What do you get when you cross a dual-timeline mystery with a tale of supernatural suspense? Enter Jennifer McMahon’s haunting, immersive new novel THE DROWNING KIND, available today, April 6. In this chilling supernatural mystery, it’s not any old house that’s haunted—it’s a body of water, specifically, a pool fed by a natural spring that is said to have special powers. Jax and her sister Lexie grew up swimming in this pool most summers, their grandmother owning the land upon which the pool is set. Fast forward a couple decades, and one day, Jax gets an unthinkable call: her sister Lexie has been found dead, drowned in the very same pool that she loved so much as a child. As Jax returns to her grandmother’s house, she is confronted by the pool’s dark history. Lexie wasn’t the pool’s first victim, and she might not be its last. THE DROWNING KIND weaves an atmospheric and sinister tale of supernatural suspense and heartbreaking family tragedy. This immersive and often quite poignant novel balance supernatural scares with authentic human drama and tragedy that keeps the story grounded in reality, even while exploring forces that are anything but. Expertly balanced dual timelines enhance the chill factor in this book, ratcheting up the tension bit by bit until the full horrors of the pool are revealed by the book’s conclusion. THE DROWNING KIND may be a slow-burning story, but it’s a slow-burn that will captivate fans of spine-tingling supernatural suspense. THE DROWNING KIND was the first book I’ve ever read by bestselling author Jennifer McMahon, and it certainly won’t be my last.
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CBTB's Frequently Recommended Supernatural-ish Mysteries & Chillers
If you had told me when I started this blog that I would someday be writing a blog post recommending a few of my personal favorite crime books with some supernatural elements to them, I would have never believed you. I used to be staunchly opposed to crime books with any supernatural touches, but as time has gone on, and thanks to the work of very talented authors including Yrsa Sigurdardottir, C.J. Tudor, and many more, I’ve not only become open to books in this category… I’ve actually begun actively seeking them out. While I think it will always be important to me as a reader that the crime novels I read, even the supernatural-ish ones, have an earthly, logical solution to the mysteries at their core, I’ve come to discover just how much fun a thriller with a dash of the supernatural can be. Today, I’m so excited to share a roundup of my frequently recommended supernatural-ish mysteries and thrillers! Some of these books have true supernatural elements to them, while in others, the supernatural is more of a suggestion or a question to be answered over the course of the story. No matter what, all of these books have an extra-creepy edge to them that will have you reading with all the lights on. To help you guide you through this list and narrow down which books might be of interest to you, I’ve divvied this list up into three categories: Ghosts & Haunted Houses, Folklore & The Occult, and Possessions & Inexplicable Events. The books in this list exemplify that delicious blend of earthly mystery and supernatural touches that I’ve come to love so much, and I’m so excited to share this rundown of books in this category that I recommend most frequently with you today! Grab your coziest blanket, turn on all the lights, and dive in to my frequently-recommended supernatural-ish mysteries & thrillers.
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Book Review: THE LINGERING by S.J.I. Holliday
I will never be a reader who gravitates towards pure horror, but 2018 has, thus far, made me a bit of a convert when it comes to crime novels laced with touches of the supernatural. Earlier this year, I read Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s brilliant Icelandic ghost story-meets-mystery I REMEMBER YOU; I recently devoured Sharon Bolton’s THE CRAFTSMAN, a procedural with some otherworldly undercurrents; and I similarly loved S.J.I. Holliday’s forthcoming THE LINGERING, an atmospheric psychological thriller set in a building with a dark past life. If you are strictly anti-supernatural in your crime fiction (which I totally understand!), today’s featured title will be one you’re better off skipping. If, however, you are open to something a little different as you plan your fall reading list, S.J.I. Holliday’s THE LINGERING will make for an addictive, binge-worthy, utterly chilling suspense read. Pick THE LINGERING up on a dark, cold winter’s night, and you will find yourself transported to the mysterious, richly atmospheric world of Rosalind House, a building with a history as dark as those of its residents. Part locked-room mystery, part Gothic suspense, part ghost story, THE LINGERING is one of the most unusual - and chilling - suspense novels you will read this fall.
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Review: DISAPPEARANCE AT DEVIL'S ROCK by Paul Tremblay
I thoroughly enjoyed this read, and found myself equal parts scared by and drawn into this cross between a crime novel and a supernatural thriller. Tremblay’s true talent lies in tricking us into believing that we can blame an otherworldly entity for an evil that turns out to be very much of our own making.
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