A Few Thrilling, Witchy Halloween Books to Read This October

Spending a Friday night watching a thriller movie isn’t really our thing. But spending a Friday night reading a thriller book—without gory graphics playing on a screen? Sign us up. The words may spook us, but at least the images won’t be engraved in our brains for weeks on end.

You can pause a thriller novel whenever you want, unlike a movie, which usually has to be watched in one sitting. This October, we’re diving into everything from witches and murders to ghosts. We can still enjoy a good scare—just without the nightmares.

Here are a few of our October picks to add to your TBR this spooky season.

The Last Party by A.R. Torre

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What do a perfect mother and a convicted murderer have in common? An unforgettable case involving the deaths of two young girls.

While Leewood Folcrum serves a life sentence in prison, Perla Wultz lives in a gated community in Pasadena with her husband, Grant, and their daughter, Sophie. Perla is the loving, picture-perfect wife and mother—but she’s hiding a secret she can’t seem to escape.

When a curious doctoral student begins digging into the case to uncover why Folcrum killed the girls at a birthday party, buried truths begin to emerge. As Folcrum shares details of that night, Perla begins to wonder if she could mimic the crime—with her own daughter.

But will she go through with it? And if she tries, will she get away with it—or be stopped in time?

This suspenseful thriller is full of twists and turns that will leave your mind reeling and your grip on reality shaken.

A Dark and Secret Magic by Wallis Kinney

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Hedge witch Hecate Goodwin—Kate, to her loved ones—lives a quiet life in a secluded cottage with her black cat, gathering herbs for her apothecary. That is, until her sister convinces her to host this year’s Halloween gathering for their coven.

As the pressure to throw a perfect event mounts, a face from her past—Matthew Cypher—shows up at her door seeking sanctuary. Though he’s wronged her before, Kate can’t turn him away; it’s her duty as a hedge witch to offer protection.

On top of juggling party planning and an unwelcome guest, Kate discovers a dark magic tome that once belonged to her deceased mother. She turns to Cypher, a practitioner of forbidden magic, for help. As the two grow closer, secrets about her mother’s past begin to surface.

Will Kate survive the truth—and host the coven’s gathering—or will everything she knows collapse around her?

Ask for Andrea by Noelle W. Ihli

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Three murders. One man to blame.

In this chilling thriller, Meghan, Brecia and Skye all meet the same charming man online. He’s handsome, polite—and deadly. Each date ends the same: with their lives cut short.

He’s gotten away with it three times. But will his fourth victim survive?

Not if Meghan, Brecia and Skye have anything to say about it.

From beyond the grave, the three women connect in the afterlife and decide to turn the tables. They begin to haunt their killer, determined to stop him from harming anyone else.