As fall begins to take over, so does the beloved Halloween season. It is the perfect time to read spooky books like thrillers, horrors and whodunnits, so I did.

I am starting with a favorite I read a while ago but still deserves the spotlight: The Housemaid, by Freida McFadden. If you have read my previous articles, this book was mentioned in my summer recap, but I will go into more detail and give more of my thoughts on it. The first thing about this book is that I loved it. This book is about a young woman, Millie, looking for work and getting hired as a housemaid for a wealthy family with a big secret. Millie is constantly bullied by the wife of the house, Nina, and begins to resent her, favoring Andrew, the husband, in a way she shouldn’t. This book did exactly what it was supposed to do; it thrilled me. I was beyond excited, and it scared me in the right way, just like a good thriller does. I was not even close to guessing the plot twist.

Then She Was Gone, by Lisa Jewel, is about a young girl who went missing and her mother’s life afterward. As the mom finally begins living again, weird coincidences arise, changing everything she knows about the case. While I read this book in a speedy 24 hours, it fell off for me. I gave the book three stars, and while it was not a bad book, it was slow and could have been more exciting.

Magpie Murders, by Anthony Horowitz, is unique and nothing like what I had ever read before. It starts with a letter from our main character and immediately jumps into a different story. Magpie Murders is about an editor for a publishing company and the book that changed everything for her. The first 200 pages of the book are Magpie Murders, by fictional author Alan Conway, which the novel’s main character, Susie Ryeland, is editing. You get immersed in this story, and suddenly, it ends without a conclusion. The book’s second half follows Susie in finding the missing chapters and following her own mystery when the beloved author Alan Conway dies suspiciously. This book is fantastic and a fun spin on the classic whodunnit novels.

The last book I read is Misery by Stephen King. I finished it fast because I simply couldn’t put it down, and, oh my god, that is the only thing I can say. King’s writing is so immersive and brilliant that it makes you question anything you’ve ever read. The way King can write such a psychotic character and make you physically scared by words on a piece of paper is unique. He is an author I plan to explore more.