It’s October and that means it’s time for all the witchy, spooky, Halloween-y books! I’m a huge chicken and horror is definitely not my genre. But I’ve been in SUCH a mood for mysteries and thrillers. So I’ve loaded my TBR with pretty much every one on my Goodreads Want to Read shelf. Which means my TBR is crazy out of control.

I’m planning to take part in 3 readathons (because apparently I’m feeling overly ambitious this month) and have specific TBR’s set aside for those that I’ll share as they get closer. So this list is just the books I want to squeeze in during the first week and last few days of the month.

I normally read like 8-12 books a month so it should be interesting to see how much of this I’m able to finish!

1. The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

I’m posting this TBR a little late so I’ve actually already finished this one. This an eerie, witchy read about three sisters that were drowned two centuries ago. Now the sisters return every year at the start of June and exact their revenge on the town by luring boys into the ocean and drowning them. The atmosphere of this book makes it a perfect Halloween time read.

2. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

I’ve owned a few Neil Gaiman books for awhile now but haven’t actually gotten around to reading any. But his books are known for being crazy dark and creepy so I thought this would be the perfect time to start. This story is about a middle aged man who goes home for a funeral and is drawn back to the house where he grew up. He travels down the lane to an old farm house and a childhood memory starts flooding back. As a 7 year old boy who meets the Hemstock family and dark, magic things begin to occur. I’ve over half way done with this and summarizing it is extremely difficult. This book is creepy and strange and a perfect book for this time of the year.

3. Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

This is one of my most anticipated books of the season! I still haven’t read Claire Legrand’s first book, Furyborn, but I plan to this winter. I don’t know much about the plot but this book seems like another eerie, dark story. A dangerous monster is said to live of the island of Sawkill rock and girls have been disappearing from the island for decades. Now a group of three girls are going to take on the mysterious beast.

4. Broken Things by Lauren Oliver

Mystery/thrillers are my favorite genre this time of the year and this one seems extra creepy. Everyone believes two young girls murdered their best friend after becoming obsessed with a book and losing their grip on reality. However, they didn’t do it. Now years later, the case is reopened and the girls have to face the horrors that happened.

5. Scream All Night by Derek Milman

After being emancipated from his father, Dario swears he’ll never return to his father’s studio that was the home to dozens of B-horror movies. But after a mysterious message from this brother, he’s drawn back in for what he believes is a one-time visit. But he gets sucked back into the horrors there, both real and imaginary (according to Goodreads). This book is supposed to have it all – monsters, a dark backstory, humor, and a campy-horror vibe.

6. A Perilous Undertaking (Veronica Speedwell #2) by Deanna Raybourn

I read the first book in this series, A Curious Beginning, last month and really enjoyed it. It’s a historical fiction mystery that takes place in London and revolves around our main character, Veronica Speedwell. Veronica is a snark, independent woman that definitely does not fit into her time period and I love her for it. The first book was really atmospheric so I have high hopes for this one too. I don’t want to go too into detail since this is a sequel, but Veronica is a part of woman’s only society known as the Curiosity Club. And one of the members asks Veronica to save a friend from a wrongful murder conviction. Veronica has to race against the clock to solve the murder before the man is executed for a crime he didn’t commit.

7. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Last but definitely not least! This is another one of my most anticipated books of the season. I LOVE the movie Clue – it definitely kickstarted my love for mysteries. And this book gives me all the sci-fi meets Clue vibes. Evelyn Hardcastle is murdered every day until Aiden Bishop can discover whodunit. But every day that Aiden wakes up, he’s inhabiting the body of a different guest. I am obsessed with this premise and cannot wait to pick this up.