If you want to read something seasonally themed but not spooky, may I suggest Twig’s Travelling Tomes by Gryffin Murphy. Louella Twig is the only witch of her kind, lacking traditional witch skills but possessing an affinity with books. Her bookshop travels from town to town, by the use of a magical door-handle, where she always finds, not the book the customer wants, but the book the customer needs.
She is living a settled, cosy, life until a mysterious man turns up in the bookshop – handsome, charming, roguish and on the run. All she wants to do is ignore the unwelcome feelings he stirs in her and get him out the door. But when her old mentor turns up in need of help to rescue a precious manuscript, suddenly a handy thief is just what she requires.
Before she knows it, Louella has gathered a gang of friends and sets off on an adventure, pursuing the lost book, and being pursued romantically by the bandit.
It’s a fun, whimsical read with a touch of romance perfect for a Sunday afternoon curled up in an armchair.
However, if something a bit more chilling is what you fancy, why not try Service by Lauren Mooney.
After breaking up with a boyfriend, Danielle is homeless. Offered the chance to take care of an old ancestral home by her monstrous boss, she jumps at the opportunity. The house is isolated, the rooms are either shrouded in dustsheets or behind locked doors and she is terribly alone.
Her only human contact is at the local pub but one night she arrives back to find a bowl of fresh peaches on the dining room table. She hears hobnail boots in the corridor, reaches for an apron she sees but isn’t there, and has vivid dreams of a 19th century housemaid, but are they dreams?
When her boss and awful son unexpectedly turn up, Danielle finds herself relegated to the servants quarters and gradually finds the lines blurring between PA and maidservant. When the pub refuses to serve her because the ‘lady’ has forbidden it, Danielle decides she needs to get out, but is it too late?
This is a great modern gothic ghost story. It is a genuinely chilling book. Is the house haunted or is it Danielle? As she becomes more disorientated, how much can we believe her?
But is also a telling tale of the modern loneliness of life, where a person with a job can still be homeless. Where it can be difficult to tell the difference between service and servant. Where if you are born in the wrong class, penury is always just around the corner. A clever, gripping, interesting read.
Twig’s Traveling Tomes by Gryffin Murphy Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd
ISBN: 9781806171569 £16.99 hardback £9.99 paperback
Service by Lauren Mooney Pub. Manilla Press (an imprint of Bonnier Books)
£16.99 hardback ISBN: 9781786586285