Taking a cue from Jenn’s Bookshelves who hosts Murder, Monsters and Mayhem Month every October, I’m sharing my list of recommended reads for #WickedGoodReads that involve murder, monsters and madness.
Murder
Sharp Objects, Gillian Flynn. This book took me for quite a ride trying to figure out who killed the little girls in Camille Preaker’s hometown. And in true Flynn style, I ended up not quite where I expected to be. The characters in this novel are definitely unforgettable – whether you like ’em or not.
WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart
Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.
Monsters
Double Dead by Chuck Wendig … a hybrid of a vampire and a zombie would be totally bad-ass – and incredibly gross – which is exactly how it is in Double Dead. This book is not for the faint of heart. There are moments when the imagery totally grossed me out, but it was a quick, fun (yes) read.
Coburn’s been dead now for close to a century, but seeing as how he’s a vampire and all, it doesn’t much bother him. Or at least it didn’t, not until he awoke from a forced five-year slumber to discover that most of human civilization was now dead-but not dead like him, oh no.
Madness
Zombie, Joyce Carol Oates. What happens when you’re certifiably loony – but you don’t think you have a problem? Read this book to find out – and if you’ve already read it – then please let’s talk about the ending! Wasn’t it abrupt? Didn’t you just want to scream, nooooo!!!! And beg for Oates to write more?!
Meet Quentin P., the most believably terrifying sexual psychopath and killer ever brought to life in fiction. The author deftly puts you inside the mind of a serial killer–succeeding not in writing about madness, but in writing with the logic of madness.
Those are 3 of my favorite recent reads in each category. What books would you recommend for this list?
// Comments //
Bree @ The Things We Read
I liked Flynn’s Gone Girl but thought Sharp Objects was much better. It was creepier. What did you think?
Tanya Patrice
@Bree – I liked Gone Girl better, but it was probably because I was pften highly irritated with the main character in Sharp Objects.