Get Your Ghost On!

Tis the season and today’s the day! Shadowland, book 4 in the Ravencrest Saga, is out now!: amzn.to/39edNx5 Something ancient stirs in the Raven Woods … A creature out of the darkest fairy tales calls to Thad and Cynthia, seducing them with promises of gingerbread and magick. Belinda must keep them safe, but her patience

Fog Hides the Fury by Paula Minton

Fog Hides the Fury, Paula Minton, 1967 My favorite quote: “I could snap my fingers and suddenly the gray strands of fog would begin to curl around my body in a strange and mystical garment.”  Notable characters: Arlene Dade, a young woman who inherits a house of unhappiness; Alan Caswell, the handsome with mysterious intentions

Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin

Rosemary’s Baby, Ira Levin, 1967 My favorite quote: “She opened her eyes and looked into yellow furnace-eyes, smelled sulphur and tannis root, felt wet breath on her mouth, heard lust-grunts and the breathing of onlookers.”  Notable characters: Rosemary Woodhouse, the mother; Guy Woodhouse, her husband; Minnie and Roman Castavet, their strange, flamboyant neighbors Most memorable

Second Child by John Saul

Second Child, John Saul, 1990 My favorite quote: “But though her lips smiled warmly as she accepted the embrace, her eyes — had anyone noticed — betrayed an emotionless chill.” Notable characters: Melissa Holloway, a shy young girl; Teri MacIver, her older half-sister; D’Arcy, Melissa’s not-so-imaginary friend; Phyllis Holloway, the horrible mother; Charles, the excruciatingly

In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692 by Mary Beth Norton

In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692, Mary Beth Norton, 2002  My favorite quote: “They believed that, in the colony, they lived in a moral and spiritual wilderness, corruption on all sides, and this made them particularly vigilant, even paranoid, when it came to threats, either real or perceived.” Notable characters: Bridget

Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts

Midnight Bayou, Nora Roberts, 2002 My favorite quote: “From this nice, safe distance, I’ve realized I actually like my family.” Notable characters: Declan Fitzgerald, the absurdly handsome handyman; Lena Simone, the ridiculously pretty bar owner; Miss Odette, Lena’s excessively charming (and still unusually-beautiful) grandmother Opening scene: Midnight Bayou begins with a historical flashback (something I

The Sentinel by Jeffrey Konvitz

The Sentinel, Jeffrey Konvitz, 1974 My favorite quote: “My dear Miss Parker, aside from the old priest, and now you, no one has lived in that building for three years!” Notable characters: Alison Parker, the new tenant; Michael, her jackass boyfriend; Charles Chazen, her strange little neighbor (whom I personally adore); Gatz, the detective; Miss

The Dark is Getting Deeper

One week from today, Shadowland, book 4 in the Ravencrest Saga, will be available. Per-order at: https://amzn.to/39edNx5 For the complete series (so far): https://amzn.to/3Ct0163

Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton

Guilty Pleasures, Laurell K. Hamilton, 1993 (book 1 of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series) My favorite quote: “Most hatred is based on fear, one way or another.” (That’s one of the things I love about Laurell K, Hamilton’s Anita Blake books, btw: the intelligent little insights along the way) Notable characters: Anita Blake, the

Cold Moon Over Babylon by Michael McDowell

Cold Moon Over Babylon, Michael McDowell, 1980 My favorite quote: “Two cars had passed in the last ten minutes: the fishing hearse and the car from Alabama. Why didn’t someone else come along? How could that happen within sight of her own house?”  Notable characters: Margaret Larkin, a fourteen-year-old girl; Jerry, her brother; Evelyn, their

Killer Triggers by Joe Kenda

Killer Triggers: Murder Comes Down to Sex, Drugs, or Money, Joe Kenda, 2021  My favorite quote: “They say life is random. Death has it beat.”  Notable characters: Killer Triggers centers on the cases of (and is written by) Lt. Joe Kenda, my favorite retired homicide detective  Most memorable scene: You’d think that what would stand

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett, 1911 My favorite quote: “That is the Magic. Being alive is the Magic …” Notable characters: Mary Lennox, a lonely 10-year-old; Mrs. Medlock, the housekeeper; Dickon, her friend; Colin, a sickly boy who befriends Mary Most memorable scene: When Mary discovers Colin out in the garden. It was then

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane by Laird Koenig

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, Laird Koenig, 1974 My favorite quote: “The night, a living presence, was in constant motion, shifting itself, sighing, breathing. She wondered if perhaps it, too, was trying to get warm.” Notable characters: Rynn Jacobs, the young, mysterious protagonist; Mrs. Hallett, the too-inquisitive landlady; Frank Hallet, her son,

The Black Wasp is Available in Audiobook!

Just in time for Halloween, The Black Wasp, book 3 in the Vampires of Crimson Cove series, is available at Audible.com!: https://adbl.co/3EpKKon Something is coming.Cade Colter is dealing with a group of fanatical vampire killers even as he grieves the death of his girlfriend at the fangs of his own brother. His life is in

Shadowland is Coming …

We are 14 days away from Shadowland … and the eyes are ever-watchful … Shadowland, book 4 in the Ravencrest Saga, is coming September 29th. Get the rest of the series: The Ghosts of Ravencrest: https://amzn.to/3hiiZDR The Witches of Ravencrest: https://amzn.to/2T6tEcm Exorcism: https://amzn.to/2T3GBUj

Violin by Anne Rice

Violin, Anne Rice, 1997 My favorite quote: “Dig deep, deep, my soul, to find the heart – the blood, the heat, the shrine and resting place.” Notable characters: Triana, a grieving widow; Stefan, the ghostly violinist; Katrinka, Triana’s sister; Karl, Triana’s deceased husband Most memorable scene: When Triana lies down with Karl for the last

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte, 1847 My favorite quote: “If you ever looked at me once with what I know is in you, I would be your slave.” Notable characters: Heathcliff, the brooding bad boy, Catherine, the obstinate bad girl Most memorable scene: Mr. Lockwood’s dream about Cathy. Spooky, good stuff. Emily Bronte managed to give

The Nanny by Dan Greenburg

The Nanny, Dan Greenburg, 1987 My favorite quote: “Something was happening to Phil, his wife and his baby, something hideous, and Phil was still trying to understand what it was and what to do about it and how people as normal and nice as they were could have had such a thing happen to them.”

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Let the Right One In, John Ajvide Lindqvist, 2004 My favorite quote: “She showed her true face – there was something in it that was… Pure Horror.” Notable characters: Oskar, the bullied 12-year-old; Eli, a centuries-old vampire trapped in a 12-year-old’s body; Hakan, the former teacher who helps her get blood Most memorable scene: Hakan

The Figure in the Shadows by John Bellairs

The Figure in the Shadows (book 2 of the Lewis Barnavelt series), John Bellairs, 1975 My favorite quote: “The figure walked forward, out of the lamplight. Now it was standing before Lewis. Lewis smelled something. He smelled cold ashes. Cold, wet ashes.” Notable characters: Lewis Barnavelt, an orphan; Rose Rita, his friend; Jonathan, his uncle,

Peyton Place by Grace Metalious

Peyton Place, Grace Metalious, 1956 My favorite quote: “The public loves to create a hero. Sometimes I think they do it for the sheer joy of knocking him down from the highest peak. Like a child who builds a house of blocks and then destroys it with one vicious kick.” Notable characters: Allison MacKenzie, a

Rose Madder by Stephen King

Rose Madder, Stephen King, 1995 My favorite quote: “Sometimes men had to learn what it was to be afraid of a woman.” Notable characters: Rose McClendon Daniels, the woman beginning a new life; Norman Daniels, the husband who won’t allow it Most memorable scene: Rose Madder begins — in true Stephen King style — right

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig, 1974 My favorite quote: “When one person suffers from a delusion, it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called a Religion.” Notable characters: Phaedrus, the narrator’s former self Most memorable scene: No single scene really stands out for me

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

The Color Purple, Alice Walker, 1982 My favorite quote: “I am an expression of the divine, just like a peach is, just like a fish is. I have a right to be this way…I can’t apologize for that, nor can I change it, nor do I want to…” Notable characters: Celie, a fourteen-year-old girl; Nettie,

Ghost Walk by Heather Graham

Ghost Walk, Heather Graham, 2005 My favorite quote: “ … you can get the same feeling at a Civil War battle site — even with all the bodies removed. I guess it’s a way of feeling the past, of history, people, the emotions. Remnants of the lives that were lived there, lost there.” I like

They Thirst by Robert McCammon

They Thirst, Robert McCammon, 1981 My favorite quote: “Well, look around. Just look. Have you ever considered the possibility that God might be insane?” Notable characters: Andy, the detective; the Roach, a rapist and murderer; Gayle, a reporter; Rico, a gangster Most memorable scene: When the albino opens fire in that bar in Texas. Not

Thornyhold by Mary Stewart

Thornyhold, Mary Stewart, 1988 My favorite quote: “I had always been content to know that there was more in the living world than we could hope to understand.” Notable characters: Geillis Ramsey, the heir; Thornyhold, the cottage she inherits; Christopher Dryden, the widowed writer; Agnes Trapp, a mysterious local Most memorable scene: The pigeons in