I finished Carolyn Hart's The Devereaux Legacy last night and I would have written about it for today, but between reading those last fifty pages or so and then thinking about what I want to read next, I ran out of time. Besides, I just gave a teaser a few days ago, so I will save writing about it until next week.
So, on to the pleasure of choosing a new RIP read. I do have a little pile of books at the ready to choose from, but you know how that goes--the moment you select books and create a pile of potential reads, every other book (that isn't on the pile) sounds just a little better and tempting. So I had another glance around my mystery/thriller/crime novel stacks and came up with a few other books.
These are a bit hodge-podgy and none traditional ghost stories, but all seem suspenseful or thriller-ish, so in no particular order:
The Devil's Disciple by Shiro Hamao -- Two Japanese novellas from the late 1920s considered "horror mystery literature" which took 1930s Japan by storm. "A heady mix of the gothic, psychological and sexual, these first English translations of Hamao's work are a perfect introduction to a key figure in Japanese and crime fiction."
Birdman by Mo Hayder -- I pick up a novel by Mo Hayder with just a little trepidation knowing of her reputation for writing somewhat graphic crime novels. Coming close on the heels of a very tame and gentle romantic suspense novel I am not sure I am mentally prepared for a story Elle magazine notes will "scare the hell out of you." On the up side it is set in London which is quite appealing to me at the moment.
A Hank of Hair: an Exquisite Danse Macabre by Charlotte Jay -- I know nothing about this Australian writer, but I see that this novel was published in the mid-1960s. It just sounds really creepy. "A mounting sense of the supernatural brings chill into the room . . . A tale of subtle horror, to keep you awake at night."
Chocky by John Wyndham -- This is last month's NYRB Classics selection. Chocky is a little boy's imaginary friend who seems rather inquisitive. " . . . Wyndham confronts an enigma as strange as anything found in his classic works The Day of the Triffids or The Chrysalids--the mind of a child."
And for something a little different--a graphic novel murder mystery.
Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry -- "Imaginative, beautiful work . . . Hannah Berry conjures up exactly the right noir atmosphere."
I guess I shall sit down with my new little pile and flip through the book, read a few random lines and maybe the first few pages and see which one grabs my attention--unless anyone has a favorite or can recommend one over the other?
I am in the midst of reading a short story by Louisa May Alcott (one of her sensationalist stories) and have another by H.P. Lovecraft waiting for me.
I had thought I would read two books (one for September and one for October) as well as a weekly story, but if I choose another slender novel I might just be able to squeeze in a third book as well.