By DENISE SMITH
The horror genre is the focus of many book recommendations this time of year. Instead of providing you with titles from authors similar to Stephen King or Dean Koontz, I am providing new books with a modern, gothic feel for this autumnal season. While horror tends to give readers details about gore and monsters, gothic fiction is more about setting the mood of impending terror.
“Postscript Murders” by Elly Griffiths brings us to England just after the death of a 90-year-old with a heart condition. Why is such an unsuspicious event assigned to Detective Sergeant Kaur? We soon discover that the many crime novels on the shelves of the deceased were dedicated to her, and the authors of those novels are soon turning up dead. Kaur is on the case, heading to Scotland and into Europe, wondering how these authors can think up such lifelike crimes. Fans of Agatha Christie will enjoy this novel with a diverse group of characters.
Nothing gives a novel a more gothic feel than when a character has to abandon their broken-down car in the middle of nowhere and encounters a big, dilapidated house. That’s what happens to John in Sarah Perry’s “After Me Comes the Flood.” But the house isn’t empty — it is full of other people who all seem to have been waiting for John to arrive. What does this fragile household want from John? Literary fiction fans will relish this psychologically complex tale of honesty and deceit.
In Rivers Solomon’s third novel “Sorrowland,” Vern, a 15-year-old Black, intersex albino who is pregnant and desperate to escape the compound of the religious cult she was raised in, finds shelter in the surrounding woods. She successfully gives birth to twins, but something from the compound is after this small family. Vern must escape the woods by confronting her past and her future, all while her body transforms in unexpected ways. This is a dark, near-future tale that explores multiple social topics.
Rose is the new classics teacher at a prestigious, progressive, castle-like boarding school for girls high up on the cliffs in Phoebe Wynne’s debut, “Madam.” She hopes to inspire her students through the heroines of myths and histories. However, the school is not what it seems. Rose finds that the school is steeped in traditional values and control of power is strict. Soon, she begins to wonder why, and how, her predecessor left so suddenly and what the school has in store for her. This debut novel by Phoebe Wynne is perfect for fans of Margaret Atwood or Donna Tartt.
For these titles and all upcoming news about the library, visit www.sdcl.org.
Library events
If you haven’t been able to stop by the La Mesa Branch Library in the last few months, you can also find us at MacArthur Park on Saturday, Nov. 6, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. during the Parks Appreciation Day, and meet our new Youth Services Librarian, Sara.
We’ve also restarted our weekly Drop-In Tech Help program, Tuesdays, 2–3 p.m. A staff member will be on hand to answer basic computer questions and help with downloading library eBooks.
— Denise Smith is a librarian at the La Mesa branch of the San Diego County Library.
