Book picks similar to
The Belles of Desire, Mississippi (The Ghosts of Summerleigh Book 1) by M.L. Bullock
horror
mystery
paranormal
ghostly-have-reads
Thirteen Storeys
Jonathan Sims - 2020
Penthouse access is available via the broken freight elevator. Black tie optional.A dinner party is held in the penthouse of a multimillion-pound development. All the guests are strangers - even to their host, the billionaire owner of the building. None of them know why they were selected to receive his invitation. Whether privileged or deprived, besides a postcode, they share only one thing in common - they've all experienced a shocking disturbance within the building's walls.By the end of the night, their host is dead, and none of the guests ever said what happened. His death remains one of the biggest unsolved mysteries - until now.But are you ready for their stories?Jonathan Sims' debut is a darkly twisted, genre-bending journey through one of the most innovative haunted houses you'll ever dare to enter.
The Garden on Sunset
Martin Turnbull - 2011
The lush grounds soon become a haven for Hollywood hopefuls to meet, drink, and revel through the night. George Cukor is in the pool, Tallulah Bankhead is at the bar, and Scott Fitzgerald is sneaking off to a bungalow with Sheilah Graham while Madame Alla Nazimova keeps watch behind her lace curtains.But the real story of the Garden of Allah begins with its first few residents, three kids on the brink of something big.Marcus Adler has a lot to prove after his father catches him and the police chief’s son with their pants down. He flees Pennsylvania for Hollywood with his mouth shut and his eyes open, and begins to write the lines all those starlets will say out loud. Can a smart, sensitive guy find his own voice in a town that’s just learning to talk?Kathryn Massey’s childhood was a grinding routine of auditions, but she couldn’t care less about being a movie star. When she takes off with her typewriter, determined to become a newspaper reporter, she finds that breaking into the boys’ club is tougher than breaking free of her bossy mother. To make it in this town, she’ll need some serious moxie.Gwendolyn Brick is a sweet Southern beauty who’s come a long way to try her luck on the big screen. She’s hoping the same succulent lips the guys want to kiss will land her more than a bit part on a casting couch. She’s going to need some help keeping everyone in line.Nobody gets a free pass in Hollywood, but a room at the Garden on Sunset can get your foot in the door.
Agent I1: Tristan
Joni Hahn - 2013
Now that D.I.R.E. has successfully implemented his scientific enhancements, he’s a walking weapon. Unstoppable, as long as he stays focused. No relationships. When ex-BUD/S teammate, Aidan Monroe, interrupts his long-awaited sabbatical to call in a favor, Tristan reluctantly fills the simple request: take out his sister’s fiancé. One problem: Rachel Monroe - smokin’ hot, kind-hearted, and in desperate need of a protector. After the best sex of his life, Tristan’s afraid unstoppable is just a memory. Knowing Aidan’s temper, Tristan could be, too. Rachel Monroe had a plan to help her mother. Her brother ruined everything when his gorgeous, super-agent friend teleported her to some forsaken island - and his bed. She’s drawn to him despite the fact he’s a professional agent, much like the people suspected of killing her father. Now, his enemies have come to her small town, looking for vengeance. Have they found more than they bargained for? Or, does the past have its own retribution in mind?
Wicked Innocents: Case No. 1
S.H. Livernois - 2019
Nelly Huggett swears something took her mother, brother, and father. She doesn’t know what, or when, or how. And she needs Hyla and Lizeth Frontenac to bring them all back. Trouble is, her story doesn’t make sense. Though one thing is certain: something evil has infected the Huggett house. And when Nelly reveals her sinister side, the sisters wonder if the monster they seek is masquerading as a little girl. But Hyla won’t accept that. She can’t lose another child to darkness. She knows Nelly’s just different, wild, misunderstood. But what if she’s wrong? Wherever this evil comes from, it’s dragging Hyla into the abyss faster than she can chase the clues. And she may lose herself before she can save anyone else. Wicked Innocents is the first, free installment in a series of three books that combine a good old-fashioned amateur sleuth (two, in fact), with spine-tilling suspense, just enough horror to keep you on the edge of your seat, and the heart-pumping adrenaline of a fast-paced thriller. Sleuths and sisters Hyla and Lizeth Frontenac run their own unique private investigator business from a small town in the Adirondacks. But they’re more often in their 1972 Ford Econoline van, driving across rural America to investigate their next case. They’re not technically professionals, not really. The crimes they investigate are more dark and disturbing than the average. More…bizarre. Criminals are cloaked as supernatural creatures, occult forces threaten them at every turn, and the confused victims demand justice. Lucky for the victims, when these women sleuths are on the case, no monster is safe. For Kindle readers who enjoy a strong female lead protagonist, this thrilling series of paranormal private investigator mysteries will have you hooked from the first word. From the twisted imagination of mystery, suspense and thriller writer S.H. Livernois.
Morning Magic
Meriam Wilhelm - 2016
But when Olivia Merriman returns home from college to open her dream shop, Mystique creations, the entire town erupts in magical chaos. Happy to be reunited with her sorceress sisters - Constance the baker and Harmony the town mayor, Olivia is determined to forget Jonathan Maxwell, the man who broke her heart. Unfortunately life gets in the way as witches seem to pop up everywhere, ghosts move into her home, her magical cat has plans of her own and her father is determined to get in Olivia’s way. As if that’s not enough, someone is brewing up a plan to ruin the dream future of Mystique Creations. A fancy resort is being built right on her beach and is sure to destroy her brand new shop. And when Olivia finds out that her ex-boyfriend is leading the construction team she takes matters into her own hands. Not known for her spell casting talents, Olivia Merriman stops New Moon Beach in its tracks when her spell goes terribly awry. Just how much trouble can this young witch get herself into? It may take more than just a little morning magic to set it right; especially when an evil wizard steps in.
The Widow's House
Carol Goodman - 2017
Harrison’s The Silent Wife—a harrowing tale of psychological suspense set in New York’s Hudson Valley.When Jess and Clare Martin move from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to their former college town in the Hudson River valley, they are hoping for rejuvenation—of their marriage, their savings, and Jess's writing career.They take a caretaker's job at Riven House, a crumbling estate and the home of their old college writing professor. While Clare once had dreams of being a writer, those plans fell by the wayside when Jess made a big, splashy literary debut in their twenties. It's been years, now, since his first novel. The advance has long been spent. Clare's hope is that the pastoral beauty and nostalgia of the Hudson Valley will offer some inspiration.But their new life isn't all quaint town libraries and fragrant apple orchards. There is a haunting pall that hangs over Riven House like a funeral veil. Something is just not right. Soon, Clare begins to hear babies crying at night, and sees strange figures in fog at the edge of their property. Diving into the history of the area, she realizes that Riven House has a dark and anguished past. And whatever this thing is—this menacing force that destroys the inhabitants of the estate—it seems to be after Clare next…
The Ghosts of Landover Mystery Series Box Set, Books 1-3: Three Complete Paranormal Cozy Mysteries In One
Etta Faire - 2020
As soon as she opens the door, she sees him hovering in her living room, between the crimson settee and the dogwood-patterned rug. He wants her to solve his murder and says the best way to do that is by combining energy with him in a channeling to relive the night minute by minute and gather clues, together. Of course, she can hardly wait.It’s the beginning of a strange new journey for Carly, one that involves a curse, a bunch of ghost clients impatiently waiting to get their cold cases solved by reliving their murders, and a dead ex-husband tagging along, pretending to be her Watson.
Book 2: After the Suffragette’s Suicide
Carly meets her first ghost-client: suffragette and local women's rights leader, Bessilyn Hind. According to history, Bessilyn committed suicide at her 35th birthday party after her fiancé broke up with her. Only one problem: she doesn't remember it that way. She's appalled history books have been written that imply she would do something so drastic over a man. And she wants to know who murdered her (along with retractions on history, pronto).Through channeling, Carly is taken right to the party in 1906 to figure things out for the suffragette.
Book 3: Behind the Boater’s Cover-Up
The third book features a story the Landover locals refer to as "the accident." In 1957, a group of recent high-school graduates went late-night partying on a boat after a sock hop. They didn't return. In the end, it was ruled an unfortunate accident. The only problem: Gloria Thomas, one of the partiers that night, has a different version. And Carly is going to help her set the record straight.However, while channeling with the ghost and reliving the memories from 1957, Carly sees her older friends back when they were younger, and the shocking way the accident was covered up. Turns out, there are a lot of secrets in Landover, and like the dead, they're much safer buried.This box set contains the first three books in the Ghosts of Landover Mystery series.
The Small Hand
Susan Hill - 2010
Compelled by curiosity, he approaches the door, and, standing before the entrance feels the unmistakable sensation of a small hand creeping into his own, 'as if a child had taken hold of it'.Intrigued by the encounter, he determines to learn more, and discovers that the owner's grandson had drowned tragically many years before. At first unperturbed by the odd experience, Snow begins to be plagued by haunting dreams, panic attacks, and more frequent visits from the small hand which become increasingly threatening and sinister ...
The Mammoth Book of True Hauntings
Peter Haining - 2008
These sightings could be from any suburb or hometown, and covers the full spectrum of credible hauntings. Also included are notes and essays by Robert Graves, Edgar Cayce, and M. R. James, a full bibliography and list of useful resources to bring out the believer in you.
Children of the Fog
Cheryl Kaye Tardif - 2011
Choose! Sadie O'Connell is a bestselling author and a proud mother. But her life is about to spiral out of control. After her six-year-old son Sam is kidnapped by a serial abductor, she nearly goes insane. But it isn't just the fear and grief that is ripping her apart. It's the guilt. Sadie is the only person who knows what the kidnapper looks like. And she can't tell a soul. For if she does, her son will be sent back to her in “little bloody pieces.” When Sadie's unfaithful husband stumbles across her drawing of the kidnapper, he sets into play a series of horrific events that sends her hurtling over the edge. Sadie's descent into alcoholism leads to strange apparitions and a face-to-face encounter with the monster who abducted her son--a man known only as...The Fog.
Ghosts: A Natural History: 500 Years of Searching for Proof
Roger Clarke - 2012
What explains sightings of ghosts? Why do they fascinate us? What exactly do those who have been haunted see? What did they believe? And what proof is there?Taking us through the key hauntings that have obsessed the world, from the true events that inspired Henry James's classic The Turn of the Screw right up to the present day, Roger Clarke unfolds a story of class conflict, charlatans, and true believers. The cast list includes royalty and prime ministers, Samuel Johnson, John Wesley, Harry Houdini, and Adolf Hitler. The chapters cover everything from religious beliefs to modern developments in neuroscience, the medicine of ghosts, and the technology of ghosthunting. There are haunted WWI submarines, houses so blighted by phantoms they are demolished, a seventeenth-century Ghost Hunter General, and the emergence of the Victorian flash mob, where hundreds would stand outside rumored sites all night waiting to catch sight of a dead face at a window.Written as grippingly as the best ghost fiction, A Natural History of Ghosts takes us on an unforgettable hunt through the most haunted places of the last five hundred years and our longing to believe.
Haunted (A Bridgeton Park Cemetery Book)
Ophelia Julien - 2012
When Michael Penfield walks into the store as the new hire, Cassie is surprised to see her friend from childhood. But Michael has changed since she last saw him, from his completely serious demeanor to the scar that mars his face and neck. Cassie, still reeling from the death of her boyfriend, Daniel, has concerns of her own. That night, Michael tells a true ghost story from the earlier years he shared with Cassie, and both of them are soon involved with phantoms from the past: the haunted house where Cassie lives; a horrific murder from thirty years ago; even the story Michael has never shared with another living soul.Not everyone is haunted, but everyone has a ghost story.
Ghost Detective
Scott William Carter - 2013
Nobody leaves ... Award-winning author Scott William Carter returns with his tenth novel, a spellbinding tale of a man who bridges both sides of the great divide.After narrowly surviving a near-fatal shooting, Portland detective Myron Vale wakes with a bullet still lodged in his brain, a headache to end all headaches, and a terrible side effect that radically transforms his world for the worse: He sees ghosts. Lots of them.By some estimates, a hundred billion people have lived and died before anyone alive today was even born. For Myron, they're all still here. That's not even his biggest problem. No matter how hard he tries, he can't tell the living from the dead.Despite this, Myron manages to piece together something of a life as a private investigator specializing in helping people on both sides of the great divide--until a stunning blonde beauty walks into his office needing help finding her husband. Myron wants no part of the case until he sees the man's picture ... and instantly his carefully reconstructed life begins to unravel.
Lost Boy Lost Girl
Peter Straub - 2003
A week later, her son -- fifteen-year-old Mark -- vanishes. The boy's uncle, novelist Timothy Underhill, searches his hometown of Millhaven for clues that might help unravel this horrible dual mystery. He soon learns that a pedophilic murderer is on the loose in the vicinity, and that shortly before Nancy's suicide, Mark had become obsessed with an abandoned house where he imagined the killer might have taken refuge. No mere empty building, the house whispers from basement to attic with the echoes of a long hidden true-life horror story, and Tim comes to fear that in investigating its unspeakable history, Mark stumbled across its last and greatest secret: a ghostly lost girl who may have coaxed the needy, suggestible boy into her mysterious domain.
Dark and Deadly Things
Kelly Martin - 2017
Her father has resorted to faking the hauntings that thrill America, but he could never fool Elise. She can see the dead. When the Halloween episode airs live on television, something goes horribly wrong. Four people end up dead, and Elise's father is the lead suspect in their murders. But Elise knows the truth. She watched the thing that crawled from the darkness. She just has to prove her father's innocence. Abel Hale was in the house when his family were slaughtered. He felt the cold breeze, heard the scraping of nails along the wall as the entity stalked them. The thing that killed the people he loved was not human. There is only one person who believes him, one person who can help him. Joining forces with Elise, they try to find the creature and stop it once and for all. There’s only one problem. How do you kill a ghost?