With spooky season upon us, it’s time to grab an appropriately ghoulish book. But do you prefer “Tricks” – unexplained mysteries, supernatural secrets and shocking twists – or “Treats” – quirky characters, unexpected alliances and paranormal romance?
Whatever you’re drawn to over Halloween, use the “Spooky Rating” to discover the perfect book for you…
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches By Sangu Mandana
Spooky Rating: 2/5
When a lonely witch arrives at the mysterious Nowhere House to teach three orphaned kids how to control their magic, she immediately gets tangled up in the lives and secrets of those who live there.
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
Spooky Rating: 1/5
A disillusioned ghostwriter returns home to bury her beloved father. At her family’s funeral parlour, she discovers that her new editor is now a ghost with his own unfinished business he needs help with.
Sign Here by Claudia Lux
Spooky Rating: 3/5
A man who works in Hell (literally) is on the cusp of a big promotion if only he can get one more member of the wealthy Harrison family to sell their soul.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Spooky Rating: 5/5
Due to her unique ability to see ghosts, Alex is recruited by a mysterious organisation at Yale university which oversees the secret campus societies that deal in arcane magic.
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
Spooky Rating: 2/5
An upbeat but overworked undertaker and a prickly zombie-killer who’s secretly just lonely can’t stand each other whenever their paths cross. Unknowingly, they strike up a friendship via anonymous letters.
White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson
Spooky Rating: 4/5
Teenage Marigold and her blended family move to a new town for a fresh start. However, Mari soon discovers that their new home holds history and secrets – and that it may be haunted with something darker.
The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
Spooky Rating: 5/5
After the death of her parents, Ryn is left to run the family’s graveyard but where she’s from, the dead don’t always stay dead. When an apprentice mapmaker arrives in town, the risen corpses attack with new ferocity.
Wild is The Witch by Rachel Griffin
Spooky Rating: 4/5
A teenage witch accidentally enacts a curse that could have dire consequences. She is forced to team up with a boy who hates witches to make sure her magic isn’t unleashed on the world.
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
Spooky Rating: 3/5
Beatriz marries a wealthy man in an attempt to right her family’s fortune and secure a home of her own. When she moves onto her husband’s estate, unexplainable things start to happen so she turns to a young priest for help.
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Spooky Rating: 2/5
When the Eastwood sisters join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement.