- The 2024 Goodreads Introduction:
- The Horror Winner: You Like It Darker by Stephen King
- The Mystery/Thriller Winner: The God Of The Woods by Liz Moore
- My Thoughts On The Book:
- Other Nominations
- Incidents Around The House by Josh Malerman
- My Thoughts On Incidents Around The House
- Middle Of The Night by Riley Sager
- I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
- My Thoughts on I Was A Teenage Slasher
- The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
- My Thoughts On The Midnight Feast
- The Book of Witching by C.J. Cooke
- My Thoughts On The Book Of Witching
- The Boyfriend by Frieda McFadden
- My Thoughts on The Boyfriend
- Murder Road by Simone St. James
- My Thoughts on Murder Road
- The Teacher by Frieda McFadden
- My Thoughts On The Teacher
- So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison
- Thoughts On So Thirsty
- The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave
- My Thoughts The Night We Lost Him
- Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
- My Thoughts on Bury Your Gays
- How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin
- My Thoughts on How To Solve Your Own Murder
- We Used To Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
- My Thoughts on We Used To Live Here:
- We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
- My Thoughts on We Solve Murders:
- House Of Bone and Rain by Gabino Igelsias
- My Thoughts on House Of Bone and Rain:
- All The Colors Of The Dark by Chris Whitaker
- My Thoughts On All The Colors Of The Dark:
- My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna Van Veen
- My Thoughts On My Darling, Dreadful Thing
- The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins
- My Thoughts on The Heiress
- Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina
- My Thoughts on Indian Burial Ground:
- This Cursed House by Del Sandeen
- My Thoughts of This Cursed House:
- Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville
- My Thoughts On Blood Like Mine
- Final Verdict (Tier List)
- Where To Buy:
The 2024 Goodreads Introduction
The 2024 winners of the Goodreads Choice Awards were presented on December 4th, 2024. This would be the 16th annual Goodreads Choice Awards on the site. Owned by Amazon, Goodreads is a website dedicated to books. You can set a reading goal and keep track on how many books you read throughout the year. Goodreads also has their own choice award which voting starts in November.
Readers vote for their favorite book in the respective categories. The first choice awards on Goodreads goes all the way back to 2011. For this years choice awards, they’re a total of fifteen categories, with a total of twenty books to choose from in the categories. The categories are fiction, historical fiction, mystery/thriller, romance, romantsy, fantasy, science fiction, horror, debut novel, audiobook, young adult fantasy and sci-fi, young adult fiction, non-fiction, memoir, and history/biograpy.
This years choice awards were criticized for a few reasons. According to the comments, here are some of complaints:
- Categories from previous choice awards were omitted out like graphic novels, children’s fiction/middle grade, poetry, picture books, humor, among others.
- Some Goodreads suggest that their should be a separate category for short stories/anthologies.
- Some people weren’t happy with the winners, which is to be expected for award choices
I didn’t vote for any books in the categories except for one in the Science Fiction category (Extinction by Douglas Preston). So, I plan on doing this differently. I’m focusing on my two (or three if you count Thriller) favorite categories: Horror and Mystery/Thriller. I’m going to read the winners of these two categories, tell a little about them, and then give my honest thoughts about them.
I will then read other nominations that interest me and the write what the books are about and my thoughts on each of them. At the end, I will decide if the winner deserves the award of being the book for that category or if another book should’ve been the winner. My rating scale is by one to five stars. The rating scale is like this:
I really loved this book and would recommend it.
I liked the book. Might have one complaint about the book, but overall would still recommend it.
Three stars are books that are average: I didn’t like/love it, but I would probably still recommend it.
Two stars means the book disappointed me. Books that had the potential to be good/interesting but the execution was bad. The book has a two or three positives that keep it from being a one.
Personally didn’t like the book. Books that were bad after finishing reading them.
All of the books listed below will be spoiler free as a I promised with the title. With that being said, let us start with the winners of the 2024 Goodreads choice awards.
The Horror Winner: You Like It Darker by Stephen King
Date Published: May 21st, 2024
Type of Horror: Horror Anthology/Short Stories
Summary: You Like It Darker is a collection of Horror stories that were unpublished by the master of Horror himself. There are a total of twelve stories, with five of them being my top favorites. Description about each of my favorites will be discussed down below.
The Horror winner for 2024 is Stephen King’s book You Like It Darker. This book marks the 11th time Stephen King won Goodreads Choice Awards. Other books by Stephen King that won the Goodreads Choice Awards are:
- Doctor Sleep in 2013
- Mr. Mercedes in 2014
- End Of Watch in 2016 (this won in the mystery/thriller section)
- Sleeping Beauties in 2017 (Which he co-wrote with his son Owen King)
- The Outsider in 2018 (also won in the mystery section)
- The Institute in 2019
- Holly in 2019
And this book in 2024. There was criticism regarding Stephen King winning the choice award. Some people wanted another author to won since that they’re more Horror authors out there than just Stephen King. As much I enjoyed this new Horror collection, I agree with these comments. This is one reason I made this article (to see what book I would vote for aside Stephen King).
Nevertheless, I did read Stephen King’s new short story collection and enjoyed it. There are a total of twelve stories, each one an unpublished story that is now in print. My personal favorites are these stories:
- First Story: Two Talented Bastids- The story follows a man who recounts his father’s encounter with an alien lifeform along with his father’s friend during a hunting trip.
- Fourth Story: Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream- Danny Coughlin had a vision of a woman who was murdered in Hilltop Texaco. He gives an anonymous tip to the police, but they eventually find out about Danny. The police don’t believe in Danny’s story and suspect that he killed the woman. As the story continues, it dives into how false allegations can affect a person’s life.
- Eighth Story: The Turbulence Expert- Craig Dixon works for a mysterious man who only goes by the moniker The Facilitator. The Facilitator directs Craig to board a flight going to Sarasota. Along the boarding, he meets a woman who is boarding the same flight as Craig. Craig’s job is prevent airplane crashes when the plane goes through turbulence.
- Tenth Story: Rattlesnakes- A sequel to the 1981 novel Cujo (so spoilers if you haven’t read Cujo), the story follows the widow Vic Trenton, who goes on a vacation around the Florida Gulf Coast. He befriends an old lady and neighbor Mrs. Bell, who travels around with a stroller anywhere she goes. Vic finds out that Mrs. Bell lost her twins from rattlesnake bites. When Mrs. Bell passes away, her twins begin to haunt Vic.
- Twelfth Story: The Answer Man- This story recounts the three times that Phil Parker met the Answer Man, a fortune-teller that does business on route 111. Phil gets his fortune from the answer man once when he was young, when he is middle-aged, and when becomes an old man. The Answer Man’s predictions become true, which affect Phil’s life.
These were my personal favorite stories in the collection. The other ones were good as well. I recommend this book if you love horror anthologies or short story collections. On the other hand, I’m going to read some of the other nominees to determine in my opinion which one should win aside from Stephen King’s book.
Now it’s onto the Mystery/Thriller winner of 2024.
The Mystery/Thriller Winner: The God Of The Woods by Liz Moore
Date Published: July 2nd, 2024
Summary: At Camp Emerson, a troubled teen named Barbara Van Larr went missing in August 1975. Several years before her disappearance, her brother Bear Van Larr also went missing at the same camp. The novel has multiple perspectives and timelines detailing what happened to Bear and the present of finding Barbara.
My Thoughts On The God Of The Woods
I have a lot of thoughts on the winner of Mystery/Thriller. Some of the negatives of the book I had was that it wasn’t a thriller. I label this book more as a literary mystery than a thriller. This book is about 400 pages long and there were moments that dragged on for too long.
In my mind when reading this book I thinking to myself “alright, get to the point.” I understand that some people like this style/type of writing, but to me it just seem to take forever. Like I said in the media blurb, there’s a lot of different perspectives (there’s about seven perspectives) with each chapter switching to a new character and multiple timelines, going back to 50s, 60s, and the present in 1975.
However, I gave the book three stars because they were some positives. There’s likeable characters like Judyta (or Judy), one of the cops searching for Barbara or Tracy, Barbara’s friend at the camp. The writing of the book isn’t bad. However, in my opinion I feel like another book in the mystery/thriller should’ve won.
Which leads us to the other nominations for horror and mystery/thriller. Which horror book would I vote for aside from Stephen King and what mystery/thriller would I vote for.
Other Nominations
These are the other nominations that I have read that were up for vote in the 2024 choice awards. It will go something like this: I’ll talk about a horror book and my thoughts on the book and then do the same with a mystery/thriller.
Incidents Around The House by Josh Malerman
Date Published: June 25th, 2024
Type of Horror: Paranormal/Supernatural
Summary: Bela, a 8 year old girl, is being haunted by a monster she calls other mommy. When her family starts seeing the creature themselves, they try to protect Bela from the monster. However, they’re some secrets Bela doesn’t know about her family.
My Thoughts On Incidents Around The House
This book has a bogeyman-like creature that is referred to as Other Mommy. Unlike the other bogeyman characters that are confined to the house, Bela can see this creature anywhere she goes. Plus, her family and friends can also see Other Mommy. The description of what Other Mommy looks like is also terrifying. These are some positives I give the book.
Despite the creepiness of the villain, there are negatives I have of the book. Most of the book has sentences rather than the standard paragraphs. The characters are unlikeable, especially Bela’s mom (though this sets the tone on why the monster exists) and to me, there was too much focus on discussing living arrangements. So I gave this book a two star rating.
Middle Of The Night by Riley Sager
Date Published: June 18th, 2024
Summary: On July 16th, 1994, a young ten year old boy named Billy Barringer disappeared while camping in Ethan Marsh’s yard. Ethan doesn’t remember anything of Billy being taken. The only thing he remembers is the ominous knife slash left on the tent. Now in his 40s, Ethan Marsh returns to his house in Hemlock Circle, New Jersey, after his parents move out. The rest of the book book has Ethan figuring out what happened to Billy that fateful night while dealing with paranormal visions.
My Thoughts On Middle Of The Night:
This is my first book by Riley Sager. Riley Sager is a popular author in the Horror and Mystery/Thriller genres. I plan on reading his whole catalogue, because this first book I read by him was disappointing. There are certain things that I found interesting/intriguing.
One of the interesting things to me was the Hawthorne Institute. It’s a mysterious place where they supposedly do research/experiments with ghosts. I know not everyone like ghosts, but I love paranormal stories/elements. Henry, who is one of the other characters kid, is also a likable character.
On the other hand, the main character, Ethan, doesn’t have much of a personality aside from what happened to Billy. I understand that this is the main focus of the story, but there should be more to Ethan’s character than just that. Plus, there are too many repeats of phrases like “middle of the night” or “Hakuna Matata, dude” (a friendly gesture that Billy says to Ethan).
The book switches between two different timelines: one way back in 1994 when the main characters were younger and the present timeline of Ethan finding out what happened to his friend. I don’t have a problem with dual timelines (a lot of these books have dual timelines), but the ending was disappointing. I didn’t expect the ending, but to me, when it was revealed it was cliche, had plot holes, and was disappointing.
I originally gave this book three stars, but changed it two after thinking about the ending.
I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
Date Published: July 16th, 2024
Type of Horror: Slasher
Summary: Taken place in Lamesa, Texas in 1989, the book follows Tolly Driver as as he recounts his revenge on students who almost killed him at a party by feeding him peanuts, something he is allergic to. At the same party, another entity also took their revenge on the students responsible for their death.
My Thoughts on I Was A Teenage Slasher
This book reminds me a lot of the 1997 horror movie titled I Know What You Did Last Summer, where a slasher goes on a revenge killing spree on college students after they ran over a stranger and cover up the accident. I thought this book is good. It has a lot of common tropes in the slasher genre of Horror such as
- A revenge plot where the slasher kills high school/college students
- A mask that a serial killer uses to conceal their identity
- Final Girls, which is the final survivor of a slasher movie. They are typically women.
The only thing I didn’t like about the book is the run-on sentences. I recommend the book if liked I Know What Happened Last Summer, revenge stories, horror books with slashers, or if you ever read any Grady Hendrix books.
The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
Date Published: June 18th, 2024
Summary: The spiritual-esque hotel simply named The Manor has been recently opened. To celebrate the grand opening of The Manor, a special feast is being held on the solstice, courtesy of the owner of the hotel, Francesca. However, there are some secrets the owner of the hotel is keeping along with a mysterious cult that seems to be against her. The book switches between multiple perspectives and timelines.
My Thoughts On The Midnight Feast
Like I said in the summary blurb, there are multiple characters and about three different timelines. All of these characters and timelines connect to what Francesca did. The three timelines are:
- The journal that one of the characters has with them that date back to 2010.
- The present where the welcoming feast is going on where things start going haywire.
- After the feast when the police show up to investigate the wreckage.
There are also POV (point of views) of the characters staying at The Manor. The major ones are:
- Francesca Meadows- The owner/founder of the manor. A believer of spirituality, she shares a past with Bella, a guest staying at her hotel.
- Owen- The husband of Francesca. He built the Manor and helped coordinate the Midnight Feast.
- Bella- A guest staying at the hotel. She finds out about The Manor from a news article. She is the one who keeps a journal that details her connection with Francesca which plays a central part to the story.
- Eddie- The bartender of the hotel. His family became disconnected after the disappearance of his brother.
- DI Walker- One of the investigators who goes to the manor after two fisherman report that its on fire. He has a secret of his own.
There is also a cult that uses crows as their magnum opus. Thought to be a legend, this cult has its own motives against The Manor/Francesca.
There were criticisms from other reviews that the multiple POVs and timelines made the story confusing. I personally didn’t have an issue keeping track with the characters and timelines, but I rated the book three stars because the book wasn’t groundbreaking to me.
The Book of Witching by C.J. Cooke
Date Published: October 8th, 2024
Type of Horror: Witches
Summary: In Fynhallow, Orkney, Scotland in 1594, the apothecarist Alison had been wrongly accused of witchcraft after the right-hand man of the Earl asked her to make a charm that will kill the Earl. This timeline follows her trial.
Modern times in Glasgow, Scotland, Clementine (or Clem) gets a call that her daughter, Erin, is in the hospital with third degree burns on her body. Her boyfriend, Arlo, is found dead and Erin’s friend, Senna, is missing. They visited Orkney, the same place where Alison had her trial. Is the trial that happened in 1594 connected to what happened to Erin?
My Thoughts On The Book Of Witching
Much like the other books I read, this book has two timelines: one that focuses on the trial of Alison and how people who were falsely accused of witchcraft are treated back in those times (despite the accused saying they’re innocent, they were still charged with the crime). The other timeline is the present day where Clem figures out what happened to her daughter.
The Book of Witching is based on witch trials during the early years of Scotland. Most of the accused were from the lowlands of Scotland and a great number of people were accused of practicing witchcraft (about 6,000). Sadly, most were executed during this period of history.
The two timelines are connected to two things: the triskele, a mysterious group that are against the Earl that has ties to magic and The Book Of Witching, the book that has ties with the triskele.
This book wasn’t bad, but I wouldn’t say this is my favorite book with witches. My personal favorite book about witches is The Witch and The Priest by Hilda Lewis. With that, I give it three stars.
The Boyfriend by Frieda McFadden
Date Published: October 1st, 2024
Summary: Sydney Shaw is looking for a perfect date. When she gets a date that cat-fished her and assaults her, a man saves her from her catfish date. Sydney falls for this stranger and eventually goes on multiple dates with him. However, her friend Bonnie was murdered in her apartment. Does Sydney’s date have something to do with her murder?
My Thoughts on The Boyfriend
Much like Riley Sager (e.g. Middle Of The Night), Frieda McFadden is also a popular author in the mystery/thriller genre. She releases a lot of books within a year (this book, for example, is her fourth release in 2024). I read both The Boyfriend and The Teacher which were both nominations and I hate to say this, but I’m disappointed with both of these books.
My main issue with this book is the main character, Sydney Shaw. To me, she was too self-centered and didn’t see any red flags with the mysterious stranger. For one, she falls head over heels for the man who saves her. I understand being grateful that she was saved by a stranger from her attacker, but she instantly falls in love with him. In my mind I was thinking that she needs to pump the brakes a bit as she was assaulted.
When her friend Bonnie was murdered in her apartment, the only thing Sydney knows about her Bonnie’s boyfriend is that he is a doctor. Tom, the mysterious man who saved her and starts going out with her, is also a doctor. Sydney doesn’t think about how he could be possibly be her friend’s killer. This is one example of many of her being an idiot throughout this book. She seems to be focused more on finding a partner rather than who murdered her friend.
The book has two timelines: the present and Tom’s perspective when he was sixteen years old. Tom has a crush on this girl at his school named Daisy Driscoll who he wants to be with but also wants to kill her because the book tries to convey him being a psychopath. However, it didn’t do that well to me.
Plus, the ending is not good. The only saving graces of the book is that I didn’t see the twist coming and Jake, the lead investigator who was also Sydney’s ex-boyfriend. Much like Riley Sager’s catalogue, I might read Frieda McFadden’s catalogue for my I read all books series on my blog.
Murder Road by Simone St. James
Date Published: March 5th, 2024
Type of Horror: Paranormal
Summary: Newlywed couple April and Eddie go on their honeymoon when they get lost on a street called Atticus Line. They pick up a distressed hitchhiker named Rhonda Jean. While taking her to the hospital, a truck follows them along with visions of a young woman. The couple find out that Atticus Line has a history of murders, all of the victims being hitchhikers. They want to figure out who is responsible for the murders and the ghostly woman.
My Thoughts on Murder Road
This book reminds me of different urban legends or allegedly haunted roads like the vanishing hitchhiker or Clinton Road. The vanishing hitchhiker is an urban legend where a person will pick up a ghost on the side of the road. Clinton Road is a road located in New Jersey where paranormal happenings occur. I have an interest in paranormal folklore/stories.
The ghost is this book had a connection with one of the main characters. The book also takes place during the 90s. I liked the book for those reasons.
The Teacher by Frieda McFadden
Date Published: February 6th, 2024
Summary: At Caseham High in Massachusetts, a scandal last year broke out that the former math teacher and the student Addie had a relationship. It’s the new year and Eve, the teacher for math, is suspicious of Addie. Her husband, Nate, also is a teacher at the same school as an English teacher. Without Eve’s knowledge, Nate begins to get too close with Addie.
My Thoughts On The Teacher
This is the second book that was nominatied under Frieda McFadden. This is also the only book in this list that I gave a one star. This book, to me, was worse than The Boyfriend. It mostly has to do with the subject matter and how it was written.
The book has a teacher/student relationships, so be forewarned if you do happen to read this book. Because of this, The Teacher gets compared a lot to another book called My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell (this isn’t the only book of Frieda McFadden that gets compared to other novels), which also takes has this sensitive subject to drive the plot. However, while I personally can’t say The Teacher ripped off My Dark Vanessa, some reviewers agree that My Dark Vanessa takes this topic seriously, The Teacher seems to romanticize it. I agree with the other reviews that this book does that.
Much like the boyfriend, the book has two perspectives: Eve, who is the math teacher of Caseham High who hates Addie because of last year scandal that she had a relationship with the math teacher (this part of the book never had a conclusion. It seem that it was rumors) and Addie, the sixteen year old girl which the entire school hates her.
The ending was even worse then The Boyfriend as well. The only compliment I can give this book (and also The Boyfriend) was that I was able to read it quick. I’m sorry for the Frieda McFadden fans, but these two books weren’t good to me. But, maybe her other books are better.
So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison
Date Published: September 10th, 2024
Type Of Horror: Vampires
Summary: It’s going to be Sloane’s birthday, and she is getting sent a vacation cottage courtesy of her husband. Along with her, her outgoing and adventurous friend Naomi is going on vacation with her. After Naomi meets a man named Ilie at a bar during the vacation, the two woman get coup up in an adult party when Naomi gets invited by Ilie. That is when things go downhill…
Thoughts On So Thirsty
I want to read more vampire books since I do love vampires. This book wasn’t bad but I did have a few problems with the book. Sloane and Naomi are supposed to be friends, but there were times in the book when they bickered a little too much. When they became vampires, they decide to be on their own and went back to their cabin instead of staying with them. Because of this, they have troubles containing their thirst for blood and they get in trouble, leading to the other vampire characters to save them.
I did, however, like the other vampire characters in the book and I didn’t hate the story. I liked this book more compared to Blood Like Mine, the other vampire book. So with that, I give it three stars.
The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave
Date Published: May 9th, 2024
Summary: Nora Noone gets a request from Morgan to renovate her home when she meets Morgan’s fiancee who is also Nora’s step-brother, Sam. Sam tells Nora that he has suspicions about there fathers death, which was ruled as a suicide in police reports. Sam believes their father, a once renowned hotel owner, was murdered. He wants Nora to join him to solve his death. She was reluctant at first, but decides to help Sam.
My Thoughts The Night We Lost Him
Just like how I felt about The God Of The Woods and All The Colors Of The Dark (another book I’m going to review in this post), the book wasn’t really a thriller to me. There is a mystery regarding the circumstances of Nora and Sam dad’s death, but the plot of the book mostly focused on Nora and Sam rekindling their relationship and their personal lives.
I’m fine with that, but the book didn’t have any thriller moments in it. I didn’t hate the book entirely, so I gave it a three stars.
Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle
Date Published: July 9th, 2024
Type Of Horror: Monster/Body-Horror
Summary: Misha is a screenwriter for a show titled Travelers for the company Harold Brothers. Misha wants a happy ending where the two gay main characters get together at the end. The studio, however, has different plans with the characters. They want Misha to kill them off. When Misha refuses, he starts seeing creatures from past tv shows/movies that he made coming to life, tormenting him and his friends. What is causing his creatures coming to life in the real world?
My Thoughts on Bury Your Gays
This book, to me, might be my choice for the best horror book this year aside from Stephen King. I like the idea behind monsters that the creator coming to life to the real world. To my knowledge, this plot hasn’t been done yet. The characters were likable and the creatures were cool. There were about three or four monsters haunting Misha and his friends: the smoker, the bride, black lamb, Enzo, and a worm. I’m not too fond of the sub-genre of body horror, so I would say this would be my first book I read in this sub-genre.
Overall, this book got five stars in my opinion.
How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin
Date Published: March 26th, 2024
Summary: Mystery novelist, Annie Adams, receives a letter from her aunt Frances. The letter states that she wants to discuss her will with her family. Instead of Annie’s mother, Laura, Annie decides to go herself. Annie and the other family members discover Frances dead, murdered by an overdose of iron. The will states that if anyone solves her murder, the inheritance will be theirs. Annie is determined to solve Frances murder and the mysterious disappearance of Emily, Frances friend.
My Thoughts on How To Solve Your Own Murder
How To Solve Your Own Murder goes back between two timelines: the present and the past when Frances was a teenager. This part of the story is told through her journal which Annie finds in the manor. One of my favorite type of mysteries is cozy mysteries, which I read two for this article (the other one being We Solve Murders). The book includes superstition element to the story where Frances gets her fortune told at the beginning of the book.
Out of the two, I liked We Solve Murders by Richard Osman a little more, but this book comes close second.
We Used To Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
Date Published- June 18th, 2024
Type of Horror- Paranormal/Home Invasion
Summary- Eve and her partner Charlie bought a house that they plan to renovate. One day, Eve receives a knock on the door from a man name Thomas, who tells her he used to live here and that he, along with his family, want to check out the house. Eve relunctantly agrees, but letting the family in is a big mistake…
My Thoughts on We Used To Live Here
I have a lot of mixed feelings with this book. The positive things I can give this book is that I read it quickly (about three days) and the story had an interesting premise: a family that previously lived in the house end up staying a little too long after the main character lets them in. There were also some paranormal aspects of the story, like the family acting strange or the mysterious figure in the basement, which is why I put it as part paranormal, part home invasion.
On the other hand, towards the end of the book, it got confusing for me. The book also has news articles or posts regarding different theories of reality (like the mandela effect) or psychiatric conditions (like capgras syndrome, which is condition where a person believes their loved one was replaced by an imposter). I believe that Eve suffers from this condition, but I’m not sure.
Also, there were parts of the book that was never brought back up again. This book reminds me of House Of Leaves by Mark Danielewski that was published in 2000, which I own a copy of but haven’t read it yet (though I understand the premise of it). With all this, I thought of giving the book a two, but I’ll leave it at a three.
We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
Date Published: September 17th, 2024
Summary: Someone is targeting influencers. Andrew Fairbanks, a fitness influencer, was shot and killed. Two influencers were killed before him: Bella Sanchez and Mark Gooch. All had large sums of money and are tied to one company: Maximum Impact Solutions. The only known clue behind these killings is the mysterious figure who goes by the name of Francois Loubet. The three main characters, Steve, Amy, and Rosie are determined to figure the true identity of Francois and why he is killing influencers.
My Thoughts on We Solve Murders:
Personally, I would vote for We Solve Murders for the winner of the mystery/thriller. This book to me was better than God Of The Woods. What I liked about the book was that it kept me hooked throughout it and the book didn’t drag on too long. Also, I prefer cozy mysteries compared to literary mysteries.
The author, Richard Osman, wrote a book series called the Thursday Murder Club (with four books in total). I plan on reading that book series at some point. Plus, We Solve Murders is also the first book of a new series, which I can’t wait to read more.
House Of Bone and Rain by Gabino Igelsias
Date Published: August 6th, 2024
Type of Horror: Supernatural
Summary: Taking place in Puerto Rico, the book follows Gabe along with his friends Bimbo, Tavo, and Paul, who are going after the murderers responsible for Bimbos mother’s death, Maria. The boys find out that her death is tied to a drug lord named Papaltone. Puerto Rico gets hit with a powerful hurricane, which the boys use to their advantage to help with their revenge. But the hurricane brought something else…
My Thoughts on House Of Bone and Rain
This book, along with My Darling, Dreadful Thing (which is by a Netherlands author) are two books that are by authors from different countries. This I believe is also the first book I read that takes place in Puerto Rico. Personally, authors from around the world are equally good to authors in the US. House Of Bone and Rain is one of those books.
The book is part-crime, part-revenge plot with a supernatural twist to it. I love the mix of crime and horror. I also like the theme of brotherhood, which the main characters grows stronger when facing the bigger threat.
All The Colors Of The Dark by Chris Whitaker
Date Published: June 25th, 2024
Summary: Year 1975: girls in the Monte Clare are disappearing. Patch, a local boy, saves a girl named Misty Meyers from the serial killer. In the process of saving her, he gets stabbed and gets taken away by a mysterious woman. All the while, Saint, Patch’s friend, goes looking for Patch. Saint discovers that the serial killer is Eli Aaron. She manages to find Patch, but Eli Aaron escapes. Now adults, Patch is determined to find the girl who saved him with the only information is that her name is Grace and finding another missing girl named Callie while Saint works at the police force.
My Thoughts On All The Colors Of The Dark
Out of all the books in this list, All The Colors Of The Dark is the longest book, with it being 100 or 200 pages more than God Of The Woods. There are about 261 chapters in this book (though they are very short chapters). I understand that this book has a lot of four or five star ratings, but I personally gave it a three.
Much like The Night We Lost Him and God Of The Woods, I wouldn’t consider this book a thriller. It is more like a literary mystery or character-driven story, which judging between this book and the winner, seems to be not my cup of tea. I think the main reason why I don’t like this sub-genre of mystery is that they over-describe things which drags the book .
This book does that a lot. Literary books have themes throughout the story. For example, this book deals with obsession (Patch on the search for Grace, the girl who saved him when he got stabbed and who may or may not be real). The book was really slow to get through. Also the ending was disappointing.
On the other hand, I gave the book a three star rating because the two main characters, Patch and Saint, were likeable. This might be the first book I read that takes place in the state of Missouri, and I would say it isn’t the worst book I read.
My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna Van Veen
Date Published- May 14th, 2024
Type of Horror- Gothic/Paranormal
Summary: Roos works with her abusive mother as a psychic that can talk to her clients dead relatives. Roos has a connection with a spirit: Ruth, a corpse-like entity that is overprotective of Roos. Roos mother sends her to Agnes, one of the clients of the seances. Agnes is taking care of her sick mother-in-law, Willemijn. Roos and Agnes start to bond, but Roos is brought to this mansion to do something that will lead to a murder…
My Thoughts On My Darling, Dreadful Thing
The first gothic novel I read in this list is good. The description of what Ruth and Peter look like, the two corpse-like characters that accompany Roos and Agnes respectfully, was creepy. There are themes that are common with gothic novels like creepy mansions/creepy ghosts and sensitive topics like incest, abuse, and rape (though not every gothic novel needs to have stuff like that, but be aware if you don’t want to read a book with those subjects).
There is also a Sapphic love story in this book (sapphic referring to a lesbian love story) which I’m fine with as long as its written well. I feel like the connection between the two main characters should be explored more. The book also has psych evaluation reports that is between Roos and her doctor. These psych evaluation parts of the story lead to what happened at the manor. Overall, I give this book four stars.
The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins
Date Published- January 9th, 2024
Summary- A rich lady, Ruby McTavish, passed away on April 2nd, 2013. When she was three years old, she was a victim of a kidnapping when she went picnicking with her family. She was found alive, taken by a family who wanted a replacement for their dead child. Ruby inherited a mansion titled Ashby House. She was also married four times, with all four husbands dying under mysterious circumstances. Her son, Cam, gets the mansion despite not being thrilled about it. Likewise, his wife is more optimistic, but the manor/Ruby have secrets…
My Thoughts on The Heiress
This book is a good thriller in my opinion. The book takes inspiration from a real-life case of the disappearance of Bobby Dunbar, a crazy case where a four year old boy disappeared but was “found”, living with a different family. Despite the Walters (the family “Bobby” was living with) saying it’s their son, the Dunbar’s took the boy after the Walters couldn’t afford a lawyer.
Bruce Anderson lived as Bobby Dunbar throughout his entire life. However, after DNA tests between the two boys, Bruce Anderson turned out not to be Bobby and was actually the Andersons boy. The actual Bobby Dunbar was never found. This crazy case correlates with what happened in The Heiress with Ruby McTavish when she was kid. I found this case to be interesting which made me like this book.
Aside of that, I also liked the mystery behind what happened to Ruby’s husbands. That is why I gave this book four stars.
Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina
Date Published-April 16th, 2024
Type of Horror- Supernatural/Folklore Horror
Summary: Noemi is waiting for her boyfriend Roddy when she receives news that he died from a supposed suicide. She doesn’t want to believe that he took his life, but her uncle, Louie, suspects something more sinister afoot. When Louie was sixteen years old, people from the reservation started dying from suspicious incidents. This, along with the disappearance of Miss Shelby, Ern’s mother. Using Native American mythology, the reservation is not what it seems…
My Thoughts on Indian Burial Ground:
This is the second book by a Native American author that I have read (the first being I Was A Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones, who is part of the Blackfeet tribe). This book takes place on a Takoda reservation (which the Takoda is not a real tribe, but takes elements from actual tribes). A positive I’ll give this book is the elements of Native American folklore and traditions.
I love/interested in Native American folklore/traditions and love to read more books by indigenous authors, regardless of genre. The book also had a little mystery behind it with the missing person and what is causing the sudden deaths. The book reminds me of Pet Sematary by Stephen King. On the other hand, I find the story average. For the first few chapters, it was interesting, but then towards the middle it was slow. Much like the other books on this list, there are two timelines switching between present and past. I personally like Louie’s side of the story compared to Noemi’s. Louie’s is more interesting and had more going on than Noemi’s perspective. With that, I give an average rating.
This Cursed House by Del Sandeen
Date Published- October 8th, 2024
Type of Horror- Gothic/Paranormal
Summary: Jemma receives a letter from the Duchon family. Assuming she is tutoring their kids since she was a former teacher. However, the Duchon family recruited her to break a curse placed on the family. On the day of Jemma’s birthday, one of the family members dies, making the family couped up their manor. But the Duchon family are hiding things from Jemma, things that affected her life.
My Thoughts of This Cursed House
Another gothic novel that is a debut of the author, and I say it was a good debut. Racism is driving point in this book, where Jemma is a victim to discrimination. I love books that take place in a haunted manor, which is a common setting for Gothic novels.
There is also paranormal elements in this book, where Jemma has the ability to see ghosts that haunt the Duchon house that has a connection to the conflict of the story. I also liked the plot twists and Magdalene, a midwife that helps Jemma.
Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville
Date Published- August 6th, 2024
Type of Horror: Vampire
Summary: Rebecca Carters daughter, Monica (or Moonflower) passed away from an attack by a strange person. However, that attack changed Monica into a vampire. To satisfy Moonflowers cravings, Rebecca targets child predators by using Moonflower as a lure. All the while, police officer Marc Donner is obsessed with catching Rebecca and her daughter, promising to stop her killings despite his families and police force disapproval.
My Thoughts On Blood Like Mine
This is the second book that I read that had vampires. This book was okay to me. The main police officer character, Marc Donner, was little too obsessive with capturing Rebecca and her daughter that he threw away his connections with his family and his friends that also worked alongside him.
There are letters that Rebecca left talking about how her daughter died and came back as a vampire, which Moonflower becomes very protective over. The story with Rebecca and Moonflower on the run from killing child predators is, to me, is mid. However, I didn’t entirely hate this book. So I give this book a three.
Final Verdict (Tier List)
The final verdict is that if I were choose a Horror book besides Stephen King, it would Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle and I believe that We Solve Murders by Richard Osman should win the mystery/thriller rather than The God Of The Woods.
But, this is just my opinion on the books for Horror and Mystery/Thriller. Of course, my readers can voice their own opinions by buying their own copy of the book. I will provide the links to the books down here. I will put the links for Amazon down here. You can also get them on Thrift books, where I got most of these books.
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