Reading Recommendations for adults from the staff of Oshkosh Public Library.
October Staff Picks from Adult Services:
Welcome to fall! It’s my most favorite time of year, and the best time to read my favorite genre—Horror! Here’s a variety of staff picks for spooky season, ranging from cozy creepies to terrifying tomes. And be sure to check out this month’s Book Buzz video for even more scary recommendations! Enjoy! –Sarah Read
The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
Recommended by Sarah R.
Also available on Libby as an eBook and e-audiobook.
In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. A teenage girl who isn’t allowed outside, not after last time. A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the gaps in his memory. And a housecat who loves napping and reading the Bible. An unspeakable secret binds them together, but when a new neighbor moves in next door, what’s buried out among the birch trees may come back to haunt them all.
I love trying to solve mysteries in books, playing the sleuth, solving the crime… I’ve never been surprised more times than when I read this book. Every time you think you’ve solved the case, Ward pulls the rug out from under you and the story gets even more shocking. One of the best constructed books I’ve ever read. Just stick with it past the first 30ish pages. Trust me, it pays off!
Books of Blood Vol. 1 by Clive Barker
Recommended by Michael M.
Also available on Libby as an eBook.
Barker's first collection of short stories brought horror to new gore-soaked heights in the 1980s and many of them still make my mouth drop open in shock. My favorite story from this collection ("In the Hills, the Cities") presents a battle between two cities so surreal and grotesque, I struggle to comprehend the sheer insanity of the horror.
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
Recommended by Lila J.
Also available on Libby as an eBook and e-audiobook.
Unapologetically based on the Scooby Doo Mystery Gang, this terrific & terrifying novel delights the inner cartoon-watching child whilst chilling the rational grown-up reader. The gang – Blyton Summer Detective Club – solved their last mystery in 1990… but the case wasn’t closed entirely, and something has slipped out through the cracks. They reunite as adults, intending to put the past where it belongs. And what they uncover in the process is much worse than they could ever imagine…
*Editor's Picks*
Hi there! This month we're shining a light on Sarah, one of our outstanding librarians who is also a Bram Stoker Award winning author! We couldn't let October slither by without recommending her spine-tingling tales of terror. Perfect for our dear readers who enjoy a bit of a scare, her stories have been keeping us on the edge of our seats all month long.
The Bone Weaver's Orchard by Sarah Read
He's run away home. That's what they say every time one of Charley Winslow's friends vanishes from The Old Cross School for Boys.
It's just a tall tale. That's what they tell Charley when he sees the ragged grey figure stalking the abbey halls at night.
When Charley follows his pet insects to a pool of blood behind a false wall, he could run and let those stones bury their secrets. He could assimilate, focus on his studies, and wait for his father to send for him. Or he could walk the dark tunnels of the school's heart, scour its abandoned passages, and pick at the scab of a family's legacy of madness and murder.
With the help of Sam Forster, the school's gardener, and Matron Grace, the staff nurse, Charley unravels Old Cross' history and exposes a scandal stretching back to when the school was a home with a noble family and a dark secret--a secret that still haunts its halls with scraping steps, twisting its bones into a new generation of nightmares.
The Atropine Tree by Sarah Read
Aldane Manor is an ancient home of low-beamed ceilings, crumbling walls, poison gardens, and deadly secrets. When Alrick Aldane returns to his family's house, he expects to simply inherit his father's land and title. Instead, he discovers that he is also heir to the property's disturbing history - one full of witchcraft - and a ghostly mystery that could condemn him to a fate worse than death.