5 Weird and Unsettling Books You Should Read this Fall

This psychological thriller follows a young woman and her boyfriend, Jake, on a road trip to meet Jake’s parents through a heavy snowstorm. As the story progresses and the unnamed narrator interacts with Jake’s parents, the story gets increasingly more bizarre. The novel follows an almost-dreamlike tale, with nothing making much sense. This book is drawing, mysterious, and perfect to read as the weather cools up! 

The Dinner follows Paul Lohman and his wife, Claire, as they meet for dinner with Paul’s brother and his wife to discuss a horrific act committed by their sons. The novel is split into 5 sections, each covering a course of their meal. Herman Koch offers an interesting commentary on parental responsibility and the measures parents will take to protect their children. The thrilling narrative and jarring reveal name this book a great “unsettling” read for this fall. 

Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, describes this book as a cross between The Princess Diaries and Dante’s Inferno, and that may be the perfect way to describe Black Sheep! This novel follows a young woman named Vesper who returns to her cultish family home after receiving a wedding invite. There, she uncovers some of her family secrets and learns more about herself in the process. This book was certainly something else! 

This insane novel tells the story of Hannah, an aimless woman in her thirties, who becomes obsessed with an online forum uncovering the deaths of several women in a small town. When the murderer is uncovered to be handsome lawyer William Thompson, Hannah writes to him, letting him know how awful he is. But to her surprise, he writes back. The two of them continue to write back and forth until a bond forms, and Hannah becomes increasingly-obsessed. There’s a lot of interesting social commentary hidden in this novel, but it’s also just a page-turner! Tasha Coryell uses the perfect amount of dark humor and mystery to make this book perfect for fall.

Piglet is about a woman nicknamed Piglet, a cookbook editor, as she prepares for her upcoming wedding. When two weeks before the wedding, her fiancé, Kit, unveils a horrifying secret, Piglet begins to spiral. The novel explores the betrayal and the effects it has on Piglet’s already-complicated relationship with food. This book is intriguing and a little bit unhinged, landing it in the final spot on this list!