With an author like Simone St. James, you can celebrate spooky season all year. St. James is a Canadian author who writes immersive stories that combine elements of thrillers, historical fiction, and a hint of supernatural that will have you believing in all the things that can lurk in the shadows by the time you reach the chilling finale of any of her stories.
Simone St. James is easily one of my favorite authors and is someone who I will auto-buy whatever she writes. If you’re looking for recommendations for something immersive and spine-tingling, here are the books I recommend by Simone St. James along with some pairing recommendations if you’ve already read your way through her backlist!
P.S. She has a new release coming next year…
The Book of Cold Cases
In 1977 Oregon, two men were murdered with the same gun and strange notes left behind after their deaths. The whole town believed the only person responsible was Beth Greer, an enigmatic and wealthy woman. After being acquitted, Beth became a recluse in her mansion. In 2017, Shea Collins runs a true crime website and becomes interested in Beth’s case after a chance meeting. Soon, Shea is at Beth’s mansion getting Beth’s version of events, only for Shea to wonder if she’s actually getting the truth.
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The Whisper Man by Alex North
Combining elements of crime fiction and supernatural in one is such a wild ride. If you enjoyed The Book of Cold Cases and want something spooky and bewitching, The Whisper Man by Alex North is one that will be impossible to put down. Following the death of his wife, a man and his young son move to a new town for a fresh start only to find the town has a haunting past. Two decades ago, a serial killer murdered five people and was able to do so by whispering outside their windows at night. Shortly after their arrival, a young boy disappears and the town wonders if the Whisper Man is back or if the wrong man is in prison.
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The Sun Down Motel
In 1982 Upstate New York, Viv has dreams of moving to New York City, so to pay for it, she takes a job as the night clerk at the Sun Down Motel. Viv begins to have creepy experiences and believes the motel is haunted only for her to completely vanish. In 2017, Viv’s niece, Carly, visits the motel in hopes of finding out what happened to Viv in the 80s. Upon her arrival to the motel, Carly begins to have the same experiences Viv had before she vanished.
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Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
If you like to be creeped out and are still getting goosebumps thinking about The Sun Down Motel, you’ll be petrified and immersed in Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak. Malloy Quinn is fresh out of rehab and gets a job as a babysitter for a wealthy couple. She has her own living space and freedom, and she loves the little boy, Teddy, that she watches. Mallory is horrified when she finds Teddy’s sketchbook has drawings of a man in the forest dragging a woman’s dead body. As the drawings get more and more intricate, Mallory begins to wonder if something supernatural is responsible.
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Silence for the Dead
In 1919, a woman falsifies her background to get a nursing position in a remote hospital that cares for soldiers returning from the Great War. When the new nurse, Kitty, begins to think something more sinister is happening behind the walls of the hospital, including patients having the same nightmare, she enlists the help of Jack Yates, an enigmatic man who she wonders if she can fully trust.
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The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox
If you liked Silence for the Dead, check out The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox. This is the story in the 1800s following a young girl still being haunted by the Salem witch trials. Willow Hall and its dark past convince Lydia she is capable of magic she didn’t even know possible as dangerous forces set their eyes on her family.
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The Broken Girls
In Vermont in the 1950s, troubled girls are sent to Idlewild Hall, which has a reputation for being haunted. Four roommates build a tight friendship at Idlewild but one of them vanishes. Now, in 2014, a journalist named Fiona discovers that Idlewild is being restored and wants to write a story about it. Fiona has a personal connection to Idlewild as her sister was murdered and her body was found on the premises. Is there more to the story? Is her sister’s death connected to Idelwild’s rumored haunting?
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Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
If you liked The Broken Girls and are looking for another book that will haunt you just as much, check out Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas. Featuring a gothic university setting, Catherine House is a place in which only the elite are accepted for a school that will set them up to succeed…that is if they give them three years removed from the outside world. Ines Murillo is a new student to the school and after a tragedy strikes on campus, Ines finds that the school is hiding something dark and sinister within its walls.
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The Haunting of Maddy Clare
In 1920s England, Sarah’s temporary agency sends her to assist Alistair Gellis, a rich and handsome ghost hunter. Alistair’s latest investigation is that of Maddy Clare, a girl said to haunt the barn she committed suicide in. Sarah soon finds that Maddy’s ghost is real and she refuses to communicate with them in death and now Sarah is in the middle of the investigation as to who Maddy Clare really was before her death.
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The Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb
If you already read Maddy Clare and want another spooky and immersive ghost story, check out The Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb. This is the story about a woman named Kate who goes to a small tourist town to recuperate from a divorce and discovers a dead woman in the lake. Although no one knows who this woman is, Kate recognizes her as the woman who has been showing up in her dreams.
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Murder Road
Don’t forget to check out Simone St. James’ upcoming March 2024 release, Murder Road. In 1995, April and Eddie are a couple who have taken a wrong turn in search of the small resort town they plan on taking their honeymoon at. After picking up a hitchhiker, they notice blood on her jacket and a truck chasing them. After the hitchhiker dies at the hospital, April and Eddie find themselves in the middle of an investigation when the police inform them unexplained murders have been happening on that very road for years.
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