Hallowreads Guest Post: Killer Reads by Amber Elise

IT'S HALLOWEEN TIME Y'ALL!!

Tis the month where we consume an unhealthy amount of sweets (I wouldn't want to be a dentist come November), watch childhood classics (can we say, "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown), dress up in scary (or sexy) costumes, and read books that will scare us senseless!

Book genres have so many great creepy crawly genres for scare-your-socks-off fun. Vampires, zombies, ghosts, you name it! My favorite genre of books for this particular holiday is serial killers. 

Yesterday my best friend and I had a conversation in which we came to the conclusion that we both have fears of becoming murder victims. Her boyfriend called us both crazy but we insisted that it was a rational fear. Then we wondered why we had this fear. We then found a shared point of interest, Criminal Minds. Because I'm such an emotional person, I've always wondered what it would be like to get inside the mind of a psychopath, or someone who genuinely does not feel emotion towards his/her neighbor. I watch Criminal Minds, I'm addicted to How to Get Away With Murder, and now I'm watching Stalker. I'm causing myself these nightmares! 

But wait, that's not all! I don't just watch TV about serial killers, I read about them too. The mystery/thriller genre was my mother's genre of choice (still is actually). I started reading about killers long before I discovered the YA genre, but now that I have discovered Young Adult books, I find that I prefer those books a lot more. Something about twisted teens, I don't know. 

So I would like to share with you some of my favorite serial killer/murder books! 

 Slide by Jill Hathaway I really enjoyed this novel because it was a refreshing murder mystery novel. Vee has the ability to "see" murders as they are happening and the murder victim is identified as her sister's friend. Seeing how she has an advantage of the police and a personal connection to the first victim, Vee takes it upon herself to stop the killer. I have my review of Slide here.

 The Diviners by Libba Bray  My goodness, I was a fool for not reading this one sooner! Although it's intimidating in size, it's well worth it! If you like character development, ghosts, religious mythos AND gruesome murders, look no further! I literally just read this book so expect a review of it to be on Du Livre in a week or so (spoiler alert: I loved it)!

 Ten by Gretchen McNeil If you haven't read anything by this author, I'm sure you know her by name. She has written other teen horror/halloween reads such a Possessed, 3:59, and her latest release: Get Even. Ten was a really fun read for me. A bunch of kids go to a party on an isolated island and they start getting picked off one by one! Definitely a must for those who are fans of the Freddy, Jason, and Michael movies (the campy 1970s ones, not the remakes)!

 Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday For a book about murder, this book was HILARIOUS. Hart's boyfriend is found cheating on her with the leader a Christian club at school, a girl who also swears to abstinence. When said GCB is found dead, all eyes turn to Hart's (ex)boyfriend. And being the ace reporter and nice girl that she is, Hart agrees to help him clear his name. SO much fun! There is a sequel called Social Suicide and a third novel was supposed to be released this year but no word from the author or publisher. ): My review for Deadly Cool is on my site. 

Hushed by Kelley York This book took me by surprise. It's a teen Dexter with LGBTQ elements. Archer is a fifteen year old boy who feels responsible for his best friend, Vivian who has had nothing but bad luck with men. Whenever a boyfriend wrongs herl, Vivian knows that Archer is there to "take care of it." Soon Vivan becomes manipulative and controlling and Archer finally comes to the realization that what he and Vivian have, it's not love. This is a beautiful story of Archer learning what love is, while learning to control his killer instincts. You can find my review for Hushed on Du Livre as well.

Fire Baptized by Kenya Wright

This is the only novel on my list that isn't geared towards the YA audience. It's an adult novel for gruesome murder and sexual situations, if you can handle that, I highly recommend that you check this book out! I devoured it within 24 hours. Wright's world is so engaging and interesting, as it reflects our classist society, but with a paranormal element. If you wanna know more, check out my review of Fire Baptized! :)

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

I saved the best for last! I Hunt Killers is like nothing I've ever read before. Japser Dent is the son of a notorious serial killer who terrorized the US for twenty years until a rookie mistake got him locked up. Billy Dent, Jasper's father, instilled his teachings into Jasper as he grew up, and now as a teenager, Jasper has to decide how much damage Dead Ol' Dad did to his mental psyche. In an attempt to never become like his father, Jasper has become obsessed with serial killers, and when The Impressionist comes to his sleepy town, he's using everything that Dear Ol' Dad taught him to caught this new killer. It's just FANTASTIC. The entire novel is told from Jazz's POV and you can really feel his torment and how desperately he wants to be known as anything else besides a killer's son. READ IT NOW. 

Those are just some books that I've read and absolutely adored. Have you read any of these books? What did you think? Do you have any suggestions for me? Let me know!

And now for the fun part!

Kai and I have a $20 Amazon giftcard up for grabs to use on any books of your choosing! Sign up below!

Amber Elise is a blogger at Du Livre. She loves Disney, faraway destinations, snarky princesses, and all things French. Her favorite books to read include dystopia, fairytale retelling, murder/mystery, urban fantasy, and high fantasy. Stop by and say hi! 

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