Murder at Agatha Christie's manor house! Her capable housekeeper seeks out clues, once she is unimpressed by the police response. With a houseful of guests and a full staff present - lots to dig into. This one charmed me. Not too cute, and we get enough clues to play along too. #books #booksky

Not your Grandma's Gothic: a Victorian-era biracial woman with limited options is offered marriage, in exchange for not asking questions at the Manor house. Things it goes SO sideways- audaciously. Fever dreams, fairy tales, and faeries oh my. It doesn't play safe, thankfully. #books #booksky

I LOVED The Bog Wife & Blood on Her Tongue. This bog-body book is quieter, and about smart young women navigating complex dynamics. 2 timelines: A Druid Priestess makes friends & enemies; a scientist examines an ancient body in a town fighting over whether to raze its bogs. #books #booksky

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"Evil baby" has become its own #horror sub-genre, but this one genuinely surprised me. Baby Lucia is 12 weeks old but has teeth and like to bite. She also cheerfully baby-talks some genuinely disturbing wishes. Short, twisty, not deep, some fun dark humor. A palate cleanser. #books #booksky

Portal #horror: 25 years ago, a street in Ohio vanished. Few escaped - the three best friends who got out CAN return, briefly, but now it's spectral time capsule. This inventive, short, queer, character-drive book is full of mysteries, secrets, grief, and ghosts. #books #booksky

A character-driven novel disguised as a survival thriller. Told from the POV of 42 year old Valerie, lost in the Maine wilderness; 62 year old Lt Bev, who leads the search team; and Lena, 76, an armchair detective. Tender, well paced, with exquisite prose. Best on audio. #books #booksky

This horror-tinged popcorn thriller has a great cover. Sam gets a big inheritance ONLY if she stays on the haunted family property (which comes with a hot, grumpy caretaker). You don't get a lot of Headless Horseman themed novels in 2025! A low stakes spooky page-turner. #books #booksky

This folk horror tale is set in a boarding school. Fragile young writer Michael is secretly in love with his volatile roommate Thomas- who may have killed his parents. Or is he something... otherworldly? Starts quietly eerie, gets increasingly gruesome & macabre. That ending! #books #booksky

'Hell is a campus': a satire that skewers academia. A PhD student goes to Hell to retrieve a crucial recommendation. This hell is not dangerous, but it is full of puzzles, petttiness, references, and archetypical campus figures. Read it for vibes if you've been a grad student. #books #booksky

A secretly psychic woman is forced to join the training program for the elite squad that hunts secret psychics. Think Divergent, but not YA. The romance is meh, but the twists and set pieces were fun. I can't defend it on literary terms. But did I have a good time? Absolutely. #books #booksky

Mystery + Horror: Anna, age 17, works as a maid in the tribe casino. When a couple of teen girls go missing, she starts putting pieces together. #MMIWG Meanwhile she knows a folklore entity is coming for her. A disembodied head, rolling towards her, always. SPOOKY. #books #booksky

Isola is a novel about Marguerite de La Rocque, who in 1541 was marooned with her young lover on a island. But the most tense chapters are her childhood, where she learns that an orphan girl's survival takes cunning. A story of courage, resilience, reflection, and redemption. #books #booksky

This photo just about sums it up

This is a haunted house page turner has wit and a touch a rage. I enjoyed our POV character Clio, a clever NYC influence with a chaotic streak, who observes early on "The easiest way to tell who a man really is, is to injure his ego and see how he reacts". Best in print. #books #booksky

5 stars - perfectly paced fantasy / dark academia This is a book anti-colonialist and feels very relevant. Sciona aspires to be the first woman archmage in Bright Haven. As she rises, she uncovers uncomfortable truths. TW gore, misogyny, racism I gulped it down. And that ending! #books #booksky

More than 1800 detainees are missing after the closure of Alligator Alcatraz. Their families and lawyers can’t find them and they’ve vanished from the ICE database. Feels like this should be a much bigger story www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

Folk Horror: In a war-torn world, the island of Lute is peaceful and protected. But every 7 years, there is "The Day" where tragedy happens as a tithe. Nina, who moved here almost 7 years ago by marriage, doesn't buy it, thinks she's being hazed ... no gore, evocative. #books #booksky

The most 2025 novel of 2025. 7 years ago journalist Rhys punched his MAGA son in law at Thanksgiving. Then he went off grid. Now his grandkids show up needing help. What comes next is a wild ride: a road trip, guns, and Rhys trying to figure out cell phones. This book is ALIVE. #books #booksky

This is a dual-timeline atmospheric gothic mystery set in Cornwall. In 1947, Alice is the new governess in a spooky manor house that the locals are wary of..... the modern part is about an orphaned woman who inherits that house, now abandoned. Good horror-adjacent fall pick. #books #booksky

Fall Book Aesthetic: The Only Good Indians by @sgj.bsky.social

This literary mystery-within-a-mystery is atmospheric; it makes Texas drip with menace and regrets. Featuring a mute child with one eye - secrets hidden in cookbooks - biblical verses as threats - a missing homecoming queen named Trumanell. The twists are *chef's kiss*. #books #booksky

Evvie is leaving her crappy husband when he unexpected dies. She gets a renter: a struggling pro baseball player. Both are experiencing complicated grief. This is in the "romance as self discovery / therapy" subgenre, but it's smart, honest, funny and feels grounded. #booksky #books

Been a while since I read a horror book that is actually scary. Also the voice: “Cora imagines if she herself were someone’s one and only source of American culture, how they would find it strange that Americans take such long showers and have such smelly jobs and cry so much.” #booksky #horror

WWII fantasy / adventure This debut is about a 19 year old English witch, a French resistance fighter named Rebecca, and a Haitian-American art expert racing to find a powerful artifact before the Nazis do. The Nazis have witches too. Intense, action-packed, emotional. #books #booksky #fantasy

Qualifying conditions for COVID vaccine 'Physical inactivity' could be your reason if none other fit

I'd LOVE a short story collection inspired by Sam & Dean.... Happy to have this: a dark horror novella about a woman mourning her teen son, a roadside memorial, a ghost(?), and some bad decisions. Well written & paced, emotional, doesn't play nice. TW grief, body horror. #books #booksky #horror

Such an intimate and emotional novel. Easily will make my best of the year list. I usually prefer genre fiction, but this has such humor and sense and suspense and empathy.......I think just about anyone would enjoy it. I am sure Virignia Evans is now inundated with letters. #books #booksky

JFC Actual photo of my good mood disappearing from coming on here and seeing 3 equally terrible news stories in quick succession

THE epic fantasy novel of 2025. Not grimdark, not romantasy, just intrigue, worldbuilding, twists, wit and most importantly, it's well written! Plot start: locked room murder mystery, rival monasteries, and a big competition. Main POV character is a Black woman in her 30s. #books #booksky

The Gone World is set where I grew up, western PA (Washington county) in 1997. A woman leaves a time travel program after a trauma. She later becomes a Navy investigator, and the murder she's assigned to solve involves time travel. Dark, original, intense, with an X Files vibe. #books #bookskj

yes, everyone is struggling right now so please be gracious be kind & patient, but subvert every institution that relies on our suffering - from A Rebellion of Care by David Gates #poetry

House of Leaves. This book pre-dates, and predicts, found footage films. It's mostly about family living in a sinister house that's bigger on the inside than the outside. Plus there are footnotes by two people, one of whom is definitely a liar. SUPER propulsive read. #books #booksky

Washington Post: “Is fascism bad? The answer may surprise you” Teen Vogue: “Here are three fun tips you can use this summer to disable an armored personnel carrier”

This one is living up to its reputation as a classic. It's about decedents of an artist who still own one of his (now incredibly valuable) paintings. A dynamic family story that is warm, rich, complex and vivid. It made me want to inhabit each era it described. #Books #Booksky

TIL Fiona Apple & Paul Thomas Anderson did a '40s style music video for her song Paper Bag, with 20 boys dressed as adult men. 🎶 He said it's all in your head And I said so's everything, but he didn't get it I thought he was a man, but he was just a little boy 🎶 www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK30...

July 2025 reads. Highlights were Voyage of the Damned, Spoonbenders, and The Compound. But they were all at least pretty good! #books #booksky

Catching up with Drag Race S17, dang these girls are talented.

✨✨✨✨✨ An unpredictable, witty, heartwarming saga about a family of psychics. The dad wants to be famous. The CIA wants them to be spies. But mostly it's about, how do you live if you know when you'll die? How do you fall in love if you can detect lies? Really deft & clever. #books #booksky

Today I learned there is a Dragonlance rock musical!! Wow! Here is a confrontation between brothers Raistlin & Caramon. A wizard convinces his naive brother to lead a war. In Russian, with English subtitles, based loosely on the Legends series. #dragonlance youtu.be/Z3BAhMznggk?...

I'm enjoying this book; it has a podcast vibe. John Green is a genuinely engaging storyteller. It WILL break your heart in light of what happened to USAID (www.kff.org/global-healt...) I (also) recommend the book The Invisible Microbe as a more focused science/social history. #books #booksky

This "celebrity ghost + ghostwriter" romance novel is much better than I expected. Witty and emotional. I was so scared it'd screw up the ending a la The Dead Romantics, but it was perfect. #books #booksky

This atypical Regency romance is witty, twisty and tender, with trans representation. Christopher must find a wife to retain his Earldom and fortune. The valet hired to help complicates instead of easing the situation. Slow burn, but never dour. I laughed a lot. #books #booksly

1. We interrupt this programming for some LEGITIMATELY GOOD NEWS Violent crime in Baltimore has PLUMMETED to historic lows How did the city do it? Baltimore adopted a comprehensive set of "woke" policies, treating violence as a public health issue

This dystopian novel was the book of the summer for me. It's a compulsively readable reflection on reality tv that will make you think, and I say that as someone who has never seen a single episode of Love Island. Go in blind. Somewhat dark, but no graphic content warnings. #books #booksky

This is marketed as horror, but I found it to be firmly domestic suspense / thriller. It just happens to be set in a haunted house. An unhappy couple moves into a new home and things unravel. Slow paced, atmospheric. Several Poe references. I loved the raven-narrated chapters. #books #booksky

Pleasant pool reading: fantasy, magic, low stakes, found family, a smart main character, hurt/ comfort romance, diverse characters (love a book with introductions like "she is a pleasant looking older white woman"). Charming but not so twee that my teeth hurt. #books #booksky

An investigative journalist learns about a mystery close to home: she has an aunt that went missing in the 1960s - one of six Black teenage girls whose disappearances went uninvestigated at that time. A smart debut set in North Carolina. #books #booksky