Fans pick 100 books like The Bayou

Deep space can be scary, but I consider deep caves to be much more terrifying.

The Luminous Dead has an eerie mission to the depths of a cave on a distant exoplanet—the worst of both worlds! This book follows a non-regulation diver on a dangerous job shrouded in secrets and the enigmatic, untrustworthy voice in her helmet guiding her through the darkness.

Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t take long for the characters to descend into antagonism and uncertainty about whether the other things lurking in the cave are figments of paranoia or dangerously real. If you like feeling queasy, secondhand claustrophobia, The Luminous Dead is for you.

I loved these unique takes and eerie, complex stories around women’s bodies, violence, and society. Powerful, strange, and haunting, these short stories left me with a lot to contemplate. I especially appreciated the homage to certain cultural references; for example, The Husband Stitch is a brilliant retelling of The Green Ribbon, a classic tale from In A Dark, Dark Room And Other Scary Stories.

I needed to sit and think about some of these stories afterward, as many are more experimental, layered with meaning, and open to interpretation. This original, powerful collection is a heavy read but undoubtedly worth it.

Bleak, beautiful, and visceral. I’ve reread this graphic novel a dozen times just to look at the absolutely stunning creature design that engulfs the environment. Sal, a sword-wielding exterminator, is faced with their crumbling relationship, their terrible job, and the monsters that lurk in every corner of this near-future world—all in one shift.

I believe Edgar Allan Poe’s stories are ripe for retelling. Poe was constrained by his own aesthetics (he was not fond of longer works), so his short fiction always hinted at larger worlds just beyond the page.

T. Kingfisher gives us one such world behind The Fall of the House of Usher and fills out the story of haunted siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher. I love that Kingfisher, like Poe, knows the names of flowers and fauna, and her book is saturated with trees, flowers, rabbits, and, oh yes, mushrooms. I hunt for mushrooms myself, so I loved this particular element.

The voice of this novel is also key to its success, so I recommend the audiobook as well. It’s a bit campier with the accents, but it adds to the fun.

Maddy is a city kid spending her first summer alone at her Grandmère’s house on the bayou in Louisiana. Her grandmother is a little bit strange, but she and Maddy get along perfectly and can even read each other’s minds. At Grandmère’s side, Maddy learns to cook, to care for her chickens, to make healing potions, study the weather and tides, but she also learns not to stare, not to mumble, not to be quick to judge. And when an environmental and emotional disaster occurs, Maddy is called on to lead and to heal all on her own. Her triumph is thanks to what she learned from Grandmère. This multigenerational story, gorgeously written by Coretta Scott King award-winner Rhodes, is heartwarming and exciting and Maddy’s survival skills are impressive.

This book had me laughing out loud in the first chapter and several times thereafter. The female lead is a CIA assassin in hiding in Sinful, Louisiana, where she meets two older woman, Gertie and Ida Bell, who the town has dubbed the “Geritol Mafia” and who were in Viet Nam together.

The author creates characters—and relationships between those characters—that stayed in my mind long after reading the book. Again, I eagerly wait for each new release in the series so I can be part of Fortune, Gertie, and Ida Bell’s adventures. 

South Louisianians are skeptical of anyone not from here who tries to write about us. We often end up as caricatures. But Mike Tidwell came from the outside and saw us anew.

In his book, he depicts the communities along our coastal areas and wetlands. I was shocked at how he could capture fishermen and traiteurs (faith healers) with such accuracy and respect.

And I can’t forget to mention how he bravely calls attention to one of America’s regions most endangered by climate change, which also happens to be the place I will always call home.

This book didn’t necessarily have a grinding spooky element so much as mysterious unknown indicators, but it’s haunting just the same. And romantic. I believe in second sight or psychic ability, that there are those out there with the true gift. Frankly, I’ve had a few “premonition” dreams myself that led me to an avid interest in the subject. The topic was well-written, relatable, and gave me many story ideas. The setting is an old ancestral home in the Louisiana Bayou, so it hit all the history and boo feels, plus it has a suspense angle. Sharon is an amazing soul with an open mind, who I met at a couple events, and I loved chatting with her.

This is an older dark romantic suspense but well worth the read, especially if you like conflict.

A serial killer and two wounded souls. The conflict and suspense are off the pages. It is an older book, but I re-read at least once a year. Superb writing. Superb storyline. Jack and Laurel are broken in different ways.

Jack is the bad boy you want to cheer for and Laurel the wounded former prosecutor who sees the good that Jack believes doesn’t exist. All this whle a serial killer plays cat and mouse with Laurel.

Bad Jack wants no one to care for but can’t help being drawn to Laurel.

Tentacles get a bad rap, which is a shame.

What most people fail to appreciate is that each new tentacle is another location for a little kiss. Vesper Rune, a warm-hearted eldritch horror, has tentacles, and, as librarian Sebastian Rath can attest, each could do with at least one little kiss.

Jordan L Hawk, author of the popular Whyborne and Griffin series, is a titan in the world of kissable monstrosities, and the cultist-turned-hero Vesper Rune is possibly my favorite. After a lifetime of hiding, he finally finds a place where he can be safe, open about both his queerness and his untraditional anatomy, and receive many little kisses. Widdershins knows its own.