October 2021 Recommendations
A Fatal Lie by Charles Todd
Inspector Ian Rutledge is sent by Scotland Yard to a peaceful village in Wales to investigate the death of an unidentifiable man from an aqueduct. The death first appears to be accidental, but quickly turns to murder as the inspector hunts for clues to the man’s identity.
– Bonnie
A Fatal Lie is available in print at the Farmville Library
US (2019 Movie)
Us, a 2019 horror film, was written and directed by Jordan Peele. The film has underlying tones comparable to Get Out (2017) and Antebellum (2020). The film begins with the young Adelaide, who runs into her evil doppelgänger at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s house of mirrors. The frightening encounter leaves her understandably traumatized. As an adult, Addy struggles when her husband convinces her to finally allow their family to go on a beach vacation at the Boardwalk. Addy’s fears are validated when the doppelgängers return, wreaking havoc on the family and twisting their reality.
– Chelsea
Us is available on DVD at the Farmville Library.
Pretty Girls by Karen Slaughter
Pretty Girls, by Karin Slaughter, is a dark thriller about three sisters, one of whom went missing when they were teenagers. This is a high-speed and anxiety-inducing read, but I couldn’t look away from the brutality and grief within. I’ve never felt such deep catharsis as I did at its conclusion. Content Warnings: There are graphic descriptions of manipulation, torture, and sexual violence herein. Please read with caution.
– Max
Pretty Girls is available in print at the Farmville Library, as an eBook and audiobook on Libby, and as an eBook on Hoopla.
ExtraOrdinary, Issue #1 by V.E. Schwab
Acclaimed fantasy author V.E. Schwab’s newest comic series takes place in the same universe as her novels Vicious and Vengeful. ExtraOrdinaries, referred to as EOs, are people brought back from the brink of death who have gained superhuman abilities. College students Victor Vale and Eli Ever (two superhero names if you ever heard them, right?) both have an interest in medical research, but their experiments to become ExtraOrdinaries get out of hand quickly. Now, Eli’s working with the ExtraOrdinary Observation and Neutralization agency to seek vengeance not only against Victor, but to fulfill what he believes is a calling from God to destroy all of the other EOs. Years later, teenager Charlotte Tills survives an accident with the ability to see how everyone she looks at will die – and is determined to kill “The EO Killer” Eli Ever before he catches up to her.
– Megan
ExtraOrdinary, Issues Zero through Four are available as eBooks on Hoopla.
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
A young woman, without family or money, finds herself accepting a job to become an apartment sitter at the Bartholomew, one of Manhattan’s most famous and secretive buildings. At first everything seems idyllic and wonderful until the apartment complex starts revealing its hidden past – a past full of murders, disease, and cult followings. Lock Every Door has the perfect amount of suspense and horror to keep you reading well past your bedtime.
– Morgan
Lock Every Door is available in print at the Farmville Library and as an eBook and audiobook on Libby.
Lovesickness by Junji Ito
October is upon us and I am sure many people want to read something horror related to really get into the mood of the spookiest month of the year. Lovesickness, by Junji Ito, is something that may help you do just that. The manga is a short collection of horror works with illustrations that make me have chills by just looking at them. Quite a few of the stories take place in the same setting, somewhat like an anthology, but not all of them are explicitly connected. It may be a bit different due to it being a translated work, meaning one may not get all the references, but it still delivers and is a fascinating look into stories from another part of the world.
– Noah
Lovesickness is available in print at the Farmville Library.
The Pianist by Wladyslaw Szpilman
This is a true story reported by a survivor of the extermination program perpetrated by the Nazis between 1939 and 1945 in the ghettos of Warsaw, Poland. The horrors recounted by this one survivor should leave a lasting impression on the reader. Brutally graphic in its details of the violence, Szpilman poignantly describes what became “normal” for him and for the occupants of the ghettos.
– Virginia
The Pianist is available in print at the Farmville Library.
Black Ice by Brad Thor
As his summer-long vacation in Norway is coming to a close, Scot Harvath is facing a potentially life-changing decision. As America’s top spy, will Harvath return to work or will he submit his resignation and begin the next chapter of his life? That question answers itself, however, when Harvath encounters a man that he is certain that he killed several years earlier. Soon, well north of the Arctic Circle, Harvath is thrust into a race against time that will push him to limits that very few human beings can even hope to endure. If Harvath fails in his mission, the United States – as well as its allies – will find themselves at the mercy of one of the most dangerous actors the world has ever seen.
– William
Black Ice is available in print at the Farmville Library and as an eBook and audiobook on Libby.