Book picks similar to
Dark Island by Stephen Cross


horror
k-stand-alone
supernatural
horror-horrifying-places

Trill


Amy Cross - 2021
    She soon discovers that, in his final years, her father became increasingly concerned about the possibility that he was being haunted.As she explores the house, Jessica begins to wonder why her father had the place divided up into three separate apartments. He was never able to rent out the empty spaces, instead leaving them to sit untouched while he lived in just one small part of the house. Meanwhile, local people continued to whisper to one another that the ghost of a long-dead woman – the mysterious Ethel Hogsflesh – could sometimes be seen at the house's windows.Jessica soon decides to knock down the walls that her father put up. As she does so, however, she begins to understand why he had those walls installed in the first place. Was the house really haunted by Ethel's ghost? If so, did her father discover a way to ward her off? And is Jessica in danger of undoing all his work and unleashing a horrific force of evil?By the time she realizes that the truth is so much worse, Jessica might have made a mistake she can never take back.

Maniac on the Loose


Steve Hudgins - 2018
    Fearing that he'll lose his job if word gets out, the head of the hospital, Dr. Franklin Grimm desperately attempts to cover up the escape. Meanwhile, there is a Maniac on the Loose.

The Door


Boris Bacic - 2020
    

The Butterfly Tattoo


M.D. Thomas - 2020
    Jon, guilt-ridden because he forgot to make sure his son had buckled up, will do anything to save his relationship with his wife. Bartender Elle doesn’t believe in guilt, even as it accelerates her descent into alcoholism. Narcotics officer Harvey has been stealing seized drug money for months to pay off his grandparent’s debt, unaware his superiors are onto him. Their struggles morph from difficult to life-threatening when Lee’s spirit finds each of them.They all think they know what Lee’s spirit is after. They’re all wrong. Drawn ever-closer together, their mistakes and misdeeds accumulate until Lee’s spirit latches onto one of them, and if they can’t figure out the truth in time, everybody they care about might die.

Whickering Place


London Clarke - 2019
     A violent attack that happened nearly a decade ago has left twenty-seven-year-old Avery Tullinger barely able to walk outside. Following her estranged father’s death, she inherits Whickering Place, a historic mansion in Asheville, North Carolina, currently occupied by two tenants: Colin Gallagher, a young doctor, and his mysterious brother, Pearse. Soon after moving in, Avery learns that her father’s life in the house was consumed by the supernatural … and the activity appears to be starting again. As paranormal events within the house escalate, so does Avery’s attraction for Pearse, even though Colin warns her that his younger brother is involved in a dangerous cult called The Colony. Faced with losing Whickering Place, her heart, and even her life, Avery is forced to make unimaginable choices. And as Whickering Place becomes the focal point for The Colony’s bloody rituals, the house’s dark history threatens to repeat itself. At turns a novel of terror and a story of love, Whickering Place is a paranormal thriller of nonstop suspense about the risks of living and loving outside safe boundaries and the relationships that change, motivate, and sustain us.

Dark River Inn


J.R. Erickson - 2021
    There's only one problem. Ivy disappeared ten years ago.If you’re searching for a paranormal thriller that you’ll be reading with the lights on, grab Troubled Spirits today-the first in a series of stand-alone haunted mysteries inspired by true stories.

The Cards


Stephen Leather - 2017
    He soon realises that there is more to the cards than meets the eye and that his own future is looking very bleak indeed. The Cards is a fast-paced supernatural story of 10,000 words. Jack Nightingale appears in the full-length novels Nightfall, Midnight, Nightmare, Nightshade, Lastnight, San Francisco Night and New York Night. He also appears in several short stories including Blood Bath, Cursed, Still Bleeding, Tracks, My Name Is Lydia, The Creeper, The Undead, The Asylum, The Mansion and Wrong Turn. The Jack Nightingale time line is complex, this story is set between Midnight and Nightshade. Jack Nightingale has his own website at www.jacknightingale.com

Hometown


Matthew Keville - 2014
     It's the Fall of 1994 in the small milltown of Belford, New York. The leaves are turning, the kids are going back to school, and the heat of Summer is giving way to a cool, misty season. It happens every Fall. Only this Fall, people are disappearing into that mist. Some people are found torn apart, some people are found dead for no reason, and some people aren't found at all. Other people see strange things in the mist: ghosts and campfire stories. There's something out there in that mist. Something old. Something that has slept for a long time, but has now woken up hungry. Maybe the people of Belford could resist it, but as the terrible Fall wears on, more and more of them start...changing. Acting bizarre and violent. In the end, only a small group of teenage defenders are left to make their stand.

Louisiana Blood (A Chandler Travis and Duke Lanoix Mystery Thriller)


Mike Donald - 2019
    When the remains of Jack the Ripper’s first five victims are discovered in present day Louisiana, an English detective and a local sheriff form an unlikely alliance to unravel the mystery…and find themselves caught up in a modern-day conspiracy.

Gloop!


David Brian - 2015
    It has lain in the cold and dark of the bog, waiting patiently for a host to set it free. Now, for John Cluer and his family, nothing will ever be the same again.A novelette of approximately 10,000 words.

Frenzied - A Suspense Thriller


Brandon Massey - 2017
    . . WORK . . . PLAY . . . DIE . . . South Haven is the premier mixed-used community in metro Atlanta, a vibrant place where old-fashioned country living gets a modern update. There’s the town square where residents watch family movies on the lawn on warm summer nights. The corner market stocked with organic foods. The bakery with fresh coffee and Wi-Fi. The stately homes on shaded, gently winding streets. The water park where children splash, laugh, and run . . . There’s also something deadly lurking. The first incident is dismissed as an aberration: a college student goes berserk and hacks his family to chunks with a machete. But a day later, a young woman riding her bicycle is chased through the streets by her own neighbors. Then a teenager takes a deadly joyride, using his pick-up truck to mow down everyone in sight. As the incidents pile up, the only thing they share is that each person launched into an inexplicable, uncontrollable frenzy. Mark Deacon, an ex-cop and chief of South Haven’s private security force, has never seen anything like it. And it’s about to get a whole lot worse. Within twenty-four hours, South Haven is declared a quarantine zone, with every entrance barricaded and military snipers positioned outside the perimeter with orders to shoot on sight. Fearful residents huddle inside, uncertain whom to trust, anxiously watching one another for clues of where the terror might strike next. Together with Dr. Hannah Bailey, a brilliant CDC scientist dispatched to investigate the threat, Deacon teams up with a motley crew of neighbors, and they hatch a desperate plan to find out answers--and stay alive. But the spreading menace might not have arrived by accident . . . RAVES FOR BRANDON MASSEY'S SUSPENSE THRILLERS : "An intense thriller . . . a wild ride!" -Kevin O'Brien, New York Times bestselling author “A razor-sharp thriller guaranteed to keep you turning pages well into the night. Start this one on your day off—-you won't be able to put it down.” —Douglas Clegg, bestselling author of The Queen of Wolves and The Hour Before Dark "The talented Mr. Massey has the rare knack of grabbing the reader early and not letting go. Massey knows how to ratchet up the suspense." —John Lutz, New York Times bestselling author “A taut, involving, and utterly convincing thrill ride.” —Gregg Olsen, New York Times bestselling author

Double Visions


Matt Drabble - 2015
    She calls it The Shadow World, a place where she can see through the eyes of killers and help bring them to justice.The country cowered in fear as the serial killer christened "The Crucifier" wreaked bloody havoc. Her desperation to prove herself led to a basement confrontation that she wasn't prepared for. As a result the Detective that had allowed her to work on the case ended up dead alongside the killer.After that terrible night her guilt caused her to put away the ability to see inside the minds of monsters, to try and lead a normal life. But now someone else has taken up The Crucifiers' mantle. Someone is killing again, only this time The Shadow World is now a two way street and he wants to play.Sucked into a desperate race for survival Jane is going to learn that sometimes when you stare into the darkness, someone stares back.

Who Stole My Life?


Ian C.P. Irvine - 2021
    But which is now real.How can he make it stop, and find his family?Who has stolen his life?And why?[Please note: this book was originally published in two parts of a popular series called 'London 2012 What If?' This book contains that whole series, now rebranded with a fresh new look!]PLEASE NOTE: This book is written in a fresh and exciting style which makes it easy to read, and which, for some reason now being investigated, makes the book easy to read by those who have dyslexia. If you know someone or have a family member who has dyslexia, after you have read and enjoyed the story, you may wish to recommend it to them too! It may be the first book they have ever read and you will have gifted that pleasure to them!

Lake Ness: Extinction Is About To Be Redefined


Cherie Mitchell - 2020
    Not quite sure what he's let himself in for, he slowly adjusts to the isolated environment of Lake Ness and the challenges of living with a bunch of often erratic and unpredictable teenagers.However, it's not long before their best-laid plans start to unravel. Some of the kids aren't too good at obeying the rules of the camp, Gerry finds himself dragged back down into memories he's been trying to avoid, and Marnie and Jim have had a falling out. The FBI is also sniffing around and everyone knows that they don't generally like to spend money unless it's money well spent.On top of everything else, there's something large and dangerous living in the lake and as impossible as it sounds, Gerry is starting to think they've discovered some long-extinct aquatic dinosaurs living in this isolated waterway, creatures who are rapidly developing a taste for human flesh. Someone is going to have to step up to be a hero before more lives are lost and it looks like Gerry is that man. Unfortunately, volunteering to be a hero was never one of Gerry's preferred career choices.Lake Ness - extinction is about to be redefined.

City of Ghosts (Death Hunter #1)


Ron Ripley - 2020