward murder—the victim, Aislinn Murray, led a boring life and there’s only a single suspect, her new boyfriend, Rory. The case should be an open-and-shut domestic, but nothing quite adds up. As their investigation is blocked at every turn by members of their own squad, Conway and Moran begin to suspect that finding Aislinn’s killer may lead them to a dangerous truth.

The Trespasser combines beautiful writing and intense psychological drama to create a literary mystery that draws the reader in completely and doesn’t let go until the final page. Though it is book six in French’s Dublin Murder Squad series, this novel is more than capable of standing alone. 

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

It’s 1988 in Charleston, South Carolina and sophomores Abby Rivers and Gretchen Lang have it all -- they’re popular, academically successful, and have a tight-knit group of friends. Most of all, they have each other. Abby and Gretchen have been best friends since the fourth grade, when their friendship bloomed against a backdrop of E.T., roller rinks, and Ms. Pac-Man. Now, as high schoolers, they are closer than ever and their friendship feels unshakable. 

Then, one night, Gretchen goes missing during a slumber party. Abby and the other girls find her in the woods hours later, but Abby knows something’s not quite right. Gretchen is withdrawn and acting weird, and Abby can’t seem to get through to her. Soon, everyone believes Gretchen is back to normal, but she’s still not the person Abby once knew. In fact, she’s becoming downright evil. Could she be possessed by the devil? And more importantly, is their friendship strong enough to survive what’s happening?

My Best Friend’s Exorcism is a pitch-perfect mix of teen angst, ‘80s pop culture, horror and dark comedy. Best friend drama takes center stage, but there is no shortage of truly scary moments. Hendrix excels at creating an oppressive, claustrophobic atmosphere that only gets more spine-tingling as the pages turn.