12 books that fans of mysteries and mysticism will love
Miscellaneous / / July 28, 2023
Exciting thrillers, detective stories with elements of science fiction, romance on the verge of farce and other stories for true-crime fans.
1. Broken Girls, Simontha St. James
Simone St. James is a Canadian writer and winner of several prestigious literary awards. In the book, the author tells about the events that are happening in Idlewild Hall, a boarding school for troubled girls. Locals try to avoid this place - they say that ghosts live there. The boarding house is closed after one of the pupils disappears without a trace in the 1950s.
Today, journalist Fiona is experiencing the tragic death of her older sister, which happened 20 years ago. The girl's body was found near the abandoned Idlewild Hall, and her boyfriend was accused of the murder. Fiona decides to conduct her own investigation. And suddenly, in the well on the school grounds, the body of a girl is unexpectedly found.
The book will appeal to those who read "misty valley» Arden Katherine, «Devil and dark water» Stuart Turner, novels by Stephen King and «
Hound of the Baskervilles"Arthur Conan Doyle, and also to those who like the atmosphere of the Dead Poets Society." Buy a book2. Evening Dawn Motel by Simone St. James
Another book by Simone St. James, which is indispensable in the list of mystical thrillers, is "Evening Dawn Motel". The book again has two storylines: then and now. The main character Carly abandons her established life and moves to a suburb in upstate New York to get a job as an administrator at a local motel.
Shocked friends do not understand her motives, but Carly is determined to uncover an old family secret - 30 years ago, her aunt disappeared here under mysterious circumstances. Once in the motel, Carly realizes that inexplicable things are happening inside: doors slam on their own, the coffee machine turns on, and voices are heard in empty rooms. But Carly isn't the type to be scared that easily.
Buy a book3. Blue Lights of Yokohama by Nicholas Obregon
The Blue Lights of Yokohama is the debut novel by British author Nicholas Obregon. The creation of the author's book was prompted by the case of the murder of the Miyazawa family, committed on December 30, 2000 in Tokyo.
Tourists who have arrived in Japan become unwitting witnesses of a nightmarish crime: a woman in a cable car cabin kills a security guard with one blow of a knife. A policeman who accidentally finds himself in the crowd tries to stop her - he grabs her hand, but instinctively opens her fingers when she sees a tattoo in the form of a black sun on her wrist.
15 years pass. A family of four is brutally murdered in Tokyo. The criminal leaves a mark: draws a black sun on the floor with soot. The same policeman takes over the investigation, but soon dies, throwing himself into the river from the bridge. How are these events related? Is the black sun a curse that brings death?
Lovers will love this book Japanese literature, in terms of atmosphere, it is very similar to "The Ring" and "Dark Waters" by Koji Suzuki.
Buy a book4. Primrose Lane Recluse James Renner
James Renner is an American novelist, screenwriter, and journalist. He was investigating two criminal cases of child abduction and maintained his own blog about this case.
The hero of the book, David Neff, is also a writer and journalist. He's also the author of a best-selling documentary about murder mysteries whose wife committed suicide. Jeff collects material for a new book and takes on the investigation of the death of an eccentric old man from Primrose Lane, who hardly left the house and wore woolen gloves even in summer. Not only is the old man brutally killed, but his fingers are also cut off.
David Neff has no idea what the case promises him: the murder is closely connected with his own tragedy. To solve the riddle, you have to move in time, fall in love with a dead man and believe in the signs of fate. Although, perhaps, all this is just a lethargic dream?
The book will appeal to those who love the Joel Dicker series "Markus Goldman” and “Dark Matter” by Blake Crouch, as well as fans of the science fiction genre.
Buy a book5. "Amnesia", Federico Aksat
Federico Axat is an Argentinean writer and civil engineer by profession. Amnesia is a book about the games of the human mind and memory, about the clash of reality and the subconscious.
John Brenner, a children's book illustrator, wakes up on the floor of his living room to find a dead girl next to him and gun. But before he has time to recover and fully realize that a terrible thing has happened, the girl’s body disappears, and a van with surveillance equipment appears near the house.
John thinks he is going crazy, and his friends claim that he confused the trouble with reality, having gone over with alcohol. But the dead girl comes to him in his dreams, leads him into the forest and repeats the same phrase: "You forgot something." After digging around on the Internet, John realizes that he is not the only one this guest visits.
The book will appeal to those who love "Other people. The Mysterious Story by Martin Amis,Death has two faces» Keith Frick, «Shine" Stephen King and "Fight club» Chuck Palahniuk.
Buy a book6. "Final - Balti", Emmanuelle Grand
Emmanuelle Grand is a French writer of detective novels. The protagonist of the book, Mark Voronin, illegally emigrated from Ukraine to France in the 1990s, paying a Romanian mafia. There are several more illegal immigrants in the car with him, including the girl Irina. Truckers want to rape her, but the company prevents the crime. True, one of the Romanians is killed, and the other is thrown out of the car, taking away the money for the crossing back.
Mark still manages to get to the French island and get a job as an assistant on a fishing schooner. But perhaps falling into the hands of the mafia would be better? Strange things happen on the island: a human leg gets caught in fishing nets, a mysterious girl bathes in a cold March lake, and all the locals talk about the Angel of Death, who claims lives men. Mark does not believe in mysticism, but he understands that his life is clearly in danger.
The book will appeal to those who read "Darwin's razor» Dan Simmons, «The girl from the letter"Gunisa Emily or"woman in black» Susan Hill.
Buy a book7. Honeysuckle Girl, Emily Carpenter
Emily Carpenter is an American actress, screenwriter, producer, and writer. She has already published five novels, the best of which is considered "Honeysuckle Girl" - a bewitching gothic thriller laced with family drama.
The Altea clan is cursed - all the women in it die as soon as they turn 30 years old. Just before her death, the mother whispered in her daughter's ear: “Wait for her. Wait for the honeysuckle girl." Althea goes crazy: two weeks before her thirtieth birthday, she returns home from a drug treatment clinic, where no one is happy about her.
Althea knows for sure that she wants to live, so she intends to unravel the mystery of sinister deaths. The answer, of course, is to be found in the past. Althea will have to sort out the complicated family relationships and find a lot of skeletons in the closets.
Book lovers will loveDark secrets» Gillian Flynn, Girls on the Train by Paula Hawkins and «cold dish» Craig Johnson.
Buy a book8. "Badger", Frederik Persson Winter
Frederik Persson Winter is a successful lawyer from Sweden, but his true passion is writing. He creates psychological thrillers set in the publishing industry. The Badger is one of the author's most popular books.
Eklund's publishing house is rapidly sinking. If the editorial office does not find a bestseller in the near future, it will go bankrupt, and the employees will remain on the street. It was then that Annika Granlund discovers a manuscript soiled with earth on the steps of the office. On its pages is the confession of a serial killer, the same one who once a year drags the victim through a hole in the basement floor. What is it: a writer's fantasy or a diary of a real Badger? What will happen if the book is published, will it help the investigators? And why do cellars scare Annika herself from childhood?
Fans will love this thriller Scandinavian literature, horror and detective stories in the spirit of Joel Dicker and Michel Bussy.
Buy a book9. "A Lesson in Retribution" by Victoria Lee
Contemporary writer Victoria Lee dreamed of studying at a boarding school and inventing ghost stories since childhood. She used her favorite themes in the gothic thriller A Lesson in Retribution.
Dalloway is a closed school for girls, located in ancient buildings and keeping dark secrets. Once there were five brutal deaths. Young girls died: one was killed, another was hanged, the third crashed, the fourth drownedand the fifth was buried alive.
Alice, one of the students and author of detective stories, is trying to unravel the mystery of the five witches. Felicity comes to her aid: a year ago, Alex, her best friend, died in Dalloway, it happened partly through the fault of the girl. Suddenly, everything gets out of hand, and the invisible forces of the closed school become more and more tangible... Is Felicity hanging over a dark curse or what is happening is part of someone's cruel plan?
The book will appeal to fans of the dark academy genre and sinister stories like M. L. Rio,ninth house» Lee Bardugo and «Magpie Society» Zoey Sugg. And also for the lovers of aestheticssecret history» Donna Tartt.
Buy a book10. Restless, Mikael Desse
Mikael Desse is a writer, critic, literary editor and regular contributor to the online magazine Dystopia.
"Restless" is an amazing book in which either half-forgotten postmodernism won, or the game of the author's subconscious, which turned everything around into a theater of the absurd. The book reads like a detective story, where the main character Logic dies under mysterious circumstances in St. Petersburg, and her childhood friend who suddenly appears is trying to figure out what happened.
Fans of conceptual literature will find here an unexpected and new genre, which one is still unknown, because Mikael himself has not yet come up with a name for it. This is not important, what is important in this book is to get a new reading experience and find out what happened to Logic.
The book will appeal to fans of the grotesque, farce and theater of the absurd. It can be recommended to admirers of Foucault, Kharms, Vonnegut and even Gogol.
Buy a book11. “As if we are villains”, M. L. Rio
M. L. Rio is an American writer with an MA in Shakespeare Studies from King's College London and the Shakespeare Globe. Like We're Villains is her debut novel. He does not care for gloominess. Firstly, the action takes place in an old mansion of the middle of the 19th century, similar to a castle. Secondly, this is a secluded place where an outsider will not get. Thirdly, the plot is built around student actors who fanatically love Shakespeare's work, study it and put on plays.
In Dellecker Hall, students are preparing for their graduation performance, but a tragic event that took place within the walls of the academy changes their measured lives and destinies once and for all. The play suddenly becomes life, fantasy becomes reality, and students try on the masks of victims, executioners, kings and jesters.
Where is reality really and who is behind all the strange events at school? The novel “As if we are villains” is about how the line between theatrical production and life is erased, how great and dangerous can be the power of art, and how easily ambition can lead a man to crime.
The atmosphere of the book is reminiscent of The Secret History by Donna Tartt and the fantastic stories of Mikhail Bulgakov.
Buy a book12. "I Shot the Devil" by Ruth McIver
Ruth McIver was born in Ireland but grew up in Melbourne, where she began her writing career and completed her PhD in fiction. Her novel I Shot the Devil won the 2018 Richell Award for Emerging Writers.
Erin is a journalist. Her friend, the editor-in-chief of a local newspaper, suggests Erin write an article about a long-standing, but never fully investigated, case of the brutal murder of teenagers in the Southport forest. Erin returns to a hated town, where painful memories lie in wait for her at every turn.
A company of teenagers, led by Satanist Ricky Hell, was nicknamed the Southport Three. Locals say that they, led by the devil himself, made an occult sacrifice. Understanding this difficult matter, Erin realizes that many people are involved in history who do not want their secrets to be revealed. Someone is trying to stop her. Is it the devil himself?
The book will remindDaughters of the lake» Wendy Webb, «Before you know my name» Jacqueline Bablitz and the novels of Simone St. James.
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