R.I.P. IV

I was planning on writing a review today. But then Carl went and announced R.I.P. IV yesterday, and I’ve been putting together my book pool ever since! :)

I love reading scary books, especially in the fall, and this is definitely one of my very favourite challenges. As Carl put it

I find that kind of melodramatic fear to be a delicious intoxication, one that makes this time of year an especially enjoying time to be a reader. There is enough bad fear in the world: fear of losing one’s job, fear of the state of the world, fear of failure…the list is endless. It is time to reject that fear, embrace hope, and while doing so embrace the fun kind of fear–the kind that had us sitting around camp fires as children, listening to adults tell us ghost stories. The kind that made you want to stay up past your bed time to peek at the late night scary movie on television.

Isn’t that simply lovely? So I might have gone a little overboard with my pool (which I’ve divided according to the genres Carl laid out), but who cares?!

Obviously, I’m doing Peril the First, which requires me to read at least four of the books between September 1st and Halloween. I have a sneaking suspicion I’ll end up reading much more than that. :D

Mystery

• Haunted Ground by Erin Hart: when the body of a young woman is found in a peat bog, an Irish archaeologist and American pathologist join forces to solve the mystery. And it deals with both the present and historical mysteries, which will be different from my usual mystery fare. The plot of this mystery really appealed to me.

Suspense

• Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones: narrated by three fifth graders during the 1979 Atlanta child murders. Almost two dozen children were kidnapped and killed. I chose this, because I knew nothing about the murders before stumbling across this title.
• By Blood Possessed by Elena Santangelo: Pat moves into a large Virginia estate, hoping to become the heir. But soon she’s caught up with ghosts, voodoo, and death threats. Pretty much, I love the South, and I love creepy old estates.
• Where Are the Children? by Mary Higgins Clark: After the deaths of her two children and break up of her first marriage, Nancy has made a new life, and family for herself. But when she looks for her new children in the backyard, she finds only a red mitten. I’ve never read a Mary Higgins Clark book, but just reading the back of this one gives me the creeps!

Dark Fantasy

• The Dreaming, Vol. One by Queenie Chan: Australian twins make it into a prestigious boarding school. But they start having nightmares, hearing weird rumours, even the teachers are behaving strangely. This is manga, which I’ve never read before, but it just sounds fascinating! And the cover is definitely creepy.
• Matters of the Blood by Maria Lima: a vampire novel set in Texas Hill Country. As a Texan who loves Hill Country, I had to put this on the list!

Gothic

• The Ghost Orchid by Carol Goodman: a debut novelist at an artists’ retreat in a Victorian mansion gets more than she bargained for! Story alternates between present and past. I really enjoyed Goodman’s first novel, The Lake of Dead Languages, so I had to put this on the list.
• Grange House by Sarah Blake: set at a fashionable hotel on the cost of Maine in 1896, this is a tale of gothic secrets and ghostly encounters. I’m really in the mood for Victorian lit, whether real or historical, so on to the list this went. :)
• The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins: about a haunted hotel in Venice. What is it with British authors and Venice?! lol
• Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest: a Tenneessee orphan begins seeing ghosts, which prompts her to explore her heritage. I love Southern books, and this one has been on my radar since Chris reviewed it forever ago.

Horror

• Yellow Moon by Jewell Parker Rhodes: the sequel to Voodoo Season, about voodoo in contemporary New Orleans. I really enjoyed the first one, so of course I want to read the sequel!
• Bad Girls Don’t Die by Katie Alexander: Lexi’s younger sister begins to seem possessed after their family moves into a Victorian home. I enjoy reading YA novels on occassion, and this one has a great cover.
• A Good and Happy Child by Justin Evans: George goes to a psychiatrist because he’s terrified to be in the same room as his newborn. The rest of the book is about his past, and determining if George is crazy or possessed. The cover and title have me totally creeped out!

Supernatural

• Joplin’s Ghost by Tananarive Due: a young girl becomes haunted by a famous ragtime compposer. This one sounds really interesting, and Due has lots of books that sound right up my alley.
• Baby of the Family by Tina McElroy Ansa: the youngest child in a middle class 1950s family can see ghosts. I love ghost stories, especially ones that aren’t supposed to be creepy.
• Fledgling by Octavia Butler: a sci-fi take on vampires. I really enjoyed Kindred when I read it, and I saw this one in the bookstore the other day. It sounded so good from the back blurb!
• The Ghost In Love by Jonathan Carroll: Ben Gould was supposed to die, but a glitch in the computer system left his body alive. Now he, his dog, and his ‘guide ghost’ have a series of adventures. Nancy Pearl recommended this one, and it sounds like a fun little romp.
• From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury: a novel based around various immortal creatures; the vampires and their kin have a reunion and tell stories. I read Something Wicked This Way Comes during RIP II and loved it. It’s about time I get back to Bradbury!
• Madeleine’s Ghost by Robert Girardi: a New Orleans history grad student moves to NYC, but finds himself in a haunted apartment. Story alternates between present and past. Y’all should know by now that New Orleans is my cryptonite in a book blurb! And I like books that have multiple storylines in different ages.
• I’m Looking Through You byJennifer Finney Boylan: the only non-fic on my list this year, it’s a memoir by a transgendered woman about growing up in a haunted house. I think it’s obvious why I put it on the list! :)