R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril (RIP) is an annual Autumnal reading challenge which runs from September 1st through October 31st. You’re invited to read, watch or listen to anything that could be classified as Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror, Supernatural and share on socials with hashtag #ripxix! Here are 4 books I have on my reading list for this challenge.
Peril of the Short Story
You Like It Darker, Stephen King
I mentioned in our 2024 Mid Year Book Freak Out that You Like It Darker, Stephen King, is a new release that I hadn’t gotten to yet. Well now is the perfect time to read this collection of short stories.
“You like it darker? Fine, so do I,” writes Stephen King in the afterword to this new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life
Spooky House
Starling House, Alix E. Harrow
Reading about a spooky, possibly haunted, or possibly sentient house during this season is a must! Starling House combines elements of magical realism and Gothic horror – all in a small town with long buried secrets.
Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland, and built Starling House. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling go to rot. Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but as sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.
Creature Feature
Winter Lost (Mercy Thompson #14), Patricia Briggs
I’m switching it up and adding some paranormal reading into the mix with Winter Lost. This is the 14th book in the Mercy Thompson series, the latest one, and I haven’t read any of the others. Should I jump into the series earlier, perhaps start with the first book? Let’s see how this goes, and I may go back and read the others.
In the supernatural realms, there are creatures who belong to winter. I am not one of them. But like the coyote I can become at will, I am adaptable. My name is Mercy Thompson Hauptman, and my mate, Adam, is the werewolf who leads the Columbia Basin Pack. It’s a hard job, and it doesn’t leave much room for side quests. Which is why when I needed to travel to Montana to help my brother, I intended to go by myself. But I’m not alone anymore. Together, Adam and I find ourselves trapped with strangers in a lodge in the heart of the wilderness, in the teeth of a storm of legendary power, only to discover my brother’s issues are a tiny part of a problem much bigger than we could have imagined
Murder Mystery
Such a Quiet Place
I couldn’t be a reader imbibing peril without adding a juicy murder mystery into the mix. And this one involves neighborhood drama too which I love to read about.
Welcome to Hollow’s Edge, where you can find secrets, scandal, and a suspected killer – all on one street. Hollow’s Edge use to be a quiet place. A private and idyllic neighborhood where neighbors dropped in on neighbors, celebrated graduation and holiday parties together, and looked out for one another. But then came the murder of Brandon and Fiona Truett. A year and a half later, Hollow’s Edge is simmering. The residents are trapped, unable to sell their homes, confronted daily by the empty Truett house, and suffocated by their trial testimonies that implicated one of their own. Ruby Fletcher. And now, Ruby’s back. With her conviction overturned, Ruby waltzes right back to Hollow’s Edge, and into the home she shared with Harper Nash. It becomes increasingly clear that not everyone told the truth about the night of the Truetts’ murders. And when Harper begins receiving threatening notes, she realizes she has to uncover the truth before someone else becomes the killer’s next victim.
What’s one book that you would recommend that I add to my reading list for Readers Imbibing Peril this year?
One comment
I really enjoyed Starling House!