Here are 73 books that The Vanishing fans have personally recommended if you like
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I used to be the caretaker for the last home of Edgar Allan Poe, and during my four-year tenure, I tried to read everything Poe ever wrote, as well as literature inspired by his work. The key word there is “tried.” It’s an impossible task. Poe’s influence is vast and evergreen. The traditional ghost story was not his specialty, but nevertheless, I associate him with spirits and phantoms since one of his primary obsessions was the potential oblivion of the afterlife. I share these obsessions, and I doubt I would have taken the job if I wasn’t already drawn to stories that imagine what lies beyond the veil.
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.
From the Nebula and Hugo award-winning author of The Twisted Ones, comes What Moves the Dead, a gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher."
When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania.
What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her…
I used to be the caretaker for the last home of Edgar Allan Poe, and during my four-year tenure, I tried to read everything Poe ever wrote, as well as literature inspired by his work. The key word there is “tried.” It’s an impossible task. Poe’s influence is vast and evergreen. The traditional ghost story was not his specialty, but nevertheless, I associate him with spirits and phantoms since one of his primary obsessions was the potential oblivion of the afterlife. I share these obsessions, and I doubt I would have taken the job if I wasn’t already drawn to stories that imagine what lies beyond the veil.
I love books that engage in a literary conversation with writers from a previous era, and Mat Johnson’s novel does just that—it’s both a homage and a critique of Edgar Allan Poe’s sole novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, itself a hodgepodge of gothic elements and maritime adventure. It’s also horrifyingly racist with its depictions of black-skinned islanders.
Johnson inverts and reframes these uncomfortable racial dynamics to glorious effect. It is both a raucous satire and full-throttle adventure story, as Johnson’s hero, Chris Jaynes, leads an all-black crew to the South Pole—into the center of whiteness—to discover what may be on the last bastion of the African Diaspora. From there, it only gets weirder and funnier.
“THE SHARPEST AND MOST UNUSUAL STORY I READ LAST YEAR . . . [Mat] Johnson’s satirical vision roves as freely as Kurt Vonnegut’s and is colored with the same sort of passionate humanitarianism.”—Maud Newton, New York Times Magazine
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • Vanity Fair • Houston Chronicle • The Seattle Times • Salon • National Post • The A.V. Club
Recently canned professor of American literature Chris Jaynes has just made a startling discovery: the manuscript of a crude slave narrative that confirms the reality of Edgar Allan Poe’s strange…
I used to be the caretaker for the last home of Edgar Allan Poe, and during my four-year tenure, I tried to read everything Poe ever wrote, as well as literature inspired by his work. The key word there is “tried.” It’s an impossible task. Poe’s influence is vast and evergreen. The traditional ghost story was not his specialty, but nevertheless, I associate him with spirits and phantoms since one of his primary obsessions was the potential oblivion of the afterlife. I share these obsessions, and I doubt I would have taken the job if I wasn’t already drawn to stories that imagine what lies beyond the veil.
Ghosts are my some of my favorite creatures in horror since, unlike werewolves and vampires, I believe they tap into a shared emotional landscape. Who has not wanted to speak to the spirit of a recently deceased loved one? Who has not stood over a grave and demanded answers? Farrenkopf takes this desire and builds a whole mythology around it while adding to the mix another irresistible question:
What if you could speak to your dead relatives and find out how you are going to die? Would you want to know?
Dave Gallagher, a cemetery caretaker, wrestles with this quandary, which gives the book its tension and grit. No easy answers are given here. Farrenkopf creates a world that is both fantastical and grounded in human longing.
"The effortless world building, buoyed by Dave's confident narration, immediately immerses readers in the intense unease, carrying them to its emotional conclusion. A character-centered and thought provoking tale that is as much about embracing life as it is about death, this title will appeal to fans of Elizabeth McCracken and Neil Gaiman" -Booklist
Dave Gallagher mows the lawns and digs the graves at cemeteries in his hometown on Cape Cod. He also keeps the peace between the ghosts inhabiting those cemeteries. In the world of Living in Cemeteries, wrongdoing is atoned for by a person's descendants. Spirits decapitate relatives of…
I used to be the caretaker for the last home of Edgar Allan Poe, and during my four-year tenure, I tried to read everything Poe ever wrote, as well as literature inspired by his work. The key word there is “tried.” It’s an impossible task. Poe’s influence is vast and evergreen. The traditional ghost story was not his specialty, but nevertheless, I associate him with spirits and phantoms since one of his primary obsessions was the potential oblivion of the afterlife. I share these obsessions, and I doubt I would have taken the job if I wasn’t already drawn to stories that imagine what lies beyond the veil.
I love it when a story taps into my dream life when the author imagines a landscape that tickles my subconscious. Since the experience is so deeply personal, it obviously cannot be planned or market-tested, which makes it all the more thrilling when it happens.
That was my experience reading this book. As a boy, I often dreamed about my small town turning into a neighborhood full of ghosts overnight (Don’t ask me why. I was a strange child). This happens to be the exact premise of Velkwood. In Kiste’s narrative, a living woman must enter this literal ghost town at her own peril to uncover the secret behind a family tragedy, and the results are both philosophical and beautiful.
From Bram Stoker Award -winning author Gwendolyn Kiste comes a chilling novel about three childhood friends who miraculously survive the night everyone in their suburban hometown turned into ghosts-perfect for fans of Yellowjackets.
The Velkwood Vicinity was the topic of occult theorists, tabloid one-hour documentaries, and even some pseudo-scientific investigations as the block of homes disappeared behind a near-impenetrable veil that only three survivors could enter-and only one has in the past twenty years, until now.
Talitha Velkwood has avoided anything to do with the tragedy that took her mother and eight-year-old sister, drifting from one job to another, never…
As an author, it’s all about character for me. I like to find characters doing the unexpected, finding strength when they thought all was lost, and fighting back when it seems hopeless. I write these kinds of characters, and often it’s a woman in the lead role where they face additional challenges and obstacles in their path—solely because of their gender. Working for 29 years in some of the toughest prisons in the country, I worked with strong, kickass women. I can't but help for some of their influence to bleed out on the page. I know you’ll enjoy these titles as much as I did.
Domestic suspense is having a moment. These aren’t your “damsel in distress” stories where a woman waits for someone to save her. I like women who bounce back hard after a setback, and this book is exactly that.
Without spoilers, when Stella’s husband goes missing after a bombing, she can’t accept the fact she has to start over. I love the fact she wants answers, and when she doesn't get them, she strikes out on her own.
Kimberly Belle creates strong female lead characters in her books, and if you’re like me, they keep you turning the pages. Kimberly is always one of my must-buy authors—The Paris Widow is no exception.
From the USA Today bestselling author of The Marriage Lie, don't miss this gripping thriller from Kimberly Belle, perfect for fans of Liane Moriarty and Shari Lapena.
A DREAM HOLIDAY
Stella and her husband Adam are on the trip of a lifetime, a three-week tour across Europe. But then the unthinkable happens. On the last day of their holiday, a Parisian cafe explodes with Adam inside.
A SHOCKING ACCUSATION
What initially looks like a gas leak turns personal when the gendarmerie identify Adam as the target of the explosion, and they confront Stella with some startling allegations about her beloved…
When I was five my dad had to carry me, crying, out of the Salem Witch’s Dungeon. You’d think that would put a damper on my love of spooky things, but it absolutely did not! Bela Lugosi was my first crush. I set up Haunted Houses in my garage and read every single book my local library had on the Salem Witch Trials. I made my way from Bunnicula and The Halloween Tree, to books by Stephen King and Anne Rice. Halloween and horror will always have a special place in my heart, and yet…I still don’t let my legs dangle off my bed, lest the monsters get me.
Every day is Halloween when you live in the seventh most haunted town in America, so ghosts and witches are nothing new to Evie Von Rathe. But when Aunt Des disappears, Evie knows she’ll do anything to get her back, even if it means playing a deadly game against a serial killer with a creature called The Clackity.
Watching Evie overcome her anxiety is a struggle kids will relate to and makes her an easy character to root for. The Clackity has such a perfect spooky Grimm’s Fairy tale vibe, that I was immediately sucked in. Nothing is more Halloween than a dark trip through the woods, and the twisted Alice in Wonderland feel of this book lives and breathes Halloween.
Reminiscent of Doll Bones and Small Spaces, this "delightfully eerie" (Erin A. Craig, New York Times bestselling author of House of Salt and Sorrows) middle grade novel tells the story of a girl who must rescue her aunt by entering a world of ghosts, witches, and monsters to play a game with deadly consequences.
Evie Von Rathe lives in Blight Harbor-the seventh-most haunted town in America-with her Aunt Desdemona, the local paranormal expert. Des doesn't have many rules except one: Stay out of the abandoned slaughterhouse at the edge of town. But when her aunt disappears into the building, Evie…
When I was younger, I never quite felt like I fit in, and I was never good at expressing my feelings or verbally communicating when I was going through difficult moments. Writing was my outlet when I was struggling with painful situations or overwhelming emotions—grief, loss, insecurity, fear. I know how important it is to have strong friendships and safe spaces where you can be your authentic and sometimes messy self. It’s okay to not be okay. In my writing, I hope to express to readers that they are not alone, and can overcome challenging situations.
Ghost Girl is wonderfully spooky with true, relatable characters that I instantly cared about and rooted for. This novel has so much heart and touched me on so many levels. The scary, tense action kept me on the edge of my seat, and when characters were forced to confront their fear, loss, and pain, I found myself thinking about times in my life when I faced challenging situations. The friendships, the growth, and empowerment of the characters, and the belief we can overcome anything were what touched me the most.
Perfect for fans of Small Spaces and Nightbooks, Ally Malinenko’s debut is an empowering and triumphant ghost story—with spooky twists sure to give readers a few good goosebumps. Now available in paperback!
Zee Puckett loves ghost stories. She just never expected to be living one.
It all starts with a dark and stormy night. When the skies clear, everything is different. People are missing. There’s a creepy new principal who seems to know everyone’s darkest dreams. And Zee is seeing frightening things: large, scary dogs that talk and maybe even . . . a ghost.
I've benefited from (or perhaps been cursed by) a diverse life. I've lived and worked in six countries on three continents. I've been an English teacher, copywriter, magazine columnist, internet entrepreneur (in Bangkok, of all places), author, and creativity consultant. But before that, I was a child with an overactive imagination. I delighted in science fiction, surrealism, and humor. Outlandish ideas inspire me. And I love absurdity when done well. It is easy to come up with nonsense. Creating meaningful nonsense is far more difficult. But when it works, it is brilliant!
This book takes Japanese magical realism to a whole new level of absurdity. A man's wife is taken away by ambulance at four in the morning—even though nothing is wrong with her. He goes to the hospital to find her and, instead, finds himself in a seemingly endless complex. As he tracks his wife, he encounters bizarre characters, freakish sexual experiments, and more.
Although the novel is more than a little dark, I was fascinated by the imaginativeness of the setting and situation and the underlying logic.
From the acclaimed author of Woman in the Dunes comes Secret Rendezvous, the bizarrely erotic and comic adventures of a man searching for his missing wife in a mysteriously vast underground hospital.
From the moment that an ambulance appears in the middle of the night to take his wife, who protests that she is perfectly healthy, her bewildered husband realizes that things are not as they should be. His covert explorations reveal that the enormous hospital she was taken to is home to a network of constant surveillance, outlandish sex experiments, and an array of very odd and even violent…
I’m a keen follower of Scottish crime fiction, a genre that has really come to the fore in recent years, spawning dedicated book festivals and many TV and film adaptations. The great thing about many of these books is that they don’t always follow the usual narrative of cops and baddies but have varied and diverse storylines, often concentrating on characters in unusual or extreme situations and not involving the police–something I attempted in my own book. My picks on this list hopefully illustrate just how diverse Scottish crime writing can be and encourage more readers to seek it out.
Crime novels can often take themselves too seriously, but a fair proportion of Scottish crime writing tends to buck this trend.
Douglas Skelton has several novels that, while dealing with unsavory, violent characters and deadly situations, make us laugh with the sheer joy of witty dialogue and the blackest of black humor.
This book is one of these (even the title makes me smile!). The fast pace, quick-fire jokes, and knowing references to film noir of the 40s and 50s make this a compulsive, entertaining page-turner.
A missing teenage girl should be an easy job for Dominic Queste - after all, finding lost souls is what he does best. But wouldn't it be better sometimes if lost souls just stayed that way? Jenny Deavers is trouble. She's being hunted, and for the people tracking her, murder is nothing. As the bodies pile up, so does the pressure on Queste, both to protect Jenny and to find out who wants her dead. The trail leads him to a brutal world of gangsters, merciless hitmen, dark family secrets and an insatiable lust for power in the highest echelons…
I’ve always been a daydreamer on the lookout for my entry into another world. I spent a good chunk of my early elementary years imagining I was a flying pony who could travel to distant lands and perform dazzling deeds. I never got my wings—but I did discover a way to reach those distant lands. Today, I have the pleasure of creating worlds of my own as the author of three published middle-grade novels: The Mutant Mushroom Takeover, Attack of the Killer Komodos, and The Legend of Greyhallow.
I have recommended this book to so many people over the years! I loved the unique setting—deep beneath the sewers of New York City—and the way Gregor travels to this world—through a chute in his apartment’s laundromat.
My ten-year-old son and I both read this one and loved all the talking creatures and subterranean adventure—giant anthropomorphic rats, cockroaches, and bats you can ride! All those creepy crawlies might sound a little icky to some, but I loved how inventive and unexpected it all was. One of my favorite characters is a smart-mouthed, grumpy warrior rat named Ripred, who, deep down, has a soft side (plus a powerful love for stinky food).
This was a hard book to put down. Nearly every chapter ends with a high-stakes, dangerous development. I just had to keep turning the pages to find out what would happen next.
The first in a gripping young fantasy series from the author of THE HUNGER GAMES.
When eleven-year-old Gregor falls through a grate in the laundry room of his apartment building, he hurtles into the dark Underland, where spiders, rats and giant cockroaches coexist uneasily with humans.
This world is on the brink of war, and Gregor's arrival is no accident.
But Gregor wants no part of it - until he realizes it's the only way to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance. Reluctantly, Gregor embarks on a dangerous adventure that will change both him and the Underland forever.
