As it turns to fall at Northwestern, I’ve been making sure to take some time for self-care, which for me, looks like curling up in bed and reading. A lot. With Halloween approaching, I’ve been devouring books to get me in the spooky mood — here are my top five.
- The guest list by lucy foley
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This was my most recent read, which I found after reading The Paris Apartment by the same author. Although The Paris Apartment has gotten more hype, I found The Guest List even more gripping, and I sped through it in just a couple of days. A high-profile couple hosts their wedding on an obscure island off Ireland, and tensions between characters heighten as guests lose their inhibitions. The narration switches back and forth between the present, in which wedding quests are searching for a body on the wedding night, and everything that led up to it. A fast-paced thriller in a spooky, daunting setting, this book will really get you in the Halloween mood.
- a good girl’s guide to murder by holly jackson
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A breakout book that’s now being turned into a TV show starring Emma Myers of Wednesday fame, this book is pretty light-hearted but still an engaging mystery. Pip, a precocious high school student, latches onto a murder that happened in her town years ago — even though everyone already knows who committed it — and reopens the investigation on her own. As she dives into the stories of her town, she also finds a romance, giving this murder mystery a rom-com-esque subplot.
- dead girls society by michelle krys
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This book is perfect for Pretty Little Liars fans. A group of girls with a Breakfast Club-like dynamic begins to receive mysterious letters from “The Society,” telling them to do increasingly dangerous dares. For the protagonist Hope, who has cystic fibrosis, this is a chance to get out of her house and prove herself to the other girls. But as the dares progress, the story takes a dark turn. The combination of the mysterious and suspenseful plot with a likable protagonist kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the book.
- the cousins by karen mcmanus
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The Cousins, written by the author of One of Us is Lying, follows three cousins who barely know each other as they visit the resort their grandmother owns — their grandmother, whom none of them have ever met. All they know about their family is that their parents were mysteriously cut off by their wealthy grandmother, and the three cousins take on the task of getting to the bottom of the mystery. Just like in One of Us is Lying, there is no shortage of shocking twists, and this book left me with chills.
- weyward by emilia hart
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If you’re not so into murderous tales but still want some spooky vibes, Weyward is a great book for you. Jumping between the eras of the 17th-century witch trials, World War II, and the present, Weyward follows three women and their intergenerational connections. This book combines themes of female isolation and oppression with a compelling story arc and strong characters, making for a perfect empowering fall read.