My favorite books about thrillers with a Gothic theme

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a teacher with degrees in Psychology and Special Education. Human emotion and motivation are favorite reading and research themes of mine. Books that explore why we make the choices we do, whether right or wrong, fascinate me. Therapy and the need for self-awareness are also topics close to my heart. Combining literary classics like Jane Eyre, Romeo and Juliet, and Pride and Prejudice into my work is a challenge. I also write books for young adults and have started a novel with LGBTQ themes.


I wrote...

Killing Mr. Darcy

By Felicia Carparelli,

Book cover of Killing Mr. Darcy

What is my book about?

Can a rich, young woman who talks to Jane Austen and who keeps black widow spiders be able to love? And can a handsome, but poor young man who is obsessed with Rosetti’s painting of Beatrice be capable of a lasting relationship? She finds the silver streak in his hair romantic. He finds the scent of her virginity intoxicating.

Emma and Robert have trust issues. Serious issues. But what else are they discovering in college besides literature, psychoses, and sex? Killing Mr. Darcy – sometimes literature and art can enhance a love affair. But not always...

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Rebecca

Felicia Carparelli Why did I love this book?

A classic in the romantic suspense genre—Rebecca has it all. A nameless, young, naïve woman, falls in love with a mysterious, brooding, wealthy estate owner. Can she overcome the memories of the beautiful first wife? What does the creepy housekeeper have to do with this scenario? Scary, psychological drama—Rebecca reveals the dark side of love. There is truth in madness, madness in truth.

By Daphne du Maurier,

Why should I read it?

39 authors picked Rebecca as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

* 'The greatest psychological thriller of all time' ERIN KELLY
* 'One of the most influential novels of the twentieth century' SARAH WATERS
* 'It's the book every writer wishes they'd written' CLARE MACKINTOSH

'Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again . . .'

Working as a lady's companion, our heroine's outlook is bleak until, on a trip to the south of France, she meets a handsome widower whose proposal takes her by surprise. She accepts but, whisked from glamorous Monte Carlo to brooding Manderley, the new Mrs de Winter finds Max a changed man. And the memory…


Book cover of My Sister, the Serial Killer

Felicia Carparelli Why did I love this book?

How far would you go to protect a family member? Who will take the blame for repeated murders? Do we have a psychological Siamese twin in our lives? My Sister, the Serial Killer blends murder with the diverse and fascinating Nigerian culture. A layered story of need, family loyalty, and abuse.

By Oyinkan Braithwaite,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked My Sister, the Serial Killer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Sunday Times bestseller and The Times #1 bestseller

Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2019
Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2019
Winner of the 2019 LA Times Award for Best Crime Thriller
Capital Crime Debut Author of the Year 2019
__________

'A literary sensation'
Guardian

'A bombshell of a book... Sharp, explosive, hilarious'
New York Times

'Glittering and funny... A stiletto slipped between the ribs and through the left ventricle of the heart' Financial Times
__________

When Korede's dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what's expected of her: bleach, rubber…


Book cover of Jane Eyre

Felicia Carparelli Why did I love this book?

A classic of Victorian romance literature—Jane Eyre tells the story of a young, orphan who with education, pluck and bravery becomes the governess for the ward of a mysterious, brooding, rich man. What are his secrets? Love is blind—and then it isn’t. Jane Eyre remains a fresh read today. Young love that goes astray—everyone can relate to this scenario at any age. Betrayal and heartbreak and then redemption.

By Charlotte Brontë,

Why should I read it?

33 authors picked Jane Eyre as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Introduction and Notes by Dr Sally Minogue, Canterbury Christ Church University College.

Jane Eyre ranks as one of the greatest and most perennially popular works of English fiction. Although the poor but plucky heroine is outwardly of plain appearance, she possesses an indomitable spirit, a sharp wit and great courage.

She is forced to battle against the exigencies of a cruel guardian, a harsh employer and a rigid social order. All of which circumscribe her life and position when she becomes governess to the daughter of the mysterious, sardonic and attractive Mr Rochester.

However, there is great kindness and warmth…


Book cover of The Cement Garden

Felicia Carparelli Why did I love this book?

This novel is a story of love gone wrong. Four siblings have secrets and a need to survive. Death, incest, and lack of boundaries define the family after the death of their parents. How much do we learn from our family about right and wrong? Why is their moral compass lost? Or did they ever have one? Fascinating study of family dynamics and the tragic effects that bad parenting can create.

By Ian McEwan,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Cement Garden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the arid summer heat, four children - Jack, Julie, Sue and Tom - find themselves abruptly orphaned. All the routines of childhood are cast aside as the children adapt to a now parentless world. Alone in the house together, the children's lives twist into something unrecognisable as the outside begins to bear down on them.


Book cover of Lolita

Felicia Carparelli Why did I love this book?

This book is an astounding and disturbing look into the mind and heart of a pedophile. Humbert Humbert, with his pretensions of literary brilliance, his ornate use of the French language, and his justification of his illegal and immoral actions, will fascinate the reader. What makes a man make terrible choices? Why can’t he fit into the mold of human respectability? And the victim, Lolita, what makes her go along with his depravity? Written in 1958, Lolita is heavy with internal ramblings but still fascinating.

By Vladimir Nabokov,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked Lolita as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of my tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.'

Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged, frustrated college professor. In love with his landlady's twelve-year-old daughter Lolita, he'll do anything to possess her. Unable and unwilling to stop himself, he is prepared to commit any crime to get what he wants.

Is he in love or insane? A silver-tongued poet or a pervert? A tortured soul or a monster? Or is he all…


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The Last Bird of Paradise

By Clifford Garstang,

Book cover of The Last Bird of Paradise

Clifford Garstang Author Of Oliver's Travels

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Fiction writer Globalist Lawyer Philosopher Seeker

Clifford's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Two women, a century apart, seek to rebuild their lives after leaving their homelands. Arriving in tropical Singapore, they find romance, but also find they haven’t left behind the dangers that caused them to flee.

Haunted by the specter of terrorism after 9/11, Aislinn Givens leaves her New York career and joins her husband in Southeast Asia when he takes a job there. She acquires several paintings by a colonial-era British artist that she believes are a warning.

The artist, Elizabeth Pennington, tells her own tumultuous story through diary entries that end when World War I reaches the colony with catastrophic results. In the present, Aislinn and her husband learn that terrorism takes many shapes when they are ensnared by local political upheaval and corruption.

The Last Bird of Paradise

By Clifford Garstang,

What is this book about?

"Aislinn Givens leaves a settled life in Manhattan for an unsettled life in Singapore. That painting radiates mystery and longing. So does Clifford Garstang's vivid and simmering novel, The Last Bird of Paradise." –John Dalton, author of Heaven Lake and The Inverted Forest

Two women, nearly a century apart, seek to rebuild their lives when they reluctantly leave their homelands. Arriving in Singapore, they find romance in a tropical paradise, but also find they haven't left behind the dangers that caused them to flee.

In the aftermath of 9/11 and haunted by the specter of terrorism, Aislinn Givens leaves her…


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