Halloween is almost upon us and I shall be reading my Halloween “candy” before delving into the Christmas book haul. Here are my choices along with their synopsis’s from Goodreads. I’m all about witches, ghost stories and sinister carnivals and freakshows for Halloween …
Something wicked this way comes by Ray Bradbury first published in 1962
A carnival rolls in sometime after the midnight hour on a chill Midwestern October eve, ushering in Halloween a week before its time. A calliope’s shrill siren song beckons to all with a seductive promise of dreams and youth regained. In this season of dying, Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show has come to Green Town, Illinois, to destroy every life touched by its strange and sinister mystery. And two inquisitive boys standing precariously on the brink of adulthood will soon discover the secret of the satanic raree-show’s smoke, mazes, and mirrors, as they learn all too well the heavy cost of wishes – and the stuff of nightmare.
The Travelling Bag by Susan Hill published 29th September 2016 by Profile Books
Walter Craig was a clever scientist. As a young man he took away all the honours and prizes and some of his work was ground-breaking. But after he became seriously ill, his genius faded, and he needed the help of an assistant. When Silas Webb was appointed to the job he seemed the perfect choice, but he always preferred to work alone, even in secret.
Miss Peregrin’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Briggs (Audio Book) published June 21st 2011 by Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.
A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.
The Witches of Cambridge by Menna van Praag published February 18th 2016 by Allison & Busby
The Cambridge University witches have been meeting for as long as the university has been around – over 900 years – they meet mainly to discuss books, though they do so on the roofs of the colleges and they drink hot chocolate while up there. The members are limited and selective, only those invited can join.
Appletree Books 