Psycho

It is September, which means it is officially time to start celebrating Halloween. But we don't want to overdo it with the horror just yet. So I figured I'd pick a nice little thriller to ease into it:

You by Caroline Kepnes

You begins when a gorgeous young woman walks into the East Village Bookstore where Joe Goldberg works. Immediately infatuated with her, he googles the name on her credit card and uses the information on her social media profiles to ease himself into her life and make her fall in love with him. 

When I first read the description my initial thought was: "Well this sounds a lot like another series I know and love." Then I looked up more information, and came across the news that a lifetime series starring none other than Penn Badgley – aka Lonely Boy himself – is in the works.  Figuring that it would be rather unlikely that one of the stars of the show would sign up for a Gossip Girl rip-off so shortly after its finale, I decided to give You a chance despite the similarities...and let me just say, I was in for a shock (the best kind).

While the premise is a little reminiscent of Gossip Girl, the writing is definitely not. Told from Joe's point of view, You takes readers on a dark journey into the mind of a completely deranged individual, which is a scary but also very fascinating place to be. In the tradition of great unreliable narrators like Lolita's Humbert, Joe also has a way of making the readers sympathize with him.  Because as insane at he is, he is also extremely intelligent, witty and incredibly charming.  

On top of that You is also a great commentary on social media, and will probably make you rethink the way you use Facebook and Twitter. You never know who might be reading your posts…

For fans of: 

American Psycho, Lolita, R.L. Stine's Eyecandy 

Peace, Love and Lobsters

Laura 

My Best Friend's Exorcism

Between the mind-blowingly awesome Stranger Things, and the less mind-blowing (but still kind of entertaining) Dead of Summer, I found myself craving even more 80s horror. So, I googled "horror novels set in the 80s" and found My Best Friend's Exorcism. 

The year is 1988, Abby and Gretchen have been best friends forever. Both are a little nerdy, love E.T., and the roller-rink…but all that changes after a little experimentation with LSD goes wrong and Gretchen begins to act strange. While it's not uncommon for childhood friends to drift apart in high school, Abby knows that this is something more…something terrifying.  And there is only one possible explanation: Gretchen in possessed.

Author Grady Hendrix has a unique talent to blend the heartwarming with the disturbing …and still make you laugh at the same time. My Best Friend's Excorcism is chilling, but not a straight up horror novel. It is heart-warning,  but not just another coming of age story. It's a high school drama, but not in the least bit juvenile. It is amusing, but never silly, and the result is a story that keeps surprising you on every page, because you never quite know which direction it will take next. And if that is not enough to win you over, the vivid setting–a Charlestown private school–and the colorful 80s references definitely will.

My Best Friend´s Exorcism on Amazon

So just put on some 80's music, heat up some Eggos (Sorry, I had to),  

and read My Best Friend's Exorcism – you won't regret it.

Peace, Love, and Lobsters

Laura  

The Killer in Me

While most 17 year old girls have nightmares about showing up unprepared for a test or being stood up at their prom, the things Nina Barrows sees when she closes her eyes at night are a little more substantial …and a lot more terrifying. 

Ever since she was a little girl Nina's dreams have been haunted by "The Thief", a sociopath serial killer who stalks and kills at random, and then disposes his victims' bodies in an abandoned

mine in the deepest, most desolate part of the desert. Yet, no one except Nina has ever heard of him.  Joined by her former best friend Warren, who is not sure what to make of her obsession (or maybe delusions?), Nina decides to hunt the Thief down.  But once they get to the to the deserts of New Mexico – the Thief's hunting grounds –  the man who awaits them there seems to be the exact opposite of the brutal killer Nina had come to know through her dreams, and she soon begins to doubt everything that she had once been so sure of.  

While the gripping and brilliantly twisted plot of  Margot Harrison's debut novel make it a book that you can't put down,  it is the atmosphere that really sets it apart from other thrillers.  The setting – a captivating  mix of eerie and beautiful – is so vivid that it almost competes with the characters themselves. Yet, the story never gets lost in descriptions that slow down the plot. The writing is always sharp, on point, and at times even "noir-ish".  And even though I pride myself  in my deductive skills I found myself questioning them a little more with every chapter  – just like Nina herself.  

If you enjoy a gritty mystery, with dark and disturbing revelations, and a hint of romance, then mark July 12 in your calendars or preorder "The Killer in Me" now. You definitely won't regret it …except for the increase in your electrical bill because it may want to make you sleep with the lights on (if you dare to sleep at all, that is).

Peace, Love, and Lobsters

Laura  

Advanced review copy provided by Net Galley